doris knight

St. Luke Students Are in Good Hands

By Suzanne Till
Special to the HERALD
(From the Issue of 1/11/07)

If there’s one thing Doris Knight knows, it’s kids. At 83, she has a lifetime of experience to draw upon when she reports for duty two days a week to supervise students in the Extended Day Program at St. Luke School in McLean. Kids, says Knight, “have been my one and only job.”
Knight and her husband, a naval aviator, settled in McLean in 1942 and three years later came the first of 10 children. Her “baby” is now 36 and she has 16 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren to spoil. While raising her large family, she made a concerted effort to be active and involved in each of her children’s lives.
“Children need their parents’ attention, to know that Mom and Dad are interested in who they are and what they do every day. It makes them feel secure,” said Knight as she made her way down a corridor pointing out two of her sons in the class pictures hanging on the wall.
Putting her words into action, Knight volunteered extensively in school and church programs while her children attended St. Luke’s. In 1969, the school administration asked if she would be interested in teaching physical education. She accepted immediately and spent the next 20 years putting the girls in grades one through three through their paces — everything from calisthenics to kickball.
“It was great fun, watching them grow in so many ways and hoping that they would develop — more than athletic skill — a sense of fair play, honesty and consideration for others,” said Knight as she patrolled the nearly empty gym late on a Friday afternoon.
Her most satisfying accomplishment at St. Luke’s? “Coaching the seventh- and eighth-grade girls’ basketball team,” she responded, looking up at the hoop on the far side of the room.
“They learn so much about life, about strategy and working together as a team. They learn about winning and losing, and that there are varying degrees of talent, but what matters is being a part of it and having fun.”
Knight retired from teaching in 1989, but was called back into service two years later when St. Luke’s established its Extended Day Program and needed qualified people to staff. With many students coming from homes where both parents work, the school administration recognized a need for a safe, active and fun after-school program. Knight, whose career at St. Luke’s had been dedicated to the students’ physical fitness, was a logical choice and a perfect fit for the program.
“Their lives are so structured these days,” she says of the students, “with classes all day, then sports, Scouts, music lessons, and of course, the homework. They have no down time. So this is it.”
The program begins every school day at 3 p.m. and ends when the last of the 30 children is picked up. A staff member stays until all students are safely on their way home — a truly “no child left behind” policy.
The program has three other staff members, all teachers at the school, and is headed by Steve Sawyer, who credits Knight as the key to the program’s success. “We couldn’t do it without her, she’s our chief disciplinarian,” Sawyer said with a grin.
Knight served as the program director from 2002-04 and trained Sawyer to take over. “Doris taught me everything I know, and I’m still learning,” quiped Sawyer, who explained that running the program is a huge responsibility, as the program is licensed through the state Department of Social Services. Extensive record-keeping and facilities maintenance are necessary to pass the inspections process, along with ensuring that all staff members retain their certifications. All of that is in addition to keeping track of an age diverse and sometimes rambunctious group of students for several hours each day. Not an easy task, but Knight is up to the challenge. Those kids are in good hands —firm, capable and kind hands. Her hands are full, and that is just the way Knight likes them.

Till is a freelancer writer in Northern Virginia.