Ms. McCann is a teacher and the Director of Student Engagement; because of this, her day is different from that of other teachers, and today we are going to learn about her day and life.
Ms. McCann usually spends the morning meeting with teachers, filling PBIS orders for teachers and students, or catching up on previous or recent emails, so “it really depends on the morning.” When Ms. McCann plans her day at school, “every single day is so different; the one consistency is fourth hour, and in fifth hour we have leadership class. That’s a daily thing.” The topic changes each day as well. What she does do is sign permission forms for field trips and write events and PBIS orders in her calendar.
When she is in class, the hardest thing she has to do is figure out how to get every student involved. “I think there are times where I have tasks that are good for maybe three to four kids, so it is like trying to figure out how to delegate other roles to the other students so that everyone is involved and has something to do. I think that can be tricky on some days,” but she finds ways to delegate roles to the other students. This is something she never struggles with. In fact, she gets most of her ideas from the students, who brainstorm the plan. “Some of it is using online resources, such as Pinterest, or seeing what other schools have done in the past and taking some ideas from them, and some of it is the brilliance of our students, who come up with good ideas,” according to Ms. McCann.
The most important thing she has to do in school is build relationships with students so they have someone to talk to. “I was telling our head of school the other day that I feel confident that I can name 99.9% of the kids at this school, which I think goes to show that I try to build those relationships, and I think that’s important, so they have an adult to talk to and they don’t feel scared to ask for their PBIS prizes or to ask for help. I think that’s really important.” Ms. McCann’s most difficult responsibility as Director of Student Engagement is balancing projects, mainly because she has to plan things out and multitask so that she can get them completed. “Right now, it’s May, and we are already thinking about the Thanksgiving gratitude gathering, so it’s a lot of long-term planning, which is new for me.”
When she stays after school, she works on events, like coaching volleyball in the spring. “They really fly by, but they’re games sometimes in the lead, but sometimes after work is just a good time when it’s quiet and I can finally check some things off my to-do list, so occasionally it will be good.” The toughest thing she does at work is similar to the most difficult thing about being the Director of Student Engagement. She needs to balance and organize her work so she can get it done. “Just trying to keep my brain organized, I’d say that’s the toughest thing.” If you come to school next time, or if it’s your last day, Ms. McCann is the one behind most of the work at school.
