Dr. Joseph Campisi, superintendent/principal of Roosevelt Public School, has a rare moment of hanging around after being duct-taped to the wall by students as part of the school’s “Suspend the Principal” event. Roosevelt Public School’s chief administrator was suspended just before the holiday break, in what could definitely be described as a sticky situation. As a reward for students’ fundraising efforts, the school’s superintendent/principal, Dr. Joe Campisi, agreed to be stuck to a wall with duct tape for a fun event dubbed “Suspend the Principal.”
“It was the first time I’ve ever been suspended in my life,” Campisi said. “It was just something I did to make the students smile. Sometimes we need some silliness to help deal with all the seriousness.”
Although the suspension was all in fun, its origins were not silly at all. As part of the PTA’s annual book fair through Scholastic Inc., students earn points according to the number of books sold. The points earned, in turn, can be used to redeem books to enhance school libraries or for larger-ticket items, like technology for classrooms, Campisi explained.
PTA member Silvia Raines headed up a challenge for the school’s 94 students to earn 150 points through the book fair.
“She had called me and asked me, ‘If the kids reach their goal, will you do something silly?’ I said, ‘Of course,’ ” Campisi said. Students at the school — which houses grades pre-K through six — had a chance to try to come up with a wacky stunt. Although he is no stranger to such high jinks, having fallen victim to a dunk tank during his 15 years in education, some of the ideas presented by students, like taking pies to the face, were vetoed by the top school official.
“I wasn’t taking 90 pies in the face,” he said. “I’ve never broken my nose, and I wasn’t going to start now.”
Still, he was more than game for the Dec. 23 event, when all the school’s students gathered in the gym to witness the humorous hanging. According to Campisi, the PTA went out and bought extra-strength duct tape to ensure that all 255 pounds of principal could be securely suspended. He stood atop a stool against a wall, and the fun ensued.
“Each kid got a chance to come and put some tape on me,” he said. “It held me for a good minute. It was funny.”
The students went through about 10 or 12 rolls of tape to keep Campisi stuck to the wall, he said.
Despite the whimsical nature of the event, he pointed out that there were lessons involved. Aside from the book bundles the school was able to purchase, which consist of a number of copies of popular books for reading groups or book clubs, the students learned a valuable lesson about earning rewards through hard work, Campisi said. “You make deals with kids. You set up that reward system,” he said. “Believe it or not, as silly as it sounds, it’s rewarding, because you get to see the smiles on their faces. That was something new, and it’s something I would continue to do. I think the smiles and laughter showed that they got some enjoyment out of being able to ‘suspend’me.”
Campisi added that the fun stunt also helped to humanize him a little for the students. Oftentimes, he said, kids only see teachers and other school officials in their typical “uniform” and role. “Suspend the Principal” gave them a chance to have a little fun with Campisi, as well as see him in jeans instead of his usual suit, he said.
After the bit of fun at Campisi’s expense, the students didn’t leave him hanging. As he started to slide down off the wall after about a minute, sixth-graders stayed behind to help him become unbound.
“As I slid to the floor, they worked as a team,” he said. “They took the tape off very gingerly and helped me get down.”
Once they were done, they made a man out of the tape and sat him at Campisi’s desk.
Campisi, who started in July as the school’s chief administrator, buzzed with enthusiasm about creating a fun reward for the students.
“I love what I do,” he said. “This is what I was cut out to do. It was just nice that I could bring the whole school together and see that many smiling faces.”