Can changes made far from the classroom in a district impact the classroom? Can a student feel the difference when you make changes to operations that only impact the adults in the room?

I hope so and believe so. As a school administrator, I believe the work we do at the district level does impact students.

How? If we can make the day-to-day life of teachers and staff more manageable by improving their more mundane tasks (e.g payroll reporting, attendance-taking) it will be one less stressor for them. My hope is that relieving teachers and staff of these kinds of concerns will improve their everyday experience. Happier teachers=happier students. I will argue if all staff supporting teachers approach their work this way, kids win. Small incremental change can be as powerful as large-scale overhaul efforts.