Principal’s pink hair shows good grades are to dye for

Keith Colbert sports an odd hue, his part of a deal to motivate Pathway School of Discovery students to earn an excellent rating

Principal Keith Colbert of Pathway School of Discovery in Dayton sends students a farewell during dismissal Wednesday, Aug. 26. Colbert dyed his hair pink – students voted for the color – after making a deal with his students last year that if their school earned an excellent rating on the Ohio Department of Education report card he would dye his hair. Staff photo by Teesha McClam

Teesha McClam Principal Keith Colbert of Pathway School of Discovery in Dayton sends students a farewell during dismissal Wednesday, Aug. 26. Colbert dyed his hair pink – students voted for the color – after making a deal with his students last year that if their school earned an excellent rating on the Ohio Department of Education report card he would dye his hair. Staff photo by Teesha McClam

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By Anthony Gottschlich, Staff Writer 2:00 AM Sunday, August 30, 2009

DAYTON — It takes guts to make fun of your principal, but there they were Thursday, Aug. 27, at Pathway School of Discovery in north Dayton — students from kindergarten on up pointing, teasing and snickering at Principal Keith Colbert and his pink hairdo.

“That’s a girl color!” a giggling first-grader said on her way to lunch.

“Hello, Mr. Colbert,” a sixth-grader chimed in. “Or should I call you, Mr. Pink?”

Colbert didn’t mind. He made a deal with his students last year that if Pathway, a charter school in its seventh year at 173 Avondale Drive, earned an excellent rating on its next state report card, he would dye his hair.

Statewide results released Tuesday showed the 700-pupil school did just that, rising one notch from effective, a B rating, to excellent. Just one other school in Dayton, the Dayton Early College Academy, scored as well.

“It took a lot of hard work,” said Colbert, who last year shaved his head after Pathway moved from continuous improvement, a C, to effective.

Other charter schools across Dayton also boosted their report card ratings this year. Ten surpassed last year’s ratings and 14 have improved since their 2007 marks.

Of the 26 schools that earned a rating this year, 18, or 69 percent, scored continuous improvement or better. In Dayton Public Schools, just eight schools, or 27 percent, scored that well.

“As a collective, charter schools in Dayton are the best (charters) in the state,” said Terry Ryan, vice president for Ohio programs and policy for the pro-charter Thomas B. Fordham Institute.

Dayton had a high of 34 charters in 2006, Ryan noted, but the numbers are dropping because of tougher state standards.

“You’re going to see steady improvement in the charter sector because there’s real pressure for the bad ones to close, and that’s good,” Ryan said. “So the schools left standing over time should be fairly decent.”

Colbert said there’s still room for improvement at Pathway, but he’s not sure what deal he’ll make next.

“I thought about camping on the roof, or shaving Bobcats — that’s our mascot — into my head,” he said. “Who knows.”

Contact this reporter at  (937) 225-7408 or agottschlich@ DaytonDailyNews.com.

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