FORT SMITH — Dr. Pamela Byrd, Christ the King School principal, collects hugs in every classroom she visits.
“I’m the hugging principal,” she said with a laugh.
In her final year as principal, she reflected on her accomplishments leading the school she had first attended as a little girl, when Christ the King was a kindergarten to eighth grade school staffed by the Sisters of Mercy.
Byrd had been teaching 15 years — 10 in public schools and five in Catholic schools — and had recently received a master’s degree in educational administration when she received a call from Father Richard Strock, Christ the King’s pastor, in 1988.
“Father Strock called and they needed a principal here and I had my administration degree. I was just going to come back for a few years and help the school,” Byrd said.
A few years quickly became 18, during which enrollment grew from 90 to 280 students. Byrd occasionally thought about leaving, but her loyalty to the school and the many projects and challenges she faced kept her there. She is leaving the school this month to build on the 10 years of retirement credit she earned in the public school system and work toward a more secure retirement.
Under Byrd’s leadership, Christ the King was the first area school to have Internet access in the early 1990s. The school constructed a second computer lab with 30 stations and has at least three or four computers in every classroom. The school added a librarian and art, Spanish, physical education and technology teachers to its staff. The school just expanded its physical plant, and it is already fully paid for, a testimony to parishioners’ satisfaction with the school program.
“In my last year, I have the finest staff, I think, in all of my 18 years here,” Byrd said. “They’re just absolutely phenomenal — very dedicated teachers.”
Byrd established an innovative art program that invites guest artists into the school to work with the students on collaborative projects, such as the Peace Dove constructed by local sculptor Shaun Adair which bears a personalized tile from each student. In the 2004-2005 school year the entire student body painted stained glass and studied Venetian art. This year, while studying Vatican art, the children made individual ceramic angels, fired in the kiln and painted gold, and Adair designed a Throne of Peter incorporating each child’s angel into the design.
“We incorporate art throughout the curriculum,” Byrd said.
“I think two keys to success here are expectations,” she added. “We expect our children to behave. We expect to get 100 percent from myself, from the staff, from everyone. We communicate with our parents and so it’s been a real blessing.”
Art teacher Pamma Henderson praised Byrd for her support of the arts.
“When I first came here for an interview I knew right away that Dr. Byrd was so supportive of the arts, and she told me that the love of her life is the arts and children. I thought this was amazing,” she said.
“That very first year I was here as a teacher she got me a grant to attend a National Arts Educators Conference in Miami, Fla.,” she continued.
In 2002, the Arkansas Art Educators Association named Byrd and Henderson Art Administrator and Art Teacher of the Year, respectively, the first time a teacher and administrator of a private school were jointly honored.
Byrd’s support of the arts was so strong that in 2001, following the Sept. 11 tragedy, Byrd contributed her own money to complete the construction of the PTO-sponsored Peace Dove when the project hit a funding shortfall.
In 1997, Byrd received her doctorate in educational administration from the University of Arkansas. The following year, she was one of only 30 educators in the United States invited to attend Exeter College, Oxford University, for two weeks.
Byrd’s influence on Arkansas education has extended to the state, where she has trained educators how to file for E-Rate reimbursements from AT&T and to the community, where she has served as a board member for the Fort Smith Museum of History, Fort Smith Fights AIDS, Subiaco Academy and Fort Smith Art Center.
Next year, Byrd will be a proud grandparent at Christ the King School functions, visiting her granddaughter, first grader Mary Elizabeth Byrd, and all the students and staff members she has come to know and love so well. But she is also looking forward to her next career move.
“I look forward to new challenges,” Byrd said. “I look forward to making a difference and giving everything I have to wherever God leads me to go.”
