The principal is always your pal

Published 6:00 am Wednesday, June 7, 2006

Glen Robbins and Bruce Colley, both of whom led Ordway, hear their final bell.

For a combined 63 years, they’ve been molding young minds.

Generations of doctors, teachers and reporters once toddled – under their tutelage, – through the hallways at Ordway Elementary School.

Come fall for the first time since before they themselves were schoolchildren, Glen Robbins and Bruce Colley will learn the rhythm of life without a school bell.

“It’s going to be strange waking up on the first day of school and realizing I haven’t gone school-clothes shopping,” said Robbins, who succeed Colley as principal at Ordway in 2002.

Both men will dust erasers for the last time on June 30 when they retire from the district and the roles that have long defined their respective identities. Ordway School will host an open house in honor of Robbins from 4:30-6 p.m. June 14.

Both men say one of the best parts about staying put for so long is running into former students.

“It’s great to have people come up to you on the ferry or at the grocery store and say, ‘didn’t you used to be Mr. Robbins?’” Robbins said.

To which he replies: “Yes, as a matter of fact, I still am.”

Jennifer Burlingame, who now teaches second grade at Ordway, was once a member of Robbins’s third grade class.

“It was outstanding being his student and it’s outstanding now working for him,” she said. “He’s a very compassionate, very fun man with a wonderful sense of humor.”

After 33 years in education, Colley’s longevity is equally impressive. He originally planned to teach and coach at the high school level, but eventually found he also enjoyed working with younger kids and in administration.

Colley grew up in Anacortes and received a bachelor’s degree from Western Washington State College in 1973 before coming to the Bainbridge School District to teach third and fifth grades the same year.

“Growing up, I liked school and always had admiration for teachers,” he said. “I like having the best of both worlds – the opportunity to work with both adults and students.”

Colley said he hopes he’s had an impact.

“I got into teaching because I enjoy working with people and it’s truly been a great experience,” he said. “I wanted to make a difference.”

He held several positions, including principal at Suquamish Elementary School, before assuming the principal’s chair at Ordway in 1993. He left the school in 2002 for his current job as the district’s assistant superintendent for administrative services.

“It was a treat to turn the keys over to Glen,” Colley said. “He’s a gifted teacher and was a consistent leader on the staff, even before he became principal.”

Robbins has lived his entire life in Kitsap County.

He first came to Ordway, which consisted of six rooms at the time, in 1978. There he met Colley and began teaching.

“I knew this was what I wanted to do with my life,” he said. “And I jumped in with both feet.”

He taught second through sixth grades for more than 20 years before becoming Associate Principal at Woodward Middle School in 1998.

He returned to teaching for two years in 2000 before taking on the role of his mentor in 2002.

Robbins credits Colley for influencing his own progress, but Colley said the feeling is mutual.

“It’s been great to use each other as a sounding board,” Colley said. “We’ve learned a lot from each other.”

Robbins agreed.

“Bruce is an outstanding relationship builder,” he said. “He really knows how to establish trust. I had some big shoes to fill.”

Robbins and Colley say they both plan to continue on in education in some capacity, perhaps as consultants or mentors to young teachers.

Both men will also have a say in who becomes the school’s fourth principal, with the decision to be made in the next week or so.

Their hope, they say, is to find someone who feels as strongly about education as they do.

“Teaching is both an art and a science,” Robbins said. “It’s not about pouring in information. I love seeing the excitement when a student discovers something.

“At that moment they should feel like the most important person in the world and we should celebrate that excitement – that’s what it’s all about.”