A Day in the Life OF THE HEAD OF SCHOOL
8:15 a.m.
Downstairs for one of my favorite parts of the day—Arrival! It has been so nice seeing families get back in the building for in-classroom drop-offs this spring, and I love starting the day with so many warm hellos—from families and dogs.
8:30 a.m.
My first meeting of the day is with our Director of High School Placement, who has final updates on where our 8th Graders will spend their high school years. I’ve been seeing lots of our soon-to-be-graduates wearing their high school swag around campus, and love how excited they are for this next chapter. Most of them are off to their first-choice schools!
26 | THE MURAL
10:00 a.m.
Every morning includes a meeting with the Educational Council: Dean of Students Ruben Parra, Academic Dean Jessica Romero, and Dean of Faculty (and VCS parent) Sarah Williamson-Broadman. These three have a combined 60 years of experience at VCS; Ruben and Sarah both started their careers here as Kindergarten teachers, while Jessica originally served as the Upper School Director. No one knows everything that’s happening around the school like this group, and I meet with them every day to discuss all school business, from the Lower School Sing-Along to changes to next year’s Social Studies curriculum. On today’s agenda: planning new mixed-grade experiences as we continue our straight-grade homeroom model in K-4th Grade next year.
11:00 a.m.
I take every opportunity to come into classrooms and check out what students are working on—or share something I love with the students. In the fall, I visited K-2nd Grade classes for read-alouds of some of my favorite children’s books, and read Gaia Cornwall’s Jabari Tries to each Kindergarten Pod. Now, I’m making the rounds again with another Jabari story for our youngest students, perfect for the upcoming summer: Jabari Jumps! One of my favorite moments from my time with KA was when students told me about their morning message, which they read together as part of their Morning Meeting routine. Throughout the year, as students become more aware of writing mechanics and rules of reading like punctuation, sight words, and digraphs, they begin to independently apply those rules to the message. It’s wonderful to see the different ways classroom communities connect on a daily basis.
