By Cindy Kranz
The Cincinnati Enquirer

When Camille Nasbe became superintendent of Winton Woods City Schools in August, she started riding a school bus once a month.

"I want to know about my students, what challenges they bring to the school setting, how we can best meet the needs of students. ... I think I have more of a perspective like a mom would have," said Dr. Nasbe, the 51-year-old mother of an Ohio State University law student.

She chats with students about their classes. One day, she checked some elementary students' math homework. She talks to them about their career plans.

"It's amazing," she said. "They never ask me who I am."

So much for that rule about not talking to strangers.

But Dr. Nasbe won't be a stranger for long at the pace she's going.

Besides riding school buses, she attends school activities and games. She's met community leaders. Last month, she did hall duty in the schools so administrators were free to help oversee proficiency tests.

"She's reaching out in ways that haven't been done in my memory," said board president John Pennycuff. "That's creating quite a buzz in the community."

That's not to say she's the only superintendent who has a personal touch, Mr. Pennycuff said. "This is her first job as a superintendent, and she wants to be an outstanding superintendent. You can't do that by sitting behind your desk."

Dr. Nasbe came to the district from Columbus, where she was executive director of accountability in charge of testing, program evaluations and school improvements at Columbus Public Schools. The Fort Lauderdale native began her education career as a mathematics and Spanish teacher in Florida.

The Winton Woods district has 4,300 students who live in Forest Park, Greenhills and the northern portion of Springfield Township. Sixty-five percent of the student body is African-American.

One attribute in her favor during the search process was her ability to relate well across cultural lines, Mr. Pennycuff said.

The Rev. Thom Shuman, pastor of Greenhills Community Church, Presbyterian, was impressed that Dr. Nasbe came to his church to meet him rather than him having to seek her out.

"That said something to me about her commitment to the community and wanting to get the community involved," he said.

She has asked if local churches would consider hosting monthly multicultural events so adults could get to know one another. He thinks it's a good idea.

"Obviously, the kids today live in a more multicultural setting than I ever did," the Rev. Mr. Shuman said. "The idea of a multicultural society doesn't faze the kids, but it really scares the parents."

Still, there's more on her plate than meeting the public. Dr. Nasbe has three goals in mind: increasing reading proficiency, closing the achievement gap and increasing parental involvement in schools.

She plans to ask parents to give 10 or more hours a year to the school. "If you're going to parent-teacher conferences and Back-to-School night, you're almost halfway there," she said. "I can't mandate it, but I can encourage it."

Dr. Nasbe also wants to track the hours parents volunteer because she thinks there's a correlation between parent involvement and student achievement.

"Maybe the schools will get competitive. Mostly, we want them to see the value of it. It's not a race or a game. The bottom line is student achievement. It's not that I need parents to bake cookies. It's so parents and students work together to increase student achievement and love of learning."

Fred Murrell of Greenhills, president of the Beechwoods Elementary PTA, first met Dr. Nasbe this summer when she invited all PTA presidents to lunch.

"It's really a great thing to have somebody new to the superintendent game who is energetic and willing to engage with the parents and not just the school board and the administration," Mr. Murrell said.

Mr. Murrell has heard good reaction from parents and school staff about her plan to improve parent participation. "It puts a little more difficulty on everybody from a tracking standpoint, but that's OK because you can't make a judgment without data."

A friend of his working at the Music Boosters' concession stand at a football game was surprised one night to turn around and find Dr. Nasbe up to her elbows in hot dogs. She stayed the entire second half peddling snacks.

"It's kind of refreshing to see somebody who's willing to get out in the trenches and mix with the people as opposed to sitting in the ivory tower," Mr. Murrell said.

E-mail ckranz@enquirer.com