Are You Really My Friend?

One of the most favorite parts of my job as superintendent is when I get a chance to be present to the children of Montpelier Public Schools.  I never envisioned being a superintendent because I thought the role was too far away from the classroom.  Working in MPS affords me the opportunity to be a part of classrooms regularly and I cherish those moments.

This year, I've tried something new: Office Hours.  In trying to increase my presence in the buildings and availability to faculty and staff, I spend one hour per week in each of the buildings.  During that time, anyone - literally anyone - can sit down and spend some time with me.  I've had visitors share ideas, concerns, celebrations, anecdotes, personal stories, professional accomplishments, and ask questions.  From time to time even, I've had students stop by.  It makes me proud when students are walking by a room, see me there and stop in to talk to me.

I've had one student in particular come in to visit me, fairly regularly.  She pulls up a chair, sits right down and starts in on whatever is on her mind.  It is a delight to be able to spend time with her, pretty much once a week for the last several weeks leading into the February vacation.  She has a candor that many children have, is eager to speak to me and peppers me with questions.  When she leaves, I often feel like a better educator having spoken with her.  The innocence and honesty the she approaches the world with is inspiring, and it reminds me why I wanted to be a teacher in the first place.

During the final week before February vacation, I was sitting in the Main Office of the school where this child goes to school, waiting to meet with the principal.  Without knowing I was there, she stopped in to deliver something from her teacher to the office.  When she saw me, she came over and we had a spirited conversation about how I was able to call everyone at 5:51 AM (she was absolutely correct) earlier that week to close school because of the weather.  After explaining the details of the PowerSchool system (our automatic alert system), we moved on to a more important topic: when will there be another snow day?

Once I explained to this student how I decide to close schools, she sat down next to me, looked me right in the eye and asked, "Are you my friend?"  I looked right back at her and said "Yes."  Then she looked away, turned in closer and asked, "No, I mean, are you really my friend?"  "Yes," I said quietly, still looking right at her.  "OK - you're right, you are.  You come to visit us and we talk all the time!"  She hopped off the chair and before I knew it, was heading out of the office and back to class.

It is a gift to be able to serve this child and all the children of MPS.  It is a professional privilege to serve with the tremendous professionals, faculty & staff, of MPS.  It is humbling to be able to work with the leaders and community of the City of Montpelier to ensure high quality education for all students in MPS.  We do our best work by building relationships, one at a time.  I invite you each to find a time to sit with me before the end of this year, and work with me to continue to improve what we do in Montpelier Public Schools.