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Biography

Ms. Billy Stone of Des Moines, IA has been an elementary teacher, High School assistant principal, Middle School principal, and coordinator for the Des Moines Public Schools in the minority achievement program she first implemented. She is currently the Director of Education for Oakridge Neighborhood Services in Des Moines. She is active in her church and in the Jack and Jill organization.

Transcript

Brianna Hart: Hi. My name is Brianna Hart I’m interviewing Billy Stone Director of education for Oakridge Neighborhood Services. We have a few questions for you. What made you decide on what career you wanted to do?

Billy Stone: When I was a little girl, people would always hurt my feelings when I was in school. and so I thought the best career that I could do or go for, would be working with the kids, in a setting where kids feel real, real comfortable and enjoy going to school.

Brianna: Okay. What kind of education did it take to get where you are now, and how long did it take you?

Ms Stone: Well, naturally I had to go to elementary school, middle school, high school, and then I had to go to college. First I went to junior college, then I went to Drake University, University of Dubuque, Parsons College, back to Drake University. So it took me from 1957 to 1973. You do the math.

Brianna: Okay. Being an African American female what are some of the obstacles you had to overcome to get where you wanted to be in your education and career?

Ms Stone: Well, the number 1 obstacle, I had to overcome was being a black American. The 2nd obstacle, I had to overcome was being a black woman. Those were some real obstacles. OK? The color of my skin and also the fact that I was a woman, that I am a woman. Nobody liked black people, they thought we just couldn’t make it and I had to make people understand and see that I was a pretty smart lady, a pretty bright person, pretty knowledgeable kid. So that was the number one obstacle.

Brianna: Have you ever faced discrimination because of your race or sex?

Ms Stone: Yes, both because of my race and because I am a woman.

Brianna: What are some of the responsibilities you have in your job?

Ms Stone: The number one responsibility is being a good role model. And trying to make every person, every child see that I care about each and every person and that’s hard. That’s really hard! You know, you can’t play favorites in this game. Sometimes nobody likes that. You know what I mean?

Brianna: Umm humm

Ms Stone: So that’s a real hard obstacle.

Brianna: What do you like most or is the most interesting thing about your job?

Ms Stone: You, and all the kids I work with. You see I work for you and I try to make sure that you want to stay here in this program and you want to get an education. I work for you. You don’t believe it yet, but later on you’ll understand.

Brianna: What other jobs did you do before you came to OakRidge?

Ms Stone: Well the last job, I was a principal at a middle school for 9, 10, 11 years. And I loved every minute of it. Just loved it! Then I was a vice principal for 9 years at Hoover High School, and I really liked that! I liked being the hardcore disciplinarian! And then I was a coordinator for the Des Moines Public Schools in the minority achievement program I first put that program on the ground. And what we did with that, we had a lot of kids who wanted to go on college, high school and middle grade students. We tried to put kids in a career path as far as education and then elementary school I was an elementary school teacher. I liked elementary school kids. I liked middle and high school better. I cleaned houses before I went to school, before I graduated from high school. I worked as a nurse’s aid at Mercy Hospital. I scrubbed floors, did dishes, worked as a salad girl, and I worked also in a bank. I had a lot of jobs, cut grass, shoveled snow, trimmed hedges. I’m a jack of all trades. It takes a lot of hard work and you can’t stop and I’m here, my next career.

Brianna: What other organizations are you in and how do they help you with your job here at OakRidge?

Ms Stone: The number 1 organization I’m in is my church. Okay? And that organization Saint Mary’s of Nazareth, that helps me have a big heart and clean my heart, ya know, keeping a spirit as one would say. The next organization I’m with is Jack and Jill of America it’s a young black, moms group who get together. They have gatherings with their children and the other moms. They help kids learn, respect, responsibility, caring for others, learning how to save their money and enjoy school and celebrate who they are, black American children. Those are the two most recent that I liked to share. There are other organizations but those are the two best.

Brianna: What are some of your responsibilities on the Des Moines School Board?

Ms Stone: I am not on the Des Moines School Board.

Brianna: With all of your responsibilities, how do you find time for your family? And has your job ever conflicted with family? And if so, how did you handle it?

Ms Stone: Ummm, that’s a good question. Would you repeat that again?

Brianna: With all of your responsibilities, how do you find time for your family? And has your job ever conflicted with family? And if so, how did you handle it?

Ms Stone: Well, my job did conflict with my family when I was a principal. Because I would go to work 6:45 in the morning and I wouldn’t come home until sometimes 9, 10 and 11:00 at night. And I was always working with other families, not so much my family. Okay? That was a problem to me, my career so important, but my family is more important. That’s why I retired from the Des Moines Public Schools. When you retire you have a lot of good time, okay, and I’m trying to earn back time to spend with my daughter and husband. But also I enjoy what I’m doing right now, ’cause this is my family. Anytime I can work with kids, that’s my extended family. I bring my family, my husband and my daughter into my world, into my job. So it’s been really, really, really positive. You know? They learned to accept that their mom and their wife are working for kids, so it’s not a problem anymore.

Brianna: How do you feel you have helped your community become better?

Ms Stone: Well one way is I’m always getting in parents’ business. I’m always staying listen, do you know where your child is? Do you know why your child is failing in a class? Do you know who your child is hanging around with? And then I’m told very politely, “I think you better mind your business today.” and I go to other agencies and I say “Would you please look out for this child cause I think this child is going down the wrong road”, or I may call a counselor at the child’s school and I may inject something like “would you please go visit with Mary” for lack of a better name, or Johnny, to see if everything is ok. And I like to donate stuff and I like to volunteer in various communities, and money is a hard commodity to donate especially when you don’t have a lot of it. But time is also hard commodity to donate but it’s easy for me to donate time. You know what I mean? So, I’m not sure if I answered your question, because that too was also a hard one for me to answer.

Brianna: What goals do you have for the future to help you further in your career?

Ms Stone: Well, I do want to go back to school at the age I’m in, I really do want to go back to school. And my passion and my love is working the law field and that is public school law, that’s a passion I have. And the more I know about the law to help kids, I’m feeling, the better children will be able to do at school or with academics better, or in job careers. So that’s what I really want to do is pursue that career. For my age, Yep!

Brianna: Thank you.

Ms Stone: Thank you. I am very pleased and honored to have a young lady of your caliber to sit here and ask me questions that were really, really difficult. Okay? They made me really think. Thank you very much!!