The start of a new school year is scattered and quite full as we begin the fall with a bang on multiple campuses.
We gave Savannah a few options for her start to middle-school. She was at WES for 3 years and had made a solid, core group of friends- super strong connections! All of them were headed to the zoned school of Greylock regional, grades 7-12. Going to Greylock wither friends would mean we would have to drive her, school choice does not provide a bus. It would mean she could not do all the things because of the commute and our schedules, her options to get involved would be limited. If she chose to go to the school we were now zoned for, she would be walking distance to Miss Halls and could do alllll the things- go for it! Join every club, try out for the plays, do all the sports.
Y'all already know, Savvy chose her friends lol. It is hard. And she is so happy. And never complains, because she understands with this choice, her options are limited. We have been super grateful as some of her friends' families have helped us with transportation when possible. But it is different every day. We literally have a Team Smith meeting every morning at 6:30am. By 6:30a, Savvy and I are dressed and ready to go, Matt and Cass are just waking up. At 6:30a, we gather round the dining room table. Cass is yawning, wiping sleep from her eyes, Matt is cozily robed, maybe sipping coffee. All calendars are open, phones ready. And we plan who is going where, who is picking up who, who has what activity, where is Porkchop going?, what is the dinner plan? Once the plan is solidified, one of us sends a group family text. Then, Savvy and I say our goodbyes as we slip out the door, trying to beat the school bus traffic as we head north on our 45 minute commute to her school, then another 15 minutes for me to work.
Savvy has been able to mostly keep up with her soccer team, and has had to miss a few practices and games. Our mantra, "We can do anything, but we can't do everything", remains written on a chalkboard, framed in light blue, hanging on the wall. The chalk has began to fade, the words are stronger than ever.
Savvy was able to join two clubs whose mtg times fit in our schedule and she'll try out for the musical after winter break. I'm not even going to think about how that schedule might need to be puzzled together. But, we'll make it work.
Matt and Cass started at Miss Halls for year 2!
For Matt, work began hard. His supervisor left, several colleagues left, and he was left to cobble together a new on-call duty schedule and rotation. Y'all may recall, MHS made national headlines last year when a teacher who had been there for several decades was let go after several alums publicly shared their stories of abuse. That horrific news did not deter people and enrollment is up, past projections this year. There are more kids, more work, and less people to do that work. And the work did not end, there was a resistance to say no with a call to keep doing all the things. Sound familiar?
Just observing it, and being on the receiving end of his stress, I can say his wellbeing is not at a 100%. To the point where I encouraged him to quit, happy to go into debt to keep Cass at her school. Whether higher ed or K-12, what I have experienced is that we (administrators and decision makers) will harm our employees and sacrifice everyone's wellbeing in the name of serving and supporting the students. However, this logic is flawed. Our students pick up on the stress and energy too, and if we aren't our best, we can make mistakes too.
His colleagues don't witness the physical manifestations of his stress- the irritability, the headaches, the low appetite. He holds it together at work, and comes home and collapses. There were some particularly hard days where his people could not ignore or explain away the toll work was having and they have had some conversations that he would call productive about meaningful changes in expectations. So, he is hanging in. I personally haven't seen action steps yet, so I'm more skeptical! With the kids, it's mama bear, with my spouse, it's like Wolverine Wifey, so I'm watching carefully and my claws are retracted, but there remains a sharp awareness ready to engage if his mental health does not improve.
Cass continues to thrive. The structure and rigor at MHS are her cup of tea. The freedom in the curriculum means her brain is being challenged and empowered through readings and exposure to a diversity of scholars and authors that is just impossible within the confines of the local public school district. She has friends! She tried out and made varsity volleyball second year in a row. She is co-head of the Read Club, getting to select books for the library. She got her first college recruitment mailer!!! For a school she is not going to apply for, but looking at her personalized postcard in the mail, all I could think was, ok, here we go!
Speaking of college, for me...At MCLA, classes start the Wednesday after Labor Day, but our staff is working hard early August. So much work to get ready to welcome new and returning students! We try to add moments of joy and fun to the mix, but I'd be lying if I didn't say by the time classes actually begin, we are exhausted! Encouraging folx to pace themselves, and take breaks and time is easier said than done. There is a strong historical pull to work long days, nights, and weekends. The problem, is that practice has in partially built the toxic, unsustainable work environment of highered. Pushing back against it is slow, but we're making progress. Being clear with saying no and leaning in to doing fewer things really well without fear of retaliation or exclusion has been a goal. If we had the budget and the numbers, I would love to do the model where you have staff who rotate over 24 hours for duty and on call. It's good to have goals!
The summertime projects that remain unfinished eek their way in through the weeks, settling into a low, constant hum in the background of the day to day.
We are a small campus- which I LOVE. With so many groups of students returning before orientation (student athletes, RAs, workers, peer mentors, etc) close to half of our residents are already on campus by midAugust! Then everyone else is back and the energy is high with the promise of a new year, new opportunities to learn and grow. It's kind of awesome.
And it's year 4 of teaching Student Development Theory for a graduate program at Saint Martins University. With a few updates to my curriculum and the addition of some recent events via various media streams, conversation is flowing, debate and challenging is happening, and my students are doing well!
And a few of the photos above are from the kick-off party for R.O.P.E.! It was a fun evening to re-connect with everyone and cheer our students on as they begin the new academic year :-)
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