When the voice on the phone told Principal Nancy Evans that her school had been checked out for a visit by President Barack Obama, she thought it was a joke.

"Honestly, when they said they were calling from the White House, I figured it must be something like 'Candid Camera,' " she laughed.

But it's no joke, and now Evans, the principal of James C. Wright Middle School on Fish Hatchery Road, is in the midst of hectic preparations for the first visit ever by a sitting American president to a Madison public school, scheduled for early afternoon on Wednesday.

White press tents are in place on the school playground in anticipation of the president's visit, and school district workers did some minor maintenance overnight, ensuring that no matter what the weather, the roof won't leak.

When students came to school on Monday morning, most already knew that their small charter school serving 255 sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders had been chosen as the site for a presidential visit. The news was announced Friday, and parents, staff and students were abuzz over the weekend, school psychologist and positive behavior coach Mary Birmingham said.

She noted that there was a brief assembly of all students and staff first thing Monday.

"Ms. Evans met with all of us to talk about what an honor it was for Wright to be chosen of all the schools in Wisconsin for a visit from President Obama," Birmingham said. "So we started out with a cheer and a hip, hip, hurray, and then she talked about what we can expect and what she expects from the students .... It means no cell phones, no backpacks or purses, but students can bring either digital or disposable cameras into the talk by President Obama. They can take all the pictures they want, but no video. And there are certain parts of the school that won't be available as they set things up this week."

The precise schedule for the president's talk to the students and staff has not been announced, but school district spokesman Ken Syke said that the school was not scheduled to stay in session beyond its regular dismissal time of 3:15. Students will eat at their desks with a picnic-type lunch on Wednesday because the gymnasium/cafeteria area will be set up for the president's talk.

"It's over-the-top excitement around here," Birmingham said. "The kids keep saying, 'Really?? The president of the United States is coming to see us?' "

Wright Middle School, named for the Rev. James C. Wright, a Baptist pastor and civil rights pioneer in Madison who died in 1995, opened its doors in 1997. The focus of the school's charter is a social action curriculum.

Recently, Wright students were successful in getting busy Fish Hatchery Road designated as a school zone after they studied traffic speed and patterns and worked with neighborhood and city officials. Students are currently partnering with Edgewood and the Arboretum as part of a Friends of Wingra Creek conservation group, studying and protecting the small creek that runs adjacent to the school. In addition, every student at Wright is required to provide at least one day of community service each year.

"There's an emphasis at Wright that you don't need to look far to make a positive difference in your community, whether it's within the school or your neighborhood," Birmingham explained.

The school's student population is 38 percent black, 37 percent Hispanic, 13 percent white, and 12 percent Asian. More than 85 percent of the school's students are eligible for free and reduced lunch, and 39 percent do not speak English as their first language.

Evans has been principal at the school for 11 years. She said she has no idea how Wright got on the White House radar screen, and the choice seemed to be a surprise to Madison school district officials, too.

Celia Lohr, an eighth-grader at Wright, said she was proud the president had chosen her school.

"It's not a big school, and it's not the most popular school. But it's a good school for the students, and this is such an honor for him to choose us," she said.

Dwy'quan Morris, who is also an eighth-grader, said he was sorry that students and staff weren't able to bring other family members to the talk. He said he and his mother often talked about politics and he is especially sorry he can't take his little brother to the Obama talk at Wright.

"He's three and a half, and he'd probably remember it the rest of his life. For me, I'm going to burn the words in my memory," he said.

But he also said that students would need to settle down quickly after the president, the media circus and the flurry of excitement leave his school following Wednesday's visit.

"On Thursday we have to buckle down and work. We start the WKCE tests," he said. The tests are administered annually in Wisconsin as part of federal No Child Left Behind requirements.

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