UNION SPRINGS - A fine tangle of delicate gold chains drapes Kimberle Ward's neck. Alone, the subtle strands might be easy to miss. Still, there are just so many. One can't help but ask what they all mean.

Each chain and pendant reflects a connection - to her children, who play lacrosse in school, to her husband, a basketball and even to her love of skiing. Next to her family, Ward prizes staying physically active, anything that keeps the blood going and oxygen moving to the brain.

The Union Springs High School principal - who is just completing her first year - also prioritizes developing relationships.

“She's cool,” said John Juho, a junior who's spent quite a bit of time in the principal's office. One might consider students like Juho, who's suffered detentions for nothing more serious this year than tardiness, unlucky at best.

But Juho and Ward have developed a mutual respect for one another over the months, which for the 17-year-old, comes down to Ward's willingness to consider what he has to say - especially on occasion when he gets into trouble.

“She'll listen to your sad story. She listens,” Juho said.

It took Ward a while to win students and teachers over. When she came on board last June, the school administrator was the fifth principal the class of 2006 had seen in four years. From the sound of it, the “laissez faire” attitude of past administrations resulted in students' cavalier violation of school rules (i.e. skipping classes, arriving late - or worse.)

“Past principals had stacks of referrals on their desks,” she said.

Ward changed all that, and now misbehaving students are assured they will hear from her the next morning. Sure enough, a (short) line of students were dutifully assembled at her door on a recent Wednesday morning.

“I'm on top of everything,” Ward said.

She came to a building that saw her climb to a second-floor office, removed from students and inconvenient to accessing other staff. Ward changed all that, and moved to the first floor, adjacent to the guidance office - thus fashioning the hub of activity at Union Springs.

“I want students to say, 'Gosh - I can pop into Ms. Ward's office if I have a problem,” she said.

Ward recently won a scholarship to attend administrative workshops, part of the Kagan Summer Academy at Walt Disney World Resort in July. Ward has been devoted to the educational ideology of Dr. Spencer Kagan since she learned about him two years ago, during her stint as assistant high school principal in Corning. A local BOCES teacher presented Kagan's philosophy at a workshop. Kagan's aesthetic centers on increasing student interaction at the classroom level and keeping kids active throughout the day.

Traditionally, students sit at desks most of the day; Ward said she hoped to get her classrooms to change with the times.

“Kids today are bored,” said Ward, who observed that video games and the Internet prevail as the source of interaction among young people.

Ward signed up for a two-day staff development workshop at the Academy, which she will attend with educators from around the world. At Union Springs, Ward encourages faculty and staff to partner students up in activities and have them teach one another - the premise being that children learn best when they are teaching other children.

She uses similar techniques during staff meetings. The results, she said, make for a more invigorated faculty. Ward wants to carry on her motivational role in the school, “spicing up” staff meetings and thereby livening up students' class time.

Winding down her first year at Union Springs, Ward reflected on the positive changes she's been able to impact on the building overall. The small school has found its way into her heart; she sports a purple Union Springs wrist-band above the rubber lacrosse wristlets that represent her daughter's team.

“I've worked really hard to get people to know I'm the real thing,” she said, adding, “I'm here for the long haul.”

Staff writer Olivia Goldberg can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 235 or olivia.goldberg@lee.net