K-8 School Administrative Assistant

Earlier this year I covered for Jeanne, one of our K-8 admin assistants, in the morning while students and staff arrived to school.  Last week I covered for our other K-8 admin assistant, Tracy, and I got to see the other side of the day.  I was scheduled from 3:00 – 4:00, smack dab in the middle of dismissal.

There was a lot more action in the office this time around.  Sure, there were a few stretches of 3 minutes at a time when there was a lull, but it was busy.  If my memory serves me correctly, we had:

– 9 phone calls

– 3 radio calls to the bus

– 1 radio call to another staff member

– 3 students came in to make a phone call

– 1 student came in to get their phone

– 1 student picked up a message left for them by their parent

– 1 student came in to ask if they could have some dry pants because their pants were soaked from their field trip to the beach

– 5 messages were sent to students in classrooms because of a change in plans at the end of the day

I didn’t have a problem when one of these 24 events occurred in isolation, but when I had to carry on a conversation on the radio and answer the phone while a student was asking me a question…well, that’s when my wires got crossed.  All I had to do is give Jeanne a look of “help!” and she jumped right in to save the day.

As busy as it was, it was so fun to see students, staff, and parents at the end of the day.  It was a very satisfying job when I was able to help someone, solve a problem, or coordinate communication.

Maintenance Supervisor, Maintenance Worker, Groundskeeper

Our maintenance department consists of four people – Otto, our maintenance supervisor, maintenance workers Kyle and Paulo, and Kiva, our groundskeeper.  We all agreed that rather than coming in an hour here and there, that I would just come in on one day and work with them from 5:30 to 9:30 in the morning.  After all, it probably wouldn’t be the best idea to work for them as I’m not the most handy guy in the world.

I rolled out of bed at 5:15 am, dragged myself to the coffee maker at 5:20, and stumbled to the car at 5:25.  At 5:30 I checked into the maintenance office ready to go.  When I arrived, Otto and Paulo were on their Ipads checking to see if any new work orders had come in the prior day.  We use a system called Schooldude where staff members can request a work order online.  The department has probably completed over 1,000 work orders this year, and that might be conservative given the fact that many jobs still aren’t processed through Schooldude.

I was assigned to work the first couple of hours with Paulo.  We covered a lot together.  First we checked the heat and fuel tanks at the K-8 School and the high school.  Next we removed from graffiti from a wall at the high school.  After that we fixed a door that was closing too quickly (a finger pinching hazard) by adjusting the thing-a-ma-bobber on the top of the door that allows it to close with more resistance.  Finally, we ran a new wire in a Community High School classroom to a projector.  I learned a lot in a couple of hours with Paulo.  So much of their job is figuring out how things work on the fly.  This job takes a lot of initiative and trial and error.

For the next hour I worked with Otto.  We conducted monthly classroom safety inspections.  We checked the fire extinguishers, made sure anything with a height over 4 feet off the ground was anchored to the wall, and noted electrical cords and power strips.  Otto had done this so much that he was able to give classrooms a quick scan for compliance.

My final hour was with Kiva, our groundskeeper, and this was definitely my favorite part.  I got to mow the soccer field!  It was a beautiful morning with clear ocean views.  Kiva taught me the ins and outs of our brand new mower, and I was off.  It was hard to keep straight for the first few minutes, but then I took Kiva’s advice and found that it was easier to steer if I was going fast.  Mowing a huge soccer field gives you plenty of time to think…which can be good and bad.  That day it was mostly good because after half of my turns I had a commanding view of the ocean.  My lines weren’t exactly straight, but I got the job done.

K-3 Classroom Teacher and K-3 Instructional Assistant

There has been a lot of talk in our district lately of the pros and cons of keeping a K-3 elementary school open for 4 students.  We are facing low projected enrollment at the Albion School for next year.  The meetings and discussions with parents, staff, and community members have been interesting.  There are so many different opinions – which is a good thing, but a challenging good thing.

I covered for Suzanne, the classroom teacher, and Jessica, the instructional assistant at the Albion School last week.  Jessica planned to stay the entire time I was there, but at least she was able to get a good break in.  When I got there, I learned that 4 students were absent that day which meant there would be 4 present.  I was excited to get a sense of the school day with 4 students!

I got there in time for recess so I went outside to play some basketball and some swinging.  The students were eager to play and very outgoing.  I had a great time just making conversation with them.  It was soon time for lunch and Jessica took charge serving the meals.  She read a chapter from Harry Potter as the students ate.  Soon they all went into their library to read more while I did the dishes.

My final job of the day was to do an activity outside for PE.  I took a poll and they wanted to play basketball, so naturally it was a four on one game.  We had an energetic, fun game with a few new rules that we added.  I think the final score was something like 46-42, but I can’t remember who won.

I enjoyed my day in Albion.  The kids love their school; that was clear to me.  It felt empty at times, a little too quiet for me, but that’s probably just because I am used to a little more activity with more children in a school and classroom.  Educationally, I believe an enrollment of 4 in a school is small for quality discussions, collaborative learning, and social development.  I would like to see a minimum of 12-14 students.

In May, the school board met to make a decision for next year.  I recommended that we close the school until enrollment increases, but the school board voted 3-2 to keep the school open.  At this point I would still recommend closing the school with 4-5 children in such a wide grade span, but I understand the decision and I am hopeful for increased enrollment and long term sustainability in the future.

High School Special Education Teacher

Meghan is one of our high school special education teachers and I was asked to cover for her recently on a Friday afternoon.  She had a unique plan for me.  I wasn’t going to be working with students at all during my hour of coverage.  Instead I was going to be going to three different businesses in Mendocino to gather student employment timecards and deliver a thank you note from Meghan to the businesses for their involvement in our workability program, of which Meghan serves as the coordinator.

Workability is a program that gives students an opportunity for real world working experience.  We work with businesses to provide these real workplace experiences to our students receiving special education services.  It’s a collaboration that we value very much, in fact we hope to continue to expand the workability program as well as to provide more apprenticeships/interns for all students as they matriculate through high school and explore career options.

That day I visited the Community Center of Mendocino, Coast Real Estate, and the Gallery Bookshop.  I enjoyed visiting with the businesses and it motivated me to do that kind of thing more often.  It has been a goal of mine to just get out and introduce myself to local business owners to discuss ways we can work together.  I would like to find out what skills they are looking for in their workers (especially if they are hiring school-aged students) and whether they have an interest in employing students or being a guest speaker in our classrooms.

Cook Manager

I was asked to cover for Diane, our head cook in the school district, but thankfully I was asked to make a batch of mashed potatoes or enchiladas for 200.  My job that day was to run the computer at the point of sale and then monitor the lunchroom.  We have a new system for tracking meals and meal payments called Mealtime.  Diane uses a touchscreen computer and a keypad for PIN numbers to check students in each day.  The system will accurately account for deposits and payments.

I loved this job.  I got to greet the students as they came into the cafeteria, put some names with some faces I didn’t know that well, and chat with students after they were all checked in.

Afterwards, under the direction of the student workers in the kitchen, I helped bring items in from the salad bar and serving stations.  I was impressed with the efficiency, affable demeanor, and care the cooks put into this job as well as the students who helped in the kitchen.

Whether it’s in the garden or in the kitchen, Diane and her staff put in so much extra time and are always trying new ideas and recipes to meet the diverse demands of our students’ palates.  My own kids are a bit picky at the dinner table and I can’t imagine multiplying that pickiness by 200!  Diane served on the wellness committee this year and we conducted a cafeteria survey for parents, staff, and students and received some valuable feedback.  We acknowledge the difficulty in finding a balance between using high quality, organic foods and keeping the cost of the meal affordable.  We are planning to visit other school cafeterias next fall to get some new ideas.

Preschool Teaching Assistant

I finally got a chance to cover for Lacey, our preschool teaching assistant at the Greenwood Preschool.  We had it scheduled for a couple of months earlier, but school was cancelled that day because of river flooding.  I would be working with Julianne, our preschool teacher.

I arrived at 11:30 and I went outside to play with the children until 12:00 when their parents would pick them up.  I was dressed to play outside in the dirt with them, but I wasn’t dressed for the weather.  It was a cold, damp day and the wind was whipping!  The weather didn’t seem to bother the students though – they were on the swings, in the sandbox, and busy playing tag.  I made myself useful as a pusher for the swings and a construction manager for a sandbox village.  The students were so welcoming and eager to play with me.

Soon it was time for lunch and I was asked to read a book about trucks and construction equipment while they ate.  Parents arrived to pick up their children around 12:00 and my duties switched to clean up.  I helped pick up the toys on the playground, tidied the classroom, and did the dishes from the day in the kitchen.    Cleaning up at the end of each day is a big job in a preschool!

Middle School Cooking

Mimi, our middle school math teacher asked me to cover for her.  I had always enjoyed math as a student and when she asked I began to review some algorithms and formulas from back in the day.  You know, the Pythagorean Theorem, volume of a cylinder, area of a triangle, quadratic formula…that’s when her next sentence caught me a bit off guard.  She was asking me to cover her elective cooking class, not her math class.  She said I could make whatever I wanted with the students.

Okay, I had to regroup…I thought of all of the culinary delights of which I considered myself an expert – toast?  Ramen noodles? Over-medium eggs?  Hmmmm….then I received a request from a student saying we should make cupcakes.  I had never made them before, but it couldn’t be that difficult.  I googled a cupcake recipe, printed it out, and bought the ingredients.  I was ready.

The 12 or so students filed into the student kitchen and I actually received some cheers when I told them we were making cupcakes – a success already!  They wanted to split up into teams and do a cupcake war.  Always up for a competition, I agreed and placed the recipes on the table.  “Go!” I said, and they scattered about gathering supplies and began to strategize.

I circulated among the groups, offering advice where I could.  The oven was a bit testy (always good for me to experience using this old equipment we have), but we finally got the muffin pans into the oven and cleaned up.  Unfortunately, we ran out of time and the bell rang at the end of the day.  Students asked if I could save some cupcakes for them on Monday and let me know how they turned out.

Well, we made 24 cupcakes that day, but only two survived.  I learned something new that day.  When you make cupcakes, don’t overfill the cupcake papers with batter.  Also, it is a good idea to grease the pan.  As they baked, the batter overflowed onto the top of the pan and it stuck there.  I tried to salvage  the cupcakes, but most of them crumbled apart when I had to take a spatula to scrape them off the top of the pan.  We actually had a lot of edible cupcake stumps.  I saved a few and wrapped them for Monday.

I met with the class the next week to report on the cupcake fiasco.  They were a little disappointed, but it made for a good story and a great learning experience!

Middle School Health Teacher

Predictably, I have fallen behind on blogging after covering for employees.  It’s a lazy Sunday morning, perfect for catching up.  I covered for Laura, our PE and health teacher in April at the K-8 School.  The first thing you will notice when you walk through the door is that Laura’s room is filled with stability balls as chairs for the students.  Of course, students can opt to use chairs, but using stability balls is a growing movement in classrooms across the country.  Proponents of stability balls claim that students are better focused, have better posture, and use of the balls engage both sides of the brain.  I first experienced classrooms full of stability balls when I was a principal in Vermont, and I quickly learned that teaching students how to use the balls was the key to success.  After five minutes in Laura’s classroom I saw that Laura had done a great job with that.  The students were using them appropriately and were ready to learn.

The lesson today focused using body ratios and proportions in relation to growth.  Students paired up and measured their height and wingspans.  Typically, a person’s wingspan is the same as their height.  You can use these measurements to predict future growth.  Students also used a string that was cut to their height and wrapped it around their head.  Students predicted how many times it would wrap around their head and then found the ratio, which is typically 1:3.  This can also be used to predict growth.

This was a fun lesson that had a little of everything – measurement, fractions, rations, predicting, graphing, collaboration, discussion, writing…I love to see these lessons that integrate many subjects and concepts.  Most importantly, the students enjoyed the lesson and were engaged.

MHS Multimedia Teacher

I was offered a unique opportunity to use my hour of coverage for Marshall, our multimedia, radio, and music production class teacher.  He asked if I would come and run the lights for the Mendocino High School Improv Club show at the Matheson Performing Arts Center on campus.  I wouldn’t be on my own – he would be there to help me run the light board.

I arrived the day of the show with my two kids in tow.  Marshall was kind enough to have lanyards and name tags already made for us.  They read, “MHS Multimedia Arts Program KAKX 89.3 FM, “Live by Learning, Learn by Doing.”  I got a quick introduction to the light board and was told that I would be doing the second half of the show.  My job the first half was to watch the two students running the lights so I could get a glimpse of what my responsibilities would be. The two students running the lights were very gracious and took a lot of time to answer my questions and teach me the ins and outs of the light system.

The first half of the show went by in a flash and soon it was my turn to take the reins.  I put on my earphones and sat on the stool behind the board.  My earphones were connected to Marshall and the other student doing the lights.  I had one ear covered by the earphones plugged in to what Marshall was saying and the other ear was uncovered.  Yes, you could say I was starting to look the part.

This wasn’t a typical light show where the scenes were all scripted and it would be clear when to dim the lights and bring them back on.  This was improv, where even the lights would be done on the fly.  My job was to have my finger on the dimmer and be looking at Doug, the director of the show for his hand signal to cut the lights.  Each act is different and Doug listened intently to the performers to determine the best time to cut the act (and the lights).  When Doug waved his arm in a downward motion I needed to cut the lights.  For this reason I couldn’t really pay attention to the show; I needed to be ready at a moment’s notice.  It really helped to have Marshall in one ear keeping me alert and ready.

I loved being a part of the multimedia team.  I have never acted in a play, been a stagehand, or been a techie for a performance.  First of all, I couldn’t imagine being on a stage, but even more so on a stage doing improv with no real lines to say.  Running the light board is an opportunity for a student to be a part of a team during a performance without having the lights shining on them.  I am really glad our students have this opportunity and I am glad Marshall invited me to be a part of the team.  Here is a picture of what I think is an awesome high school multimedia.

Preschool Teacher

Not in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would be a preschool teacher, even for one hour!  But it happened last Friday.  I subbed for Julianne, our preschool teacher for the last hour of the day.  Julianne told me the plan was to be outside so I dressed for the weather.  Although very overcast and cold, I was glad it didn’t rain.

I introduced myself to the students when I arrived and they didn’t miss a beat.  They took me in as one of their own and included me in all of the outdoor activities that day.  I worked fast – in 30 minutes, I helped make a mud and leaf soup, loaded a wagon with various tools and containers and toted it around the playground, overturned logs in search of worms, slugs, and spiders, played on the swings, lined up dinosaurs in the sandbox from biggest to smallest, and filled watering can with water.

A routine for the students is critical at any level, but especially in preschool.  The students knew their routines for getting their outdoor clothes on, brushing their feet with a brush before going back inside, using the bathroom, and gathering around the table for lunch.

I was asked to read a couple of books to the students while they ate and happily obliged.  Parents strolled in and casually left with their children.  It was nice to have the time to check in with the parents.  Once the students left it was time for dish washing and general clean up.

The plan is to return in one week to the Greenwood Preschool to cover for the teacher assistant.  I am looking forward to seeing my new friends again!