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The superintendent of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District sits in a school cafeteria staring down at a tiny-portioned meal while squirming elementary students devour their lunches next to him.

Squirt.

A kid sitting next to the side of the superintendent bites into a plump tomato, and juice jets out, making a direct hit on his formerly clean dress shirt.

That was just one of the experiences Steve Atwater had during a recent student shadow experience.

Sometimes students get to follow an adult around for a day to learn more about life after school.

Atwater reversed that formula, shadowing students for a few hours of their day in different grade levels at schools on the central and southern peninsula last month.

"I don't ever want to lose focus that the kids are the most important thing that we do, and the fighting for the tax cap and all that pales in comparison to serving the kids," Atwater said.

So far, Atwater has shadowed a sixth-grader at Kalifornsky Beach Elementary, a junior at Kenai Central High and a sophomore at Homer High.

He has tentative plans to do a shadow experience in Seward and possibly Nikiski.

Atwater was paired with a student chosen by the school's principal, and followed them around to class and various activities.

"I'm essentially just sitting in a desk close by and partaking in the lesson passively, he said.

Atwater explained that the idea of following some of the students of his district is one employed by other administrators.

Being relatively new here, Atwater wanted to orient himself on life in the schools.

"I feel strongly that I need to get a good sense of what's going on in the classrooms and the schools," he said.

He felt welcomed by the students, though he noted the high schoolers felt awkward having an adult following them around.

"It's a little embarrassing for the high school kids to have this older guy hanging out with them at their locker," he said.

Otherwise, Atwater said he was pleased with the experiences thus far.

He was especially pleased to note that students in the upper grades seemed positive.

"The kids that I've run into are by and large really good kids," he said. "It's very easy for a teenager to lose focus."

In the higher grades Atwater said he was paired up with college prep students, but he hopes in the future to have the opportunity to get a vocational student's perspective as well.

He was also impressed by the teachers whose classes he attended.

"I've been very impressed with what I've seen going on and I think they connect very well with their kids," he said.

One thing Atwater said he did note was not always having technology available in the classroom.

He said his class at Kalifirnsky Beach had time scheduled in the computer lab.

The process of getting from the classroom to the lab, followed by logging on and getting under way chewed up a lot of instruction time, he said.

"That's something I want to change, and we're getting there but it sort of brought it home that we need to fix this," he said.

One of Atwater's goals is making technology as readily accessible in the classroom as a book on a shelf.

He also said he noticed space concerns while he was at Kalifornsky Beach.

"There's a lot of little guys in there," he said.

He said that's something he's noted, and will be of particular concern if there's a flux of elementary-aged students into the central peninsula.

He noted some relatively full classrooms on some of his visits.

"I recognize that with our very full classes, that's a challenge that our staff are doing their best to meet," he said.

He also had some lighthearted moments.

Aside from the tomato incident, Atwater said he had the chance to play barefoot soccer at recess at Kalifornsky Beach.

"It was great to see the kids in that environment and to remember what it was like when you were 12 years old," Atwater said, laughing. "The picking of teams and so forth, it still happens exactly like it happened when I was in sixth grade."

"The little kids were the best because they don't have those social anxieties," he said.

Atwater isn't done with his orientation experiences yet.

He said he also has plans to connect more with the site councils and advisory boards of schools, as well as having more informal communications with staff.

Dante Petri can be reached at dante.petri@peninsulaclarion.com.