NATCHEZ &045;&045; From the way the teachers describe it you’d think McLaurin Elementary is some kind of spa.

When they go to work in the mornings they are greeted with a friendly smile, a calming influence and a breath of fresh air, they said.

They work as a team and everyone knows the game plan.

But it hasn’t always been this way, teacher Martha Tuccio said, and the credit goes to Principal Karen Tutor.

&uot;I’ve been at McLaurin a long time and we’ve had a lot of changes,&uot; she said. &uot;It seems like turnover every other year, but she is just so rock solid.&uot;

It’s that impact on her teachers, her students and fellow administrators that landed Tutor a seat in the interview room for state administrator of the year two weeks ago.

Previously voted Natchez-Adams District administrator of the year by other building level administrators, Tutor was one of four state finalists for the overall title.

&uot;She’s so worthy,&uot; teacher Evelyn Geter said. &uot;She deserves it. Everything about her is so positive and upbeat.&uot;

A positive attitude is something Tutor said she spent a lot of time talking about with the selection committee.

&uot;I talked about keeping things positive in the midst of funding concerns,&uot; she said. &uot;And how schools reflect your community. You have to set goals.&uot;

Tutor, who started her McLaurin job two years ago, has set one major goal of making sure every child is reading on grade level.

&uot;It’s our primary goal,&uot; she said. &uot;We’ve got to make sure we teach every child to read.&uot;

And from day one, Tutor was making sure her teachers had the tools necessary to do just that, Geter said.

&uot;When she first came she had the test scores laid out and she gave us our strengths and weaknesses,&uot; Geter said. &uot;No principal does that. She gives us a game plan and asks for our input.&uot;

All the teachers have a chance to share their ideas on every issue, Geter said, but everyone knows what the ultimate goal is.

&uot;She’s just all about student achievement and all the other agendas go by the wayside,&uot; Tuccio said. &uot;She’s really helped us understand the best way to achieve with test scores and accountability. She’s made us understand a lot of things that, honestly, we just really didn’t understand.&uot;

The teachers and students know the rules, but it’s not an uptight environment, art teacher Mary Wentworth said.

&uot;She’s just a breath of fresh air,&uot; Wentworth said. &uot;Everything she says she says it with a smile and her calmness has just taken over the school. She states the rules and just carries it out like that.&uot;

Though she didn’t win the overall title, Tutor said the whole experience was a good one.

&uot;It’s always good to get to say things out loud,&uot; she said. &uot;And it’s such an honor.&uot;

The biggest honor came in Natchez though, she said, when other principals voted her administrator of the year.

&uot;It really is an honor to find out that you are well respected by your peers,&uot; she said.

Tutor started her education career as a music teacher in Calhoun City. She taught special education in Natchez before moving to Oxford where she taught for 15 years. She moved into administration with the Oxford School District before returning to Natchez two years ago, shortly after Superintendent Anthony Morris started.

&uot;She’s added a lot of stability to that school,&uot; Morris said. &uot;She’s not afraid of the challenge.&uot;

In the past McLaurin has housed second- through sixth-grades. Starting in the fall it will house only third- and fourth-graders.