Scales Principal Sleeps on School Roof

Published October 29, 2009

Scales Elementary School Principal Rick West will do just about anything in the name of education. Even if it means braving the elements and sleeping on the roof of his own school. Such was the case on October 28, when West waved goodbye to students and began what would be a long - and chilly - evening on the Scales rooftop.

"It all started as an incentive to get our families to participate in our annual Invest in Your Child campaign," said West. "I threw out the challenge to our student body that if 100 percent of them returned their invest card, I would sleep on the roof for a night."

As a result of the challenge, Scales had its best response ever. More than 98 percent of students returned their cards.

"Our PTO exceeded their fundraising goal and we feel that part of it was due to the excitement created through this event," said West. "So as a way of saying thank you, I decided to go ahead and honor my commitment."

On Wednesday, West grabbed his sleeping bag, set up a tent on top of the roof and settled in for the long haul. He brought with him a few luxuries to help pass the time - things like a cell phone, an I-Pod and a laptop computer which he used to blog about his experience.

Throughout the evening, a steady stream of students, parents and coworkers dropped by to offer up everything from hot coffee to brownies. At one point, West even gave a live interview to Channel 4's Lisa Spencer on the 10:00 news.

Fortunately, the weather cooperated for the most part. While there was no rain, it did get quite chilly with temperatures hovering in the mid-40's. But after weathering the conditions for more than 14 hours, West welcomed the students back to school on Thursday, waving to them from the top of the roof.