By Monica Chen

mchen@heraldsun.com; 419-6636

DURHAM -- It was a relatively uneventful day at Chewning Middle School on Monday.

The usual first-day happenings were under way: Bus schedules needed to be double-checked. A new secretary was learning her way through the intercom system. And there was one minor argument by mid-morning, which ended with one student sent to the principal's office.

Classes began Monday morning at five year-round schools in Durham -- Easley, Holt and Pearsontown elementary schools, and Rogers-Herr and Chewning middle schools.

It was also a first day for Chewning Principal James Key, who arrived at 6 a.m. and could be found briskly walking up and down the halls greeting students and teachers and handling problems that arose.

"This age group needs more direction, but they've been awesome," Key said.

Key has been an educator with Durham Public Schools for 26 years, having been a teacher and an administrator in elementary, middle as well as high schools. He was principal of Riverside High School for the past six years.

Key's transition to Chewning, announced in June, was the first major personnel change made under Durham Public Schools' new reform plan. Chewning's academic growth has lagged expectations, with students passing just 40.6 percent of end-of-grade tests in 2009.

Assistant principals John Williams and Crystal Isom-Adu also came with Key to Chewning, a move praised by ESL teacher Wendi Love, who has been at the school four years.

"The three of them together -- it's like having three principals," Love said. "They are a true unit. They really practice what they preach with servant leadership."

Key is a former two-time Durham Teacher of the Year and the 2008 Durham Principal of the Year. He has ties to Chewning, having been a student there in the mid-1970s and a social studies teacher from 1984 to 1990.

For the first day of classes, 373 students showed up at the school, 50 fewer than expected. Key said the school population should build up to about 500 to 600 within the next 10 days.

For these first few weeks, Key has focused on driving consistency and a sense of identity in the different "teams" for students.

"Chewning has struggled somewhat with some image issues and student achievement issues," Key said. "We want to instill a tremendous sense of pride in students, families and teachers. Once we've got things orderly and structured, we want to challenge our students and teachers to achieve at a level we know they can achieve."

Love commended Key in his approach, saying the team involvement has been helpful.

"The school looks better than it has looked in a long time, physically," Love said. "There's an energy behind it."