“Everybody knows when it’s time to retire,” said outgoingBrookhaven High School Principal Susan Chapman. “You just get thefeeling.”

Chapman has the feeling. After 36 years in education, 32 yearsin the Brookhaven School District and six years leading BHS, she iscleaning out her office and going home. When the school’s studentsreturn for another year of instruction this fall, they will beunder new direction from the principal’s office.

Chapman said she made the decision to retire during the weekendof Labor Day last year. She took her husband, Ken, and her childrenout for lunch and announced her decision over the table top.

“They didn’t believe me at first, but in my heart of hearts, Iknew it was time,” she said.

The decision was not made in haste, she said. It was a big stepfor a person like Chapman, the very image of an old South educator- serious and sincere – to walk away from the students. Whilelegislative officials and education lobbyists can always be heardtalking about “the children, the children,” Chapman lives it, likea proud grandmother of approximately 800 high school students.

Those qualities have not gone unnoticed by superintendent LeaBarrett.

“I think she’s about the best high school principal in the stateof Mississippi,” Barrett said. “Her most impressive quality is justhow much she cares about every single child – their academicsuccess and their involvement in extracurricular activities. Shefaithfully goes to see her children perform, and is alwaysencouraging them to excel.”

Chapman not only steers the school from the principal’s office,but roams the halls, keeping in constant contact with students andfaculty, and attends every single extracurricular activity, fromball games to band concerts. She calls it the principal’s “nightduties,” and says they are every bit as important as any work doneduring regular schools hours.

While Chapman executed those duties faithfully as principal, thestrain has caught up to her.

“I love all my children, I love to see them participate – but Ican’t keep that pace up any longer,” she said. “After six years ofdoing that regularly, you know it’s time for someone else to takeover.”

Though Chapman is stepping down from a lifetime of officialduties, she is not ready to put herself completely out of thepicture. She plans to volunteer with the Brookhaven-Lincoln CountyChamber of Commerce and remain associated with the MississippiScholars Program, which she said is her proudest achievement of sixyears at BHS.

“I buy into Mississippi Scholars,” Chapman said. “It helps ourstudents prepare for college – it’s going to mean more for themwhen they go to college that they’ve already been challengedacademically.”

The statewide program had a most-humble beginning at BHS, buthas since exploded under Chapman’s principalship. The first year itwas implemented, only two BHS students met the Mississippi Scholarsrequirements. In the second year, that number jumped to 28, and inthe 2007-2008 year, it more than doubled to reach 62.

Chapman said many of the 62 received scholarships to severalcolleges and universities, and she personally contributes money tothe scholarship program to make sure the trend continues.

For Chapman, Mississippi Scholars is a proud accomplishment – afond memory – but not an easy one. Few things about beingprincipal, she said, are easy.

“This is a tough job,” she said. “The only easy part is thenight after graduation, when we pack up all the caps and gowns.Everything else is tough.”

The most painful duty of the principal, Chapman said, is holdinga student back – the sinking feeling of having to meet with astudent and parents and explain that the rest of the class willmove on while that student stays behind.

But Chapman said she always tried to remain positive even inthis situation.

“I just try to tell them, we’ve come this far – we’re just notfar enough,” she said. “We’re gonna take another shot at it nextyear.”

Chapman said one thing she will regret as she leaves educationbehind was not being able to push BHS into a higher academicranking. The school is currently a level three institution, andChapman has always been covetous of the fourth level.

“We don’t know what we’re going to be next year, but I reallywanted to leave BHS as a level four,” she said. “We have bought into what it takes to get there, we just haven’t turned the corneryet. If I knew how to make it happen instantly, I’d be writing thebook right now and collecting $1 million.”

The duty of pushing BHS into the fourth – or fifth – level willfall on Dr. Jay Smith, the incoming principal. Chapman said she hasevery confidence in Smith’s leadership, adding that he “will bejust fine.” She did, however, have some parting advice for the newprincipal.

“Come to work every day, be visible and get to know the childrenand faculty,” she said.

Chapman said it was imperative that Smith make himself anevery-day part of the students’ lives. Doing so, she said, allowsthe educator to be educated.

“The kids will teach you a lot of things,” she said. “And youbetter be listening – 99 percent of the time what they’re tellingyou is the gospel truth. I’ve tried to learn patience and how to bea good listener.”

Chapman said her next listening exercise would involve taking inthe sounds of nature in perfection. She is leaving soon for JacksonHole, Wyo., on a tour of the great state parks of thenorthwest.

“I just want to get away for a few days and see some scenery,”she said. “Then I’ll assess the first step in my retirement.”