Whew! Another summer of amazing moments watching dedicated classified staff prepare schools for teachers and students in anticipation of the next school year. In my new district, Los Gatos Saratoga Union High School District which consists of two high performing high schools I have often again found myself amazed by the will and skill of classified staff.
Beginning my position as the Director of Instructional Technology, I joined on the last day of school. That was the first time in my tenure as a district leader that I began while so many of our students and some of our teachers/staff were finishing a long educational journey. For many of them, they were winding down and grieving the loss of a chapter. For myself, I was gearing up for a new chapter in my own professional journey.
Those of you that know me, know that I spent that time thinking about the projects that were coming down the pipe that would need a full a team effort to achieve. And so it began, my secret sauce in Leadership is as follows:
Meet the team
Quickly assess skills
Develop and communicate game plan
Jump into the deep end of the pool and have fun
This very small team in Los Gatos Saratoga Union High School District were fully welcoming and had no trouble transitioning to a new style of work very quickly and effectively. We began by tackling projects as a whole team, and then smaller teams of 2 to 3 people pending on the need, the day, the location, and the timeframe.
Throughout the weeks to follow, as some staff took the month of July off, other staff stayed on and in a much smaller group. We continued the daily grind with many moving parts and a lot of flexibility required by all. Our use Voxer for daily “on the fly” “in the moment” “real time” communication helps dramatically. Voxer keeps all the team members abridged of any changes. It’s a great pathway to ask questions in the middle of a job. We have our fair share of funny gifs, decompressing moments with humor, and Real life challenges shared in the department chat. Images, video, and texts allow everybody to be heard and to understand directions in a variety of learning styles.
My biggest discovery through the summer was that regardless of what district I am in, the dedication of the classified staff always exceed my own expectations. They may not be the center stars but they have as much heart and as much investment in students exceeding as teachers and administrators.
Our summer project task list, classroom punch list, and daily support for summer school literally finished at roughly 3 PM on the Friday afternoon before all the teachers were due back. Thank you to the classified staff in Los Gatos Saratoga Union High School District in the technology department- the maintenance department- the business department- the HR department- the superintendents office and school offices.
For many of us, beyond ongoing daily support, after hours support, and weekend needs that we will stretch our capacity to ensure a good experience for our students and teachers: we also gave it 100% all summer long.
So for now, on a Sunday before the Monday of our first professional staff development day we are tired yet ready to begin the school year with the hope that are teachers and students feel like they are fully supported. That’s a wrap……
For many school districts in the Bay Area we are roughly 2 months into the school year. The honeymoon for our students has ended. We figured out our routines and strategies from the moment the day begins until the door closes. If were highly effective teachers, we are protecting our students from an extremely hostile environment. Daily on social media, in the news, and too often now in common interactions we are struggling with a wave of negativity that is rolling across the country. I don’t have a magic bullet. I don’t have any answers. But here’s what I have that I exercise on a daily basis: choice.
makingmakersinedu 