In the Principal's Office with Miss Wriedt

When Erica Wriedt got dressed on Tuesday, she slipped into her favorite silver flip-flops, the ones that show off her fancy painted toenails, and hurried off to the office. The Principal's Office, that is, where her day's work was waiting.

Her parents Roseanne and Richard Wriedt won the "Principal for a Day" raffle at the Holmdel Foundation for Educational Excellence dinner dance last month, and so Miss Wriedt would get to take leave of the seventh grade and take the place of William R. Satz School's affable Principal, Arthur Howard.

"I sent out some emails, we did some work on the report cards -- I didn't see what was on them," she said, stepping away from a working pizza lunch with her giggling female networking group gathered in the adjacent conference room. (Apparently, one of the perks of being Principal for the Day.)

As she began to talk about her academic leadership vision, Howard appeared in the doorway of his old office. "Oh, I'm just walking around, doing nothing," he explained. Then her mother popped her head in, to remind the Principal of the Day to take the bus home.

We asked Principal Wriedt for her insight on current school conditions. Here'e our conversation.

How do you propose busing could be improved?

"Being able to open the windows would be nice. The windows don't open. It's hot. It would be nice to make them more like coach buses, with TV screens..."

What would you show on the TVs?

"Project Runway. Dance Moms."

What are your thoughts on student scheduling?

"I think there's not enough time between classes. Kids are rushing, bumping into each other. Teachers could sit in the hallway. Like traffic cops."

And the length of the schoolday?

"It's fine. I get up at 7 a.m. I'd say school should end around 2ish. Right now, it ends at 2:45 p.m. I've got dance in the afternoon."

How would you improve the cafeteria?

"I think we should have sushi, definitely. Chinese food. Tablecloths, that would be nice."