We so often hear the words “Students First” when it comes to education, but how often do those using the phrase in some speech to a room full of parents at a board meeting, or at a “Coffee with [insert Administrator’s name]” event, actually put students first? The answer, for those of you in education—or even if you aren’t—is that those who say it often are also the ones who are simply using the phrase as lip service, regardless as to whether or not they actually mean it. Even though we all know that many in education (usually those on the top rungs of the administrative ladder) overuse the words, we also know that their actions rarely—if ever—put those first that they claim they are putting first.
But like anything, there are many people behind the scenes who do not need to go around stating that students come first because their actions do all of the talking for them. They do not send out “All Users” emails mentioning their accomplishments as they do not search for validation from others for their actions—such is the case of Carol.
For the last 33 years, Carol has worked for an inner-city school district helping students and families in the community. Her official title—which is the same now as when she first started—is School Community Relations Assistant. Though she helps families throughout the entire year, during November and December she works with a local church, and anyone else who has the means to assist her, in order to help out even more than she already does.
On any given day, she works with a number of families and institutions to help improve the lives of those in the community. Though everyday is different, the majority of her time is spent working with the Department of Social Services, the Department of Child Services, and homeless shelters. She does a number of referrals, be they section 8 housing, clinical, or vision for a student that has difficulty seeing, but the family simply cannot afford a pair of glasses. “I’m working with a little girl right now who has really bad eyesight; I’ve referred her out and she’s getting new glasses—free of charge—next week.” It is because of her connections that she has made throughout the years that she is able to help someone in such a short amount of time.
Carol works in a district where there is no shortage of homeless families; these are families that are always in search of an affordable place to live. “I work with families that are homeless; I put them into a wrap-around services program that helps them to find a home to live in. We have a program that helps them by paying half of the rent for a certain period of time (up to eighteen months) until they can get back on their feet.”
She also works with the Independent Living Program (ILP), which is a program that assists foster kids once they graduate from high school. “ILP helps out foster kids who graduate from our school to help them find an apartment and a job; they’ll also help them with their rent and furnish their apartment as long as they are in school working towards a degree, or have a job.”
For the last thirty years, in the month of November, she puts together (with the help of students, teachers, parents, and anyone else willing to give their time) a holiday basket for families that couldn’t otherwise afford a Thanksgiving dinner. This year she received 150 turkeys from a local church, and another 16 from the office of Hilda Solis. The rest of the basket is filled with the sides that go along with a Thanksgiving dinner such as potatoes, cranberry sauce, and stuffing. She modestly refers to these donations as, “Just a little bit of help.”
For Christmas each year, she runs the “Adopt A Family” program. This is when different people in the district will bring gifts to a family in need. “We can either have them meet them at their office, or meet here at my office to exchange the gifts.” If a person chooses to remain anonymous, then they can drop the gifts off at her office; the family will come and pick up the gifts that were donated by the anonymous person.
Though there are some administrators and many teachers that offer their help for these events, they are always the people in the district that have known her for a number of years. What’s most shocking, or maybe not if you have been in the system long enough, is that for the over thirty years that she has been running these two programs, not one superintendent or assistant superintendent has stopped by to lend a hand, donated to the cause, or even gave little bit of time to help give the baskets out to needy families; that’s right, zero. Not even so much as an email to say thank you for helping out the students and families in the community that administration always claim that they are putting first. Even the most current principal has yet to come by the office just to see what it is that she does, “I don’t even think he knows what I do.” She often has trouble getting a simple response when she sends an email to the principal, or any administrator for that matter, and the only way to get anything done is to make a personal visit.
The most frustrating thing that Carol has to deal with is the lack of administrative support: “They don’t let me do my job.” One thing that really upsets her is that, “They’re dividing our families.” She is now only allowed to work with high-school students because that is where her office is officially located. This directive comes from the head of Student Services over at the district office who didn’t even know the meaning of ILP. She is only allowed to help out high-school students, but not allowed to help out middle school or elementary-school students, even if they are part of the same family. She used to be able to help families regardless of the grade level of the students in the entire district, but now she’s only allowed to help those at the school site. “I can only work with the high-school students. I cannot work with the siblings of the family that go to the elementary or middle school.” But if you haven’t yet figured it out, she always finds a way to help out the siblings regardless of their grade level.
In the end, irrespective of who is in charge, what matters to her the most is that she has been able to help students and families in this district for over thirty years. “I’ve been through superintendents, principals, vice principals, but in the end, I’ve helped a family, and they’re going to be okay.”