Hurray For Haydee

Firecracker. Dynamo. Ball of energy.

Anyone who has ever seen Haydee Robinson clomping down the halls of a Wise County, Va., school in her trademark high heels knows this woman brings vigor to every job she has held. And in 23 years she’s held virtually all of them – teacher, assistant principal, principal and a member of the central office staff.

She’s known for being stylish, laughing a lot and being very visible – in the halls, in the cafeteria and in the community. She talks fast because she thinks fast and when it comes to education, she acts fast. She’s not above pulling a stunt to make money for a good cause, either. She once helped raise hundreds of dollars for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital by promising to kiss a pot-bellied pig if the students at L.F. Addington Middle School in Wise met the fundraising mark. They broke the record and she puckered up. A decade later, former students still stop her in public and tell her what an impression that event made on them.

Robinson is the type of leader who inspires her staff and makes them want to work harder because she includes them – and their ideas – in every decision she makes. And beginning in March she will take over the reins of the Dickenson County, Va., school system as its superintendent.

So hats off to Haydee and hats off to the school board for choosing this talented woman.

Robinson follows another bright and talented woman, Judy Compton, who is retiring from the superintendent’s job to spend more time with her family.

The Dickenson County School Board deserves praise for having picked both these exceptional women to lead its school system in recent years.

Robinson, of Clintwood, Va., began her career in Dickenson County as a teacher and developed a kindergarten program for the system in 1977. When her husband, William, enrolled in the Medical College of Virginia for dental school, Robinson taught in the Chesterfield County schools for four years.

When they returned to Dickenson County, there were no teaching openings, so she applied and was hired as a teacher in Wise County. Today she is principal at Coeburn Middle School, but will leave that job in March to become superintendent in Dickenson County.

On Wednesday, she said she applied for the superintendent’s job on the final day applications were being received.

“I have been thankful and blessed for all my time in the Wise County schools, but I believed this was where I was supposed to go,” she said.

She will be sorely missed in Wise County, where she is getting calls and e-mails of support from longtime colleagues, parents, friends and former students.

Robinson said she is saddened to leave the Wise County system, but excited to take a new step in her career. We know there are many great things ahead for this principal who once kissed a pig, and for the school system that will benefit from her leadership and enthusiasm.