Learning with Leaming

Story by Adam Leaming, Ponca City Public Schools/Contributing Writer

We’ve made it halfway through 2022, and I have almost completed my first year back in the public school system. My first academic year back in the public school system has wrapped up, and I feel it has been a wonderful opportunity to learn and adjust back to this system I started with when I once had hair. Much has changed in the nine years I was gone and some has remained the same. Looking back on this past academic year illustrates a few lessons I picked up over the last nine months.

1) It’s OK to feel lost sometimes; the truth is that no one has all the answers.

It has taken me a long time, and I still struggle with this, but feeling lost has become a sign for “upcoming growth” for me. A few times this year I have found myself aimless. When Bret Smith retired from this role, he took with him decades of experience, pacing and questioning. At times I was not sure how to proceed and where to focus my energy. I found myself second guessing or even wanting to shut down. To stop this, I would ask others for feedback and direction. Let me tell you, asking anyone how you’re doing or how the schools are doing, then buckle up for the feedback you’re about to receive. But looking back, it was during these times that I learned by asking others that it was very clear what should be the next step to take. It felt as if that forward motion sparked a new energy or source to light the direction I needed to be seeking. Today, I find that with our projects in our schools it’s the valuable insight of the individuals around me that allow us to create an end-user product designed to meet the goal of educating students.

2) Communicate!

I struggle with this one. One, when walking into this new organization I knew very few people, let alone when and who to communicate with and about what subjects. I quickly learned the importance of communicating. From upcoming bond projects to broken A/C units, people wanted to know how projects would impact them, their job, their teaching, their students, the processes and procedures which would be interrupted – everything suddenly needed to be communicated. I also quickly learned to communicate in different ways, including in person, on the phone, email, text or even on social media. It does not take long to notice when you have a breakdown in communication. In an organization like this, one minor communication breakdown can have ripple effects across the school district.

3) It’s not all about you!

I have had to step back and look at the big picture several times in this position. In this school district, there are literally 100s of employees making decisions and performing actions that can have a direct impact on the operation of this school. To think that you’re the epicenter of the universe because of position or title would be a fallacy. I like to pay attention to what’s happening around me and explore the best way for people to feel empowered to affect positive change in the school. I like hearing how a team member became empowered to help fix an issue we were facing in the school.

I cannot even begin to say how overwhelmed I am with your support and encouragement to continue writing this monthly “blog.” I want to write about my top 10 moments with PCPS in next month’s edition. July will mark my one year of employment back with PCPS. I hope you have an amazing summer and can enjoy our community with me!