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Oley Principal Sits at Head of Her Class: Judith M. Rabena is Chosen the Top Elementary School Administrator in Pennsylvania.

Posted on: Monday, 19 June 2006, 09:00 CDT

By Erin Negley, Reading Eagle, Pa.

Jun. 19--Principal Judith M. Rabena sets a lofty goal for Oley Valley Elementary School students to read 25 books during the school year.

In past years, about half the students would sign up, and of those, only a third would read the books.

So at an open house for the 2005-06 school year, Rabena made sure a reading-challenge sheet was on every desk. All the students and parents signed up.

This year her school's 870 students read 34,300 books, an average of about 40 books per student.

Rabena ate lunch with students who met the goal early and she rewarded the school with a parade of Corvettes looping around the building.

Rabena's abilities to bond with students and lead the school are among the reasons she was named Pennsylvania's 2006 National Distinguished Principal.

The Pennsylvania Association of Elementary School Principals chose Rabena from six candidates, said Dr. Barbara A. Rudiak, chairman of the selection committee.

Rudiak and other association members visited the school to assess Rabena's leadership.

"We were impressed that when we got there the school was over 800 students," Rudiak said. "She still stayed connected to the students."

Rabena has been Oley Valley Elementary School's principal for seven years. She credits her award to the school staff and district administration.

"You can't accomplish anything without people who have a vision and support what you need to do," she said.

"The district has given the resources to do your job. Otherwise, you couldn't do this," Rabena said.

Dr. Jeffrey F. Zackon, Oley Valley superintendent, nominated Rabena because of the changes she has made.

"I thought the school had gone through tremendous strides in helping our kids through the learning process," Zackon said.

In Rabena's years at Oley Valley, the elementary school began full-day kindergarten, revamped report cards and increased student assessments, all tasks requiring help from the district, staff and parents.

The kindergarten curriculum now includes a writing program and is less h a p p y - g o - l u c k y, Rabena said.

New report cards traded satisfactory and unsatisfactory ratings for numbers measuring a student's mastery of state standards.

And the school is using software to gauge student achievement more frequently to assure they understand the material. "Seeing what she does, she really deserves the award," Rudiak said. Rabena said she didn't plan to become a principal. She started her education career in 1969 as a secondgrade teacher at 13th and Green Elementary in the Reading School District.

When she re-entered education after starting a family, she taught at Central Catholic. The Diocese of Allentown needed principals and offered leadership seminars for interested teachers.

"If I'm going to really do this, I might as well do it right," Rabena said she thought at the time.

She received her master's degree from Temple University and became principal at 13th and Union Elementary in Reading before switching to Oley Valley.

Rabena will receive the award from the state association and the National Association of Elementary School Principals in October.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Reading Eagle, Pa.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: Reading Eagle

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