Jacqueline Haas was always congenial but when it came to her students, she was a fighter.
From a controversial overhaul of local high schools to pushing changes to the landmark No Child Left Behind Act for disadvantaged students, friends remembered the Harford County Public Schools Superintendent as a tireless worker. Haas died Tuesday evening after an acute asthma attack at her Aberdeen home.
She was 59.
“I would describe her as child-centered,” said Bob Thomas, a Harford County spokesman who served as vice president of the school board that hired Haas as superintendent in 1998. “She cared about children of all races, backgrounds, it didn’t matter. She wasn’t impressed by wealth or loyalty or anything like that, and she cared that every child succeed.”
An educator for 36 years, Haas spent much of her career working with severely handicapped children, and taught in Harford County schools for 13 years before becoming an assistant principal in 1990. She was promoted to assistant superintendent in 1997, and unanimously voted superintendent one year later.
Last year, the American Association of School Administrators named Haas its 2008 Maryland Superintendent of the Year.
“Jackie Haas was a highly regarded professional who demonstrated incredible leadership in her role as superintendent of Harford County Public Schools,” Maryland Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick said in a statement. “She was extraordinarily talented and I treasured our friendship and professional relationship.”
Haas suffered a similar asthma attack in the late 1980s, severely damaging her lungs, said her husband, James Haas. Since, she suffered from chronic bronchitis that appeared to worsen as she aged.
An average of 81 people died from asthma each year between 2002 and 2006 in Maryland, according to the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. In Maryland, 8.7 percent of adults and 9.2 percent of children have asthma.
Haas appeared to be doing well recently, however, he said.
“She was a loving spouse and a wonderful woman,” said James Haas, a retired Harford County special education teacher. “I can’t say anymore than that.”
In a June 2008 interview with The Examiner, Haas described her passion for working with special education students and her administration’s focus on teacher development. She said she cared not only about student success, but teacher success.
County Executive David Craig, who was an assistant principal at the same time as Haas, said her death will be “a big loss for the system.”
“She was a kindergarten and elementary school teacher, so she had that demeanor where she never really went off,” he said. “So she was very calm and controlled and knew what she wanted to get accomplished. I would say she’s a consensus builder.”
Alysson Krchnavy, a Harford County Board of Education member since August and long-time PTA activist, called Haas a “workaholic.”
“She’s an incredible example of what dedication to public education can do,” Krchnavy said.
In addition to her husband of 26 years, Haas is survived by two sons, Robert and Steven, both of Aberdeen.
A public viewing will be held Saturday from 3 to 5 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m. at Tarring Cargo funeral home, 330 S. Parke St. in Aberdeen. A memorial service will be held Sunday at 4 p.m. at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 201 Mt. Royal Ave. also in Aberdeen.
The Harford County school system is planning a memorial service Jan. 7 at a time and location to be determined.
