R-Jeneration: Palo Verde High School principal juggles responsibilities with a smile

It's dark outside, the clock blinks 4:45 a.m. and the "senior that never has to graduate" awakens.

Dan Phillips, principal of Palo Verde High School, is waking up to start off his day. With a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal, 45 minutes go by as he thinks about what the day will bring. He arrives at school at 6:15 and the day starts off with quad duty, monitoring what all the students are doing before school.

While he looks over the quad, inside his office confusion begins. His secretary had car trouble and there is no one to check in all the day's substitute teachers. Another secretary steps in and discovers there are classrooms with no teachers there for first period. Calling around, flipping through papers, she tries to find teachers to fill in for those who called in sick. The job ends up getting done.

"I love this job," Phillips says after walking into his office as first period begins. "I'm a senior that never has to graduate."

With a full view of the empty quad in front of him and another cup of coffee, he checks his emails. Baseball memorabilia, mostly from the Yankees -- like the true New Yorker he is -- dominates one office wall. Plaques, awards and family pictures cover the wall behind his desk.

While sorting through the emails and delegating them to the correct assistant principal, he says that he has a lot of responsibility. He is responsible for everything that goes on in the school, from finances, to safety, to academics, to activities, to scheduling ... you name it, he has responsibility over it.

Phillips, 51, started out as a social studies teacher. He has been with the Clark County School District for 26 years.

He carries an enthusiastic spirit with him throughout the day. There never seems to be a moment when he does not have a smile on his face or isn't cracking some joke.

After answering the emails, he goes through a list of what needs to be discussed at the administration meeting.

Sandy Smith, his secretary, brings him three folders -- yellow, green and orange -- each having its own topic. The yellow folder contains paperwork that needs to be signed, green is financial and orange is activities.

Phillips says he believes everything should be signed by hand, making it more personal. As he signs papers, a student walks past his office in the quad, looks in through the window and waves. He returns the wave along with a smile.

He goes to the administration meeting with another cup of coffee, calendar under his arm and reading glasses (with one of the sides missing) also in hand.

The meeting ends, and he's back in his office. Looking into his secretary's office, he cracks jokes with the student aides who are sitting there. "Can't you tell I just hate kids?" he says, laughing, then follows with, "Really, I just enjoy being around kids all day."

The bell rings. It's time to monitor the halls again. Students wave and say "hi" as they pass. Then a student tries to sneak by wearing a hat, which is against school policy. Phillips spots him and asks him to take it off. The boy gives him an up-and-down look and tries to keep walking. Phillips is not OK with that and finally gets the kid to take off the hat.

Another cup of coffee down, he refills the green mug and gets ready for yet another meeting, this one with the executive board of Student Council. The energetic students walk into the conference room, yelling "P-Dawg" to Phillips. "P-Dawg" is the nickname they gave the principal years ago, and no one knows why the odd name stuck.

During the meeting, they joke and talk about upcoming events. "P-Dawg" turns down some of the ideas, but he keeps things positive by suggesting another idea. He jokes about his friendly rivalry with Coronado and Green Valley high schools. He says some of his best friends are the principals there.

It's lunchtime, but not for Phillips yet. He stands on top of the stage in the quad, watching and chatting with some of the students who stop.

After first lunch, he drops by the cafeteria as the special education kids are cleaning up. He gets his special order of orange chicken, no rice. He shovels it in before the second lunch period begins and his duties start all over again.

Once lunch is finished, he goes back to the office and checks more email. "It just never ends," he says as he opens the first one.

After slaving away at the computer and signing a whole new set of papers, Phillips begins to wind down his day.

He takes another trip around the school, popping in and saying "hi" to teachers and other staff members. Everyone always leaves with a smile on his or her face.

The bell rings, signaling the end of the school day. Phillips' day is not quite over, though. He has one more meeting and a Panthers game to go to. Then his day is over.