After working for two different types of programs for 15 years between the two, both having during the day care facilities and after school programming, I realize that is still my calling.
No matter what they put me through.
I learned hard lessons to be sure, but in truth I learned more about how things can be run and also how to create the perfect team to pull it off.
Watching and observing the managers all those years taught me what NOT to do more than what To do.
First : never have favorites or even show you have a favorite.
No one should have favorites anyways. Sure I had favorite students but I never told them they were or let the others know of this, because I know the consequences of that word. To be a favorite you get special treatment and attention. That’s not how to run a program and definitely not with your team of staff members. You have to be fair to every single person who comes to work for you. You have to respect them as they should respect you.
Now one of my faults with my staff members as I always had was I treated them too friendly ( turned them into friends, which I somewhat regret) (( I love people too much I think)) and it can hurt your leadership if it goes too far. You are supposed to be the cool boss while trying to make sure they respect you enough to not cross you. So I feel I need to work on that a bit once I got back to work, but I can promise you I will not have favorites.
Second: Ignore app communication. And no support.
This was a big one. No matter how I tried to communicate to them, the managers seem to ignore a lot of important communication. Seemed to me they just didn’t care how things were going unless it was severely important.
Most of the communication I sent them was of my lesson plans and my ideas on special events and invitation to those events. Which they never came to.
I was nominated for an awards and was being wrote about in the local newspaper and they still didn’t come. no support. I don’t plan on being that. I will support and be there for as many events as I can for them.
I think those two are the biggest things that I plan on doing better.
To work at a public or private program you need to know a few things. Because from my 15 years of experience has taught me anything, is that staff is expendable. Which sounds harsh I know, but it’s the truth. If they aren’t working well with others, if they aren’t doing their jobs right, or they are treating the kids unfairly, they are expendable.
To have a great team is one in a million. However I think the biggest lesson my old manager forgot is that fairness goes hand in hand with education. You have to train them right in order to get the outcome you want.
When I was promoted it was sink or swim. There was no one there to train you on being a coordinator. Nothing. However I got lucky and had a step down coordinator become one of my first staff members. He helped me a lot. But the managers, they weren’t. In order to get the best results you have to train and put teach them and be there for them endlessly to keep them at their best.
So many people left the program because they couldn’t swim or they learned to swim and then just got tired of it all and sank.
Quitting was the best thing I did in the 8 years I was there, secondary to the kids. I hope my babies are doing well in life. I know some are.
Now onto my future.
Once the kids start school next year I hope to get back to working full time for another program. I won’t go back to the school district, so private is probably the way I’ll head.
I’m even looking now. To read up in, and train my brain on their policies ahead of time. It’s important to know what I’ll be getting into, but the thing I hope for the most is that I will be working with a great team and we all have each other’s backs.
Wish me luck.
The TAWL Mom 