AUDIO SLIDESHOW: Best in Class
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"I am somebody," the students of William Marvin Bass recite every morning.
"I am as important as anyone in the world. I deserve to be treated with consideration and respect, and I will treat others the same way."
The school creed, more than 10 lines long, is inspired in part by "I am Somebody," a poem by the Rev. Jesse Jackson that principal Leverne Marshall heard growing up.
In his work at Bass, Marshall draws on his childhood experiences in the inner city of Wilmington, N.C.
"I know what it is to be without a father," he said. "I know what it takes to get ahead in life."
Marshall’s father died when he was 2 years old. As a boy, he attended the elementary school where his mother taught. He couldn’t act up or slack off, he said, because he knew she was always down the hall.
Inspired by his mother, Marshall became a teacher and later a principal, serving at the helm of Appomattox Middle School in Appomattox and Dearington Elementary School in Lynchburg before his transfer to Bass in 1994.
Marshall’s management philosophy revolves around nurturing his teaching staff.
"Take care of the teachers," he said, "and they will take care of the students."
One of the phrases often used to describe Marshall, is "father-figure." That goes for staff members like teaching assistant Valerie Allen, or former Bass students like college students Tyrome Cobbs and John Bailey, back for the start-of-the-year pep rally in July.
"You look at it now," Bailey reminisced, "he was teaching you to be a gentleman."
Kim Maxwell, a fifth-grade teacher, said Marshall works to make sure students get what they need, whether that’s a pair of shoes, a haircut or extra reading and math practice.
"I truly believe he has a gift," Maxwell reflected, "It’s hard to pinpoint exactly how he accomplishes it, maybe magic, but he is able to pull his teachers onboard. We strive to be as driven and passionate as he is."
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