Thanks to you, we made it over the hump. When our last schools reporter moved on, I put out a call, through this column, for readers to fill in as the "News & Notes" columnist on the School Days page. It was part of our stopgap schools coverage until we could find a new schools reporter, who normally does that column.

Since the first guest columnist on Aug. 6, 16 of you have answered the call for help. The guest columnist this week (Jack Morton, publications coordinator at Ravenscroft School) is our last. Our new schools reporter, Kinea White, began work this week and she will take over the column starting next week.

Thank you, thank you, for your help.

I've enjoyed reading the guest columns -- they offered us a variety of perspectives we ordinarily would not have had. We've had a view from the top (Wake Schools Superintendent Bill McNeal took a turn, as did school board member Kathryn Watson Quigg and Wake County PTA Council president Virginia Parker). Truthfully, though, the columns from ordinary parents have been the most interesting to me because I could relate so closely to the experiences they wrote about -- sitting in carpool lines and struggling over which kindergarten to choose, for example.

As for overall schools coverage, I think we've managed to do a decent job, but it will be good -- make that great -- to have Kinea on board. You can reach her at 836-4952 or kinea.white@newsobserver. com if you have a story idea.

By the way, this does not mean an end to guest columns in the North Raleigh News. We will continue to publish them whenever we can. For instance, we have been publishing guest columns on this page on every fifth Friday of the month. (That's when we run out of rotating features).

December is another of those five-Friday months. If you have an idea, please let me know.