Attracted to sports, detail

Starting new schools is certainly not a new thing for Principal Kevin Rafferty, who will be heading up the science- and technology-focused magnet school that will be taking the place of Davis Elementary School.

Rafferty was the founding principal of his two prior schools, Oak Grove Elementary School and Chaparral Elementary School in Ladera Ranch, where he works now.

His search for a mascot and a logo for Chaparral illuminates a couple of striking aspects of his personality and management style.

A die-hard sports lover (and even a past sports announcer) who grew up in Chicago, Rafferty is a big Cubs fan.

He is also a manager who meticulously pays attention to detail, colleagues say.

So it was no coincidence that Chaparral students call themselves the “champions,” and that the mascot looks eerily similar to the Cubs’ logo.

“One thing that [his new colleagues and students] will quickly learn is that he’s a major, major, major sports fan. He loves to talk about sports, go to sports games, use sports jargon,” said Susan Tsacoumangos, who is Rafferty’s office manager at Chaparral and has changed positions twice to stay with him for more than 15 years.

Tsacoumangos was tasked by Rafferty with calling the Cubs organization repeatedly to find the exact shades of ink the team uses on its gear so that the similarities between their logo and Chaparral’s was more than just a subtle hint.

Rafferty’s prolific knack for detail extends to the student body as well, said second-grade teacher and part-time assistant Principal Amy Adams. Adams says that the principal knows almost all of his 930 students by name and doesn’t hesitate to get involved in the small details of their lives.

“More than any college professor or teacher I’ve ever had, he makes you want to be the best you can,” Adams said.

Davis will be roughly doubling its enrollment from 375 to about 621 students as it expands from a fourth-through-sixth-grade school to a kindergarten-through-sixth-grade school, and Rafferty’s first order of business will be roughly doubling the amount of teachers.

He is going to try to fill all of those positions with teachers who already work in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District at other area schools that will lose a portion of their student bodies to Davis.

Prospective teachers will have until the beginning of spring break, April 6, to apply and the following week Rafferty will begin his interviews.

Although math, science and technology will be emphasized at Davis, the students will take the same types of classes as they would at a regular elementary school.

But instead of reading about normal subjects in literature class, for instance, they will have readings that deal with scientific subjects, Rafferty said.

He also hopes to draw in parents and community members working as engineers and scientists in the area to give guest lectures.

“I really feel like the parents are an untapped resource for schools around the nation to utilize so I would love to bring in as many people to help us in the school as possible,” Rafferty said.

One might not know it from his demeanor around school — Tsacoumangos says he is usually straight-laced and business-like during school hours — but Rafferty used to moonlight as a stand-up comic in Newport Beach while working as a sports announcer by day.

He was a frequent opener and emcee at a now-defunct club called the Laff Stop on Bristol Street.

After leaving that life to go into education, Rafferty got his teaching credential and masters at Cal State Fullerton and his doctorate in educational leadership at the University of Southern California.

Several administrators and teachers at Chaparral said they are devastated that he is moving, including his longtime office manager.

“This time I guess he’s leaving me behind with a broken heart,” Tsacoumangos said.

Rafferty is also the fifth-ranked table hockey (a lesser-known sport similar to foosball) player in the country according to the U.S. Table Hockey Assn.

He plans to travel to Detroit Friday for a big North American tournament.

Davis already has a mascot, but if it decides to find a new one, perhaps one starting with a “C,” look carefully at the school’s colors — blue, red and white — and make sure they haven’t changed a few shades.

Reporter ALAN BLANK may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at [email protected].