All of the students in my school know that our school is named after a very important person, Virginia A. Boone. But do they know who Mrs. Boone was? We do know that she was a fascinating woman, and extremely dedicated to her school. Although she did not have any children of her own, she treated the faculty, staff, and students as her very own children. She knew every single student, his or her siblings, basically the entire family, and loved every one of them. If she bumped into a child in the hall and asked, "Hello there! How are you?" she wouldn't settle for an answer like, "Fine." She would either hope for, "Great! I had a terrific day!" or, "I am not doing so well today. I feel horrible." Then she would take the student by his hand and bring him into her office. Leaving the door open, as always, she would listen to what was happening in that child's life. Mrs. Boone always had the time to listen to everyone and solve their problems. Whenever I asked a teacher about Mrs. Boone, she would sigh with delight and go on to tell me what a wonderful woman she was. Feelings poured out of each teacher, and once she began talking about Virginia A. Boone, she could not stop.

She did not see color or ethnic background. She loved every child equally. In fact, she organized a program for African Americans, and the school has always celebrated Black History Month, years before it was required.

Not only did she treat the young ones equally, but she treated the staff equally as well. "She treated us as one," says Mrs. Cope, one of the ladies who work in the cafeteria. Whether you were the vice-principal or the janitor, everyone had the same rights.

She took great pride in Highland Oaks. She wanted her school to be the number one school in Dade County. If she took a class on a field trip, she would throw a hissy fit and be utterly humiliated if the students left a crumb or a scrap on the ground. If she took a class to a restaurant, she would be angry if a child spilled his juice and did not bother to clean it. She expected each student to say "Please" and "Thank you." Kids at Highland Oaks Elementary had to be clean and polite.

She was great with the parents as well. If a parent had an idea for the school, she listened carefully to it. That made the parents very pleased. The parents were greatly involved in the PTA, and this has continued through the years.

She definitely wanted her students to enjoy learning. Why, to learn about families, she created Family Day! To learn about the arts, the school celebrated Cultural Arts Day! They were very exciting and people wouldn't miss them for the world.

The community realized her wonderful qualities as well. Temple Beth Torah gave an enormous ceremony just to honor Mrs. Boone. And she won an award for being in education for forty years! She also won the Freedoms Foundations Award.

She was very dedicated to the school. She stayed late at night, until eleven or midnight. A mother recalls how her daughter once broke her nose at the school and had to be taken to the hospital. At eleven p.m. when she and her mother arrived home, they received a phone call. It was Mrs. Boone, asking if she could come over to help with anything, for she was still in her office at school.

She is no longer with us. She passed away in 1996, but she still remains in our hearts. An oak tree, coincidentally called Quercus Virginiana, was planted in her honor near our media center. And one day, the tree will be tall and old. Children will sit under the shade of the tree and climb in its large branches, laughing and guffawing, whispering and giggling. And whenever a child sees the tree, he will remember Virginia A. Boone, of Virginia A. Boone Highland Oaks Elementary School. For the oak tree nourishes and embraces sprouts, which eventually separate and flourish, just like the children that Mrs. Boone loved.

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