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Legend's successor charts fresh course

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Tom Jackson

tjackson@tampatrib.com

Published: June 5, 2009

DADE CITY - In the long and rich tradition of baton-passing, the transition under way at the little elementary school on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard may not match Carson-to-Leno for notoriety, Fiedler-to-Williams for pathos or Auerbach-to-Russell for precedent-setting.

If, however, the students in, and the community surrounding, Rodney B. Cox Elementary realize a similar outcome - seamlessness followed by explosive success - it is unlikely anyone will begrudge this changing of the guard its lack of noteworthiness, drama or originality.

Say this much for the new woman sitting in the chair Leila Mizer occupied the previous 13 years: When it comes to the task of institutional succession, Yvonne Reins' qualifications are unequaled in all the vast empire of the Pasco County School District.

As the new principal at Cox, Reins' experience in the area of legendary-fixture-following is like Urban Meyer following Steve Spurrier, minus the regrettable Ron Zook interlude.

Not just Daddy's girl

Reins ("Rines") knows how to do transitions. It's in her DNA.

Back home in New Mexico, Reins, then Romero, took over an elementary school where the previous principal had served 20 years. But to quote infomercials: Wait! There's more!

Turns out the school barely had to alter its stationery, or the name on the door. In a succession ritual usually reserved for royals and certain members of Congress, the fellow she followed was ... her dad.

Rather than wallow in the inevitable comparisons or bind herself with second-guesses, the new captain paid tribute to the former leadership even as she steered a course distinctly her own. Those charts will guide her again.

She is wisely uncritical of Mizer even as she lays out opportunities to expand and strengthen school-community ties. Reins means to weave Cox into Dade City's fabric by becoming an active presence in area civic clubs and the chamber of commerce, as well as by cajoling local businesses - one by one, if she has to.

Opportunities abound

When Reins arrived three weeks ago, Cox had exactly two local enterprises raising money on its behalf: a church and a downtown bar. The new principal, who resides in Cory Lake Isles with her husband, a nautical architect (can't wait for the first career day of the Reins era), will not be content until Cox enjoys the full array of business sponsorships New Tampa schools take for granted.

Already, Reins has landed the Beef O'Brady's on Seventh Avenue; one night soon, diners who mention Cox Elementary will have a portion of their bill donated to the school. The scenario is easily replicable and expandable. Consider the possibilities of a quarterly "Domino's Delivers for Cox Elementary" sponsorship night.

Not that extra money is the be-all and end-all solution to modern school problems. That's why Reins plans to establish a chapter of Tony Dungy's All-Pro Dads program at Cox, as she did at Sunray Elementary in Holiday, her previous stop, getting men active in the schooling of little ones.

She's going to crank up the PTA and the School Advisory Council, primarily by scheduling meetings in the morning. "So many of our parents bring their kids to breakfast," Reins notes. "They're here already. If they'll stay, I'll feed them."

And she means to stress family literacy. "It's not our kids' fault that they come to kindergarten a year or two behind," Reins says. "And it's not their parents'. They're doing what they've learned. We have to break the cycle."

But it's not like the field is fallow. Mizer departed - some say riding a cloud - only days after the state reported eye-popping success among Cox's fourth-graders, who soared to the best score in the county (tying Richey Elementary) in FCAT writing exams.

It's a start. Something to build on. The baton is passed. The race continues.

Hear Tom Jackson on "The Jax Files Weekend" Saturday mornings at 11 on WGUL, 860 AM.

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