MOUNT HEALTHY — When North Middle School students spilled out of the bus this year on the first day of school, it was an awesome sight for Principal Eugene Blalock.

        Dozens of neatly dressed students in black pants and white shirts filed into the building. Gone were the baggy jeans and oversized T-shirts, the too-revealing short shorts and the Tommy Hilfiger shirts that only some can afford.

Eugene Blalock, principal of North Middle School in Mount Healthy, jokes with student Vance Martin, 14, during an art class. Mr. Blalock often drops in on classes. (Gary Landers photos) | ZOOM |

        Weeks later, the 30-year-old principal still has to cajole a few students to comply with the school's new uniform dress code. “Tuck that shirt in,” Mr. Blalock told a student racing to class on a recent day. “I'm not going to tell you again.”

        But the extra effort, he said, is worth it. It's cut down the bickering over who is wearing what, and the time he spends on clothing issues. The school uniform just may be the silver lining in the aftermath of a shooting incident that occurred at North Middle School one year ago this month.

        Mr. Blalock was barely on the job in his first year as a school principal when a student fired a handgun into a classroom ceiling and held his teacher hostage. Mr. Blalock and Michael Webb, the school resource officer, defused the 50-minute standoff, which earned them recognition from the U.S. Department of Justice and the American Police Hall of Fame.

        Mr. Blalock didn't flinch when trying to calm the 14-year-old student, who carried a .380 caliber semiautomatic handgun. Fear set in that night, though, when a gymnasium full of angry parents demanded to know what the district would do to prevent this from happening again.

        “That right there was probably the scariest part,” he said.

        In the following months, Mr. Blalock built a coalition of parents, teachers and students who supported a school uniform policy. He successfully pushed for the policy because the boy had hidden the gun in baggy pants covered with an oversized T-shirt.

Mr. Blalock pinch-hits during a game of kickball in the school gym. “He likes to hang out with kids a lot,” one student said. | ZOOM |

        Mr. Blalock has taken other steps to change the school, which has 323 students, more than 80 percent of whom are African-American.

        For one, about 15 students meet every morning with a homeroom teacher for 10 minutes before school starts so kids can build a trusting relationship with an adult in the building.

        He makes it a habit to stay in touch with parents and keep them apprised of their children's minor behavior problems so problems don't get out of hand.

        “I used to sit in on conferences, and parents would say, "We never knew.' Now I call them so much we're on a first-name basis.”

        Vicky Herlinger of Mount Healthy, mother of a 13-year-old eighth-grader, has noticed an improvement in students' behavior at North Middle School. There's less horseplay, she said, which she attributed to the uniforms and Mr. Blalock.

        Mount Healthy Superintendent David Horine gives Mr. Blalock high marks for his first year as principal. He was able to deal with the trauma that lingered, Mr. Horine said, and shift everyone's focus to student achievement.

Mr. Blalock talks to a student who isn't in line with North Middle School's dress code. For the second time, the student was not wearing a belt. | ZOOM |

        The first time the superintendent met Mr. Blalock, he knew big things were in store for him. “When he applied with us as a teacher four or five years ago, we had a good feel for him right off the bat. He just had charisma.”

"He'll respect you'
        Not all days are as memorable or harrowing as Sept. 18, 2000, the day the gun was discharged. Most days are spent routinely visiting classrooms, doing paperwork and putting out the fires that erupt with young people.

        Like on a recent Monday morning, when he called two seventh-grade boys into his office and mediated their differences over a girl. One boy told him the other boy threatened to beat him.

        Mr. Blalock warned them that fighting could lead to suspension or arrest. He asked if it was worth it to fight over a girl.

        “Thanks for doing the right thing and not getting into any trouble,” he told them. “Too many people out there are dying over silly stuff.”

        Mr. Blalock lives in North College Hill, but stays visible in the Mount Healthy community. He attends high school games and shops there. He works out three to four times a week at Body Zone in Mount Healthy, where students often join him for workouts.

EUGENE BLALOCK

• Age: 30.     • Residence: North College Hill.     • Occupation: Principal, Mount Healthy North Middle School.     • Other experience: North Middle School social studies teacher, 1996-2000; education coordinator for Violence Prevention Program through Talbert House at Washington Park Elementary, 1995.     • Education: Bachelor's degree in elementary education, University of Cincinnati, 1994; master's degree in education, University of Cincinnati, 1996.     • Family: Wife, Lynne; two daughters, Janae, 3; and Jasmine, 2.     • Hobbies/interests: Bodybuilding; golf; first-degree black belt in tae kwon do; reading.     • Book he's reading now: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey.

        “He likes to hang out with kids a lot,” said Sarah Clements, a 13-year-old eighth-grader. “Sometimes, after school, he'll come and play volleyball with us or run cross-country. He's a really cool principal.”

        Lamar Jones, a 13-year old eighth-grader, said Mr. Blalock spends a lot of time helping kids. “As long as you follow the rules and respect him, he'll respect you.”

        Mr. Blalock makes it his business to know what goes on in the area, including gang activity. He knows neighborhood disputes spill over into the school. Students trust him so much that they'll warn him on Monday morning about what went down over the weekend.

        Much of his ability to relate to students comes from his street smarts, cultivated while growing up in Cleveland. He is quick to point out his split personalities: Gene Blalock, the administrator, and “Cleveland Gene,” the inner-city kid.

        “I'm the only person from my group that I ran with in high school who went to college, the only one who didn't get arrested for selling drugs, the only one who didn't go to jail.”

        So how did he manage to stay straight?

        Two influences: Martial arts and church.

        “My Sunday School teacher was always making a statement that, "You don't know when He's coming, so you don't want to be doing anything wrong when He comes.”'

        He also learned from a middle school teacher that you can have friends, but you have to know when to separate yourself. When his friends went to sell dope, he'd head the other direction.

        “That's the one thing I try to get across to my students,” Mr. Blalock said. “If you're with them and something happens, you're just as guilty as they are.”

        It helps him connect with street-smart kids. “I know what lowers young individuals into things like that. Hopefully, I'm able to steer them in a different direction.”

        Now that he's set the tone for discipline, he's concentrating on academics. The school has embraced the Making Schools Work initiative. It's keyed to setting higher expectations and engaging students in active learning, not just listening to lectures.

        Mr. Blalock believes all students can reach their potential — if they rise above whatever obstacles they face.

        “They don't see (being a good student) as being a cool thing to do. You have to change attitudes, and that goes to back to the family, making sure their children understand education is important, and that it's OK to be smart.”

        Mr. Blalock says good teachers kept him pointed in the right direction. That inspired him to become a teacher and principal so he, too, could make a difference.

        “I was living for the kids,” he said. “That's my cliche. I was living for the kids.”

City among last staying inside for chiefs
Next in line for chief
Terror victim memorialized
Air travelers face their fears
CROWLEY: Ky. politics
BRONSON: Lord's Gym
PULFER: Breast cancer
This principal has heart for the job
Principal's diary: Schedules, discipline and a gun
Bengals are kid-friendly
Children become fund raisers
Guard no longer a refuge from war
Mayors work through threat
NAACP endorses change by ballot
Tristate A.M. Report
UC prof to lead faculty in talks
Georgetown facility will be second for Ohio veterans
Muslims now find profiling an issue
West Nile virus in 9th Ohio county
Country western club spent time as a casino
Former Miss Kentucky sues pageant committee
Levee's just the latest in N. Ky.
New UK president pushes growth
Newport on the Levee awaits flood of business
OxyContin report delayed
Tech funds to NKU