HUNTINGTON BEACH : Pupil, Principal See How Other Half Lives

Looking at the campus of Helen Stacey Intermediate School through his window, Principal James Holmes on Tuesday remembered life as a student as if it was yesterday.

In fact, it was.

James, who is 12 years old and normally attends seventh grade at the school, switched places Tuesday with his school principal. It was part of James’ reward for his work on a campus fund-raiser.

So, throughout the day, James toured classrooms, made calls from his office and patrolled the lunch area with a walkie-talkie.

“It’s pretty fun,” James said as he shared a pepperoni pizza lunch with three friends in his office. “I’ve been walking around and visiting classrooms. I haven’t had to do any work.”

Meanwhile, Principal Sheri Jones, 45, sat through James’ classes, took his tests and completed a mile-long fitness run.

“It’s been very interesting and fun going to James’ classes and really experiencing the work that he’s doing,” she said.

But, she added, “I didn’t enjoy the fact that I took a test and missed one answer.”

The reading-comprehension test consisted of true-false questions based on a short story the class read. James said later that he did not begrudge the missed answer, and that he would have gotten about the same score himself.

For James, the day’s highlight came when Jones suited up in green gym clothes and ran with dozens of students through a mile-long course. Students were required to complete the course in under 12 minutes. Jones crossed the finish line at 11 minutes, 37 seconds, and received an ovation from her classmates.

For lunch, Jones had an enchilada casserole, a student meal she bought with her lunch money.

James, who got to be principal for a day because he sold about two dozen magazine subscriptions to raise money for school activities, said the job brought unexpected pressures when friends asked him for favors.

“They ask me, ‘Can we go home early?’ And some of my friends asked me to expel them so they didn’t have to come to school,” he said.

Citing his responsibilities, he denied the requests.

As the day ended, Jones said she had enjoyed trading places, tiring though the switch was.

“At least I made it. They thought I wouldn’t.”