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Episode 50: Admin. Kickoff

Sup with the Sup
Sup with the Sup
Episode 50: Admin. Kickoff
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Welcome everyone to the next episode of Provo City School District’s What’s Up With The Sup podcast. I am Superintendent Wendy Dau, and welcome back everyone. We are excited for the new school year to start in about 10 days. This past week, district and school leadership were able to spend a couple of days together discussing topics such as new legislation affecting schools, the new district strategic planning process, and our new theme for the year, which is Cultivating Magic.

For the podcast this week, I was able to talk with a few of our principals and district leadership about their excitement for this upcoming school year. 

But as always, we can’t forget about our updates. 

  • The new school year is approaching. The first day of school for students is Tuesday, August 13th.  Please check your school’s website for specific start times.
  • Look for information coming from your individual schools regarding back to school events and other important updates. You can also visit the school’s website and social media handles for more information.
  • The next school board meeting will be a study session and business meeting on Tuesday, August 13th. Study sessions are held in Boardroom 1 at the district office and business meetings take place in the Professional Development Center. Both meetings are open to the public and public comment is welcome at the business meeting.
  • I will continue to send out a weekly videocast for me with information about the work happening throughout the district. This year, these videocasts will be sent out every Monday morning.  

Now, listen in as I visit with some of our school and district administrators. 

Wendy:  I am here with Ryan McCarty. He is the principal at Amelia Earhart Elementary. And we just finished our first day of our leadership kickoff. And I want to know what you’re most excited about for this upcoming school year.

Ryan: Well, I am pumped because we have some new blood in our leadership team, uh, Tina McCulloch and Scott McCauley, and they have brought in some fantastic ideas as we’ve worked together. I think we’ve gelled quickly and we’ve already been able to do some PD with our teachers. We brought them in a little over the summer and there is just some energy and movement to get student learning going. So I’m excited to see the kids come back and implement some of the things that we’re, that we’ve been planning on. 

Wendy: That’s awesome. I’m so excited. You do such a great job with helping your teachers feel so supported at Amelia. So, what, anything else that you want to share with us? What’s one takeaway that you had from today? Maybe that you’re like, okay, this is something we could do. 

Ryan: Well, I like the focus on the destiny. Looking at a destination with the look, a destination location, I believe it was. Yeah. It reminded me of a interview or a, we, we did a little, video a couple years ago where we were talking to parents about things about our school and one thing that really stuck out to me because I’m really passionate about it is a parent who talked about how they had a couple kids that were had very different needs and how they were so glad that they could come to Amelia and have such diverse needs met. One had a lot of behavior struggles and needed extra support with that and she was so happy with what we had in place for that. And another was very high academically and needed to be challenged and enriched. And she was excited about what we had for that. And so she shared that and it was cool because that’s the vision I have. I want it to be a place where a family can come in with a lot of diverse needs and know that we’re going to individualize that for their kids. 

Wendy: That’s awesome. You’re going to definitely make us a destination district. Thanks, Ryan. 

Wendy: I’m here with Cami White. She is going to be an assistant principal at Timpview High School. We just finished our first day of kickoff for our leadership. What are some of your takeaways as a brand new assistant principal, what are you excited about? 

Cami: One, I am just excited that the school year is gonna be kicking off to get back into the school, have the students return, and be there together as a community. And I really do mean tha. The students are I think that’s what makes this job so exciting. And to have the faculty return as well, because we couldn’t do it without them, right? So takeaways from today’s meeting is one, well it leads down from you, the passion that I have, I feel from you. So that goes top down And I know from the faculty in the building at Timpview, they have that passion as well. So it goes both ways, which is great, because I think that is the formula to really make progress and increase the track that Timpview is on, which I think it’s doing a great job, but there’s always room for improvement.  Another thing to take away is just the support from the district that we have.  Like everyone would, no matter whether you’re the superintendent and your school leadership or your admin team or our BLT team we talked to, or I’ve seen some teachers coming into the building already. Everyone wants what’s best from students and we just need to get together and work to make that happen to do better than what we’re already doing, which is good work already, but we want the best. 

Wendy: Exactly right. And I think there’s such an energy when kids and teachers come back. It’s so exciting, right?

Cami: So exciting. I love them. I actually just ran into some past students over the weekend and they just ran up and they’re like, Miss White. And I was like, this is why I love my job. I love every single one of them and I hope they know it. 

Wendy: That’s awesome. Well, welcome. And we’re excited. And I’m glad we haven’t jaded you yet.

Cami: Not yet. And you won’t. 

Wendy: I’m here with Kim Hawkins. She is the principal at Westridge Elementary School. So we’ve just finished our first day of leadership training. Tell us a little bit about what you’re most excited about for the upcoming school year. 

Kim: Well, I think your theme is actually perfect because school is always magical to me every day. And so to have a theme that represents magic and bringing magic into the schools, into kids lives, I am all for that. So this one is really exciting for me. Every day I am just energized to be in classrooms, to be in the school, to be with students. So I cannot wait for the whole experience to begin.

Wendy: That’ll be great. And your office is decorated as Harry Potter, so you’re definitely a magical person yourself. 

Kim: It is. It is magical. 

Wendy: Tell us maybe a takeaway that you had from today that you’re thinking this will really help our staff or this will really help our students. 

Kim: You know, we’ve done a lot of work as a district with PLCs and moving students forward, and I love that we’re continuing that work, um, simplifying that work, making it easier for teachers to affect student learning, and so I’m excited about that simplification and making it seem not as hard to improve student learning. 

Wendy: I agree. Well, thank you so much. I’m excited. Here we go. 

Wendy: I’m here with Lisa Boyce. She is one of our board members here in Provo City School District. And she stayed and attended our kickoff leadership meeting with all of our school and district leaders. So, tell us a little bit about what you’re excited about for this upcoming school year. 

Lisa: Well, first is the energy in the room. I’m a back to school girl. I like sharpened pencils and school supplies and getting my backpack ready. So this felt a little bit like that in the room, but I think I’m most excited about having a clear strategic plan that will drive all of the amazing work that we do that, that will unified in our focused on our students, learning on creating spaces where kids feel safe and everyone has a sense of safety and wellness. And really where we communicate clearly with our community and with each other around what are our resources and how well are we using them and how are we measuring their impact as we inspire these kids. So for me today was really inspiring. There’s a lot of energy in the room. 

Wendy: What would be a takeaway or what would you want to share with them about our leaders here in Provo City School District and our schools?

Lisa: Well, one thing I noticed today as I was just listening and watching people think about like, how do we really use our time as administrators in a building, how is our time still focused on student growth and achievement? And I just, I guess I would want the community to know people are really sharpening the tools they have and ready to use them. Like talking about professional learning communities, talking about, like, systems to support our students with their behaviors, all of that. Like our administrators are getting ready and going to pass that information along and use a set of tools that will really, I hope, elevate how our students can perform and how they feel when they come in a classroom. And also for our teachers to know that the people in the room today. are focused on how to make sure they’re having the supports they need. There’s clarity around where to go when they have a question and there’s a unified direction that we’re going to move. I loved the idea of being a destination district. I want Provo to be where everyone wants to teach and learn. And I really believe it’s happening.

Wendy:  Me too. I am all about it. So thank you. 

Wendy: And I’m here with Assistant Superintendent Jared Sites, who’s over our elementary education program. So, tell us a little bit about what you think is the feel in the room as we’re going into the new school year. 

Jarod: There’s definitely a lot of excitement right now. The opportunity to have more assistant principals and more administrative support in the schools is really an opportunity for us to provide more support to teachers and to be able to navigate and manage all of the ins and outs of a day at the school.

Wendy: What do you think is creating the greatest stress for our principals, because there’s also a lot of stress that’s happening in the room. 

Jarod: You know, having more help is new, and even though the outcome and the opportunity to be more effective and efficient is great, it’s new for people, and just trying to figure out how to delegate responsibilities might add a little bit of stress to an already full plate that sometimes happens at the beginning of the school year. But I think it’s good stress as well. I think people are excited at the opportunities and the chance that we really have to make some change and improve the culture and the outcomes in our schools. 

Wendy: So we had some time for our principals to kind of talk in teams and were there any kind of cool conversations that you overheard of things that they’re going to do at their school that you just want to kind of give a quick shout out to or a highlight of something where it’s like you can really tell that a lot of thought goes into what what our principals are planning for students and teachers.

Jarod: I think every table had a certain level of energy as they’re describing some of the things that they’re going to do. I think Westridge right now stands out to me. Some of the work that they’re going to do with their PBIS program, the efforts to improve collaboration. I think all of us recognize this idea of simplifying this process of collaboration. Westridge, Amelia, others, have all shared really promising ideas that they have to move that along a little bit more. 

Wendy: That’s awesome. Anything else that you noticed over these last two days, if you’ve been interacting with our leaders, that you just want people to know about? Like, I don’t know that people realize how much preparation goes into getting ready for students and teachers to come back.

Jarod: I think so. I think there’s a lot of things that are in motion, but more and more what I see is the excitement. Principals are ready for teachers to come back. They’re getting ready for these back to school activities and then for the community to become more and more engaged. Despite the busy nature of this time of the year, they’re very excited and optimistic. That’s what I love about our principals. 

Wendy: Well, and it’s just an exciting time. Like, I love August, right? Like, this is the time of year that educators love. So there’s just a lot of buzz and energy. 

Jarod: Yeah, it’s just what we do. 

Wendy: Yep. Thank you so much. 

Wendy: I am here with Assistant Superintendent Darrell Jensen. He is our Assistant Superintendent over Secondary Schools. So tell us a little bit about what you feel like the energy has been as we’ve been visiting with our district and school leaders these past couple of days. 

Darrell: Well, Superintendent Dau, that’s a great question. I feel like it’s, you know, referring to your theme this year, how’s the culture in your kingdom? It’s kind of like your first trip to Disneyland. There’s a lot of anticipation, not knowing what to expect. Some schools are getting new buildings. We have a lot of employees in new positions, as you noticed the other day when we had new to the position stand. It’s  50%. 

Wendy: That’s a lot. 

Darrell: So I think there’s a lot of anticipation, a lot of excitement, but also some nervousness of what’s to come in the next couple of weeks. 

Wendy: Yeah. What were some of the conversations that you overheard as principals were talking in their teams that maybe you’d want to share out that you were like, okay, these guys, these guys are ready to roll.

Darrell: A lot of teams have spent time to review data, to review personnel and set goals for the upcoming year. I know one thing that kind of stuck out for me is one of the table talks was Provo High’s got an 80s theme this year. For everything they’re doing, they’re going to do an 80s theme. They have like the Fanny Packs, they have the Tom Cruise glasses, they have all this stuff ready to break out. And their 80s is going to correspond with like, they want to hit 80 percent in their testing, 80 percent in their attendance. You know, that just doesn’t happen overnight. There’s been a lot of time, preparation and effort put into that. 

Wendy: I never really thought the 80s were going to become so vintage, like we are getting old.

Darrell: Yeah, I could probably still have some stuff in my closet to help them out. So, yeah.  

Wendy: The other day we were at Shoreline Middle School’s open house. Tell us a little bit about the energy that was there as kids and families were walking through. 

Darrell: Yeah, I’m going to be honest with you. This is my 29th year in education. I’ve been to quite a few ribbon cuttings, I could say.  I could not believe the community support and the line that was waiting outside that building to come in. It went out down the street and then about 45 minutes to 60 minutes after the ribbon cutting I actually got in my car to go home and I drove through the neighborhood and families were still walking towards the school. So I have never seen that kind of support from a community, which to me is exciting and it really helps the morale and the support for that new building and that new school and a brand new administration. So I think that that’s really important to get the year started off that way. 

Wendy: There’s a lot of, um, a lot of pumped up energy that was happening there. I think, uh, Principal Hirschi said he bought 1600 cookies and they were all gone like an hour in. 

Darrell: So yeah, well, you got to remember who we had guarding the cookies as well, so we don’t know.  

Wendy: We’re not sure where all of those went, maybe.  What do you think principals are the most nervous about as they go into the next school year? What causes them the greatest amount of angst as they open the year? Because I think people don’t realize how much weight is on a principal’s shoulders.

Darrell: Yeah, you know, unless you’ve done it, you don’t understand that weight. It’s a 24-7 gig and I think just the unknown. And the responsibility that they have with not only their adults in the building, but students. You know, these are children of our community and just that responsibility and accountability is a heavy weight to carry. But having said that, I wouldn’t have chose anyone else to lead our schools than the ones we have leading them now. They’re all very dedicated leaders that care about their faculty, staff, and students. So, I think that’s the thing that we don’t understand the weight that they carry. 

Wendy: I agree. And I think one of the things that came out so clearly over these last two days is that their stress comes from wanting to do the very best job that they can for everyone. It’s like pretty impressive. 

Darrell: Right. And you know, compliance sneaks in.

Wendy: It does. 

Darrell: Like it or not, compliance sneaks in and they want to make sure they’re doing it right. And with that comes a level of urgency and anxiety as well because, you know, we don’t want to be the one that doesn’t do it right, right? 

Wendy: That’s right. 

Darrell: Right. I think there’s a level of that no matter what, like I say, it’s, it’s about anticipation and leading up to that event.

Wendy: Well, thank you so much. We’re looking forward to the school year. 

Wendy: Thank you for joining me for this week’s episode of What’s Up with the Sup. As always, all episodes will be posted on the district website, YouTube, and anywhere you get your podcasts. If you have any topics or questions you would like us to discuss on the podcast, please email us at podcast@provo.edu.

Please join me again next week for another all new episode of What’s Up with the Sup. Until then, have a great week, everyone.

Spencer Tuinei
  • Communication Specialist
  • Spencer Tuinei
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