Nancy June was born in 1949, probably graduated from Edsel Ford High School in Dearborn, Michigan, and graduated from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan with her Bachelor of Arts degree in English. I was unable to discover her maiden name or anything about her childhood. She was married to Steven Jerold Campbell and began her teaching career in 1970.
I first met Mrs. Campbell in the fall of 1987 when I began freshman honors English in her class at Avondale High School. In my yearbook from that year, she was also listed as a reading consultant. We had a wonderful time in her English class – and we worked very hard. We studied a lot of literature and gained a lot of experience in such matters, as most of our English and Reading courses before high school dealt mainly with grammar, spelling and the mechanics of writing and reading. We picked apart William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet for so long that, looking back, it seems we spent a whole year working on it. We read it silently. We read it aloud, different students taking different parts. We talked about what the archaic words meant. We talked about what the stage directions meant. We watched the 1968 movie version – which Mrs. Campbell had never seen before and didn’t have a chance to preview before playing the video for the class. She didn’t send out parental permission slips and when the nude scene arrived on the screen she was frozen in place for a few seconds, then let out a little “ack!” and grabbed the remote, fumbling long enough trying to shut it off that it was too late – the whole scene had played out. She implored us all not to tell our parents. Her secret was safe with us. Part of our assignment for Romeo and Juliet was that everyone had to choose a scene and character to act out; we all trooped down to the school TV studio; we had costumes and some props and filmed our scenes for posterity. Somewhere, somebody from our class still has the videotape with all the scenes: me as Juliet and Ann as the old nurse; Jennifer as dead Juliet and Charles as Romeo (reading his lines off cards propped on Jennifer’s upstage arm – you can’t see the cards, so it looks like he’s talking to Jennifer’s breasts).
We also read Animal Farm, Brave New World, A Clockwork Orange. I don’t know what the school board had in mind, but it seemed like the freshman English curriculum at my school was set on scaring the crap out of us. The dystopian future sure seemed bleak. As I write from January 2026, I’m sending three cheers to the Avondale School District school board of the 1980s. If the decision to fill our minds with controversial “we’re all off to hell in a handbasket” literature was conscious, good for them. Perhaps they were feeling particularly prophetic. Or perhaps Richard Welty, my senior honors English teacher, had a say in the background he wanted his students to have when they arrived in his classroom. “Off to hell in a handbasket” was one of his favorite phrases. Mrs. Campbell took it all in stride. She was able to drag us through the literature predicting sure and certain nuclear winter of our future with a laugh and raised eyebrow at the absurdity of it all. She was fun.
Mrs. Campbell appears in all of the 1988, 1989 and 1990 Avondale High School yearbooks. She finished her Master of Arts in Teaching in Reading while I had her as a teacher. She is not in the 1991 yearbook; I believe I can recall hearing at the time that she had moved to another district. Most of the rest of her career is chronicled in the two articles below that announce her hiring as the superintendent of Romeo Community Schools in 2009, and her retirement in 2015.
Candice Williams / The Detroit News, 16 November 2009: Superintendent takes over Romeo schools amid school board recall Romeo -- The superintendent of Romeo Community Schools is taking the reins amid multiple challenges, including a potential $127-per-pupil statewide funding cut and a recall campaign against three school board members. But for now, Nancy J. Campbell is in learning mode as she attends community events, visits school buildings and holds one-on-one meetings. It seems like a good match, she said. "When I was offered the position, it felt right to me," she said. "I got a feeling that the skills that I could bring to the table, it would be a nice fit." Campbell, 60, was chosen this fall to replace Joseph Beck, who is retiring this month after a 38-year career with the district. Campbell, who has worked her way up the education ranks since starting as a teacher in 1970, was most recently deputy superintendent of the Berkley School District. Campbell said one of her first goals is to bring additional staffing into the district's central office. The district lacks curriculum and human resource directors. She's hoping to have a plan in place to fill those positions soon. She also is preparing to guide the 5,500-student district through funding cuts facing districts throughout Michigan. A recall effort also is looming against three board members targeted in part for their support for potential privatization of some district services. The privatization issue never came to pass because of union concessions, but the recall language was approved earlier this month. As the district's superintendent, Campbell said that she must remain above the issue. "I understand that it's got to run its course, and it will," she said of the recall effort. Denise Drobek, who has three children in the school district, said she got to meet Campbell briefly earlier this week and could feel her enthusiasm. Drobek was among a group of parents upset about the closing of Croswell Elementary to save money last spring. "Hopefully, she'll have a lot of ideas to get the district back on track," she said. Jeanne Lerchen, a board member for the Romeo Foundation for Educational Excellence, said she hopes that as a woman, Campbell will bring "an extra nurturing aspect" to the job. "It's been a long time since we've had a superintendent really involved in public relations. I think Dr. Campbell is going to bring that to our district." Campbell, who lives in Rochester Hills with her husband Steve, said she plans to stay there with her family. She said she plans to be visible in the Romeo community by attending evening and weekend events. "I believe that's the job of the superintendent, to be the face of the district," she said. "I want people to know this face and be able to approach me."
The Oakland Press, 1 October 2014: Romeo Schools: Campbell announces retirement. Romeo Community Schools superintendent Nancy Campbell will step down when her contract expires June 15, 2015. Campbell made the announcement during the RCS Board of Education meeting Sept. 8 while discussing her annual evaluation. Campbell took over as superintendent Nov. 2, 2009. She said she made the decision to retire for no other reason than her age. She turned 65 in September. “It is not because I am spent or I am tired; it is just time,” she said. “I want to spend more time with my husband and grandchildren. I turned 65 and it is time to start enjoying more time with my family.” Board President Ed Sosnoski said the search for a new superintendent will begin immediately and will consider candidates inside and outside of the district. No deadline was specified to have a new superintendent in place. “Dr. Campbell has done an effective job managing the district of Romeo Community Schools,” he said during the meeting. Sosnoski revealed that Campbell had received a rating of “effective” under the Michigan Association of School Boards’ rating system. That rating is just below their best mark of “highly effective.” One of the many initiatives Superintendent Nancy Campbell worked on during her tenure in Romeo Community Schools was a Sister School Agreement and Agreement of Cooperation for a new type of school to be built in Qingzhen City, China Campbell said she is proud of what she has accomplished in her time as superintendent, most notably helping to pass the $16.4 million technology bond in 2012. But she readily admits there is much more to do in the next nine months. She said she is looking to get the athletics bond passed in the upcoming November election. If approved, it would be [the] third bond passed during her tenure to go along with the technology bond and a transportation bond passed last year. The proposed $7 million “no increase” bond was approved at a special meeting in March and would be used for the complete renovation of Barnabo Field and minor renovations at Romeo High School. Campbell said she looks forward to what could be a new-look school board as three seats are up for election in November, as well as continuing to integrate new technology devices into district schools and curriculum. “There is a lot to do before the end of this school year and I want to get as much done as I can before I leave,” said Campbell. Before coming to Romeo, she had worked her way up through administrative positions over the course of her career. Campbell began as a history and English teacher at Avondale High School in Rochester before moving on to become a middle school teacher in the Lamphere Public Schools district in Oakland County. She was the deputy superintendent in the Berkeley School District in Oak Park for 10 years before making her way to Romeo. “I have really enjoyed being superintendent here,” she said. “I have enjoyed seeing the district grow, and the new technology being put in place will be great for the future of Romeo.” Campbell said she will remain involved and advise the board on the choice of her successor.
As far as I can tell, Nancy and Steve Campbell still live in Rochester Hills, Michigan. I hope they are enjoying their retirement with their family. Mrs. Campbell was a fun teacher who helped us all get through a difficult time by not taking everything so seriously. We would benefit from taking a leaf from her book.
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