Where Everybody Knows Your Name
Do you remember Cheers? It was a popular sitcom on television in the 1980s about the exploits of a retired baseball player-turned bar owner-in Boston and his employees, friends, and customers. While I'm not condoning drinking ina bar, the theme song was entitled, "Where Everybody Knows Your Name." You can listen to the theme here.
I always liked that song. Everyone should have a place to get away--where everybody knows your name. You should feel comfortable and welcomed--where everybody knows your name. You should be able to be yourself-where everybody knows your name. It's a nice idea.
We live near a large grocery store which was built about the time our now teenage daughters were born. Grocery shopping is not one of my favorite activities. I keep going back to that store, however, because people know me there. In fact, one of the employees, Denise, always asks about our daughters and marvels at how much they've changed since they were babies and in the infant carts. I remember one time my parents, who do not live locally, took our daughters to that grocery store. Denise recognized out girls, called them by name and asked, "Jennifer, who are you with today?" Jennifer, in her three year old confidence, said that she and her sister were with their, "Nana and Papa from Wisconsin." The shopping trip finished, and all was well. The next week I saw Denise who told me, "David, I was worried that I didn't recognize who was with your girls. The girls looked happy, but I still asked just to make sure everything was OK." Denise, a grocery store check-out clerk, was making sure our 2 and 3 years old daughters were not with strangers and were safe. The relationship my family has with Denise is why I shop at that store.
Schools are similar. Recently a family stopped at the end of the day to say hello. The children had been all the way through our school and no longer have students here. They were moving to a different state but didn't want to leave without visiting our school secretaries.
School secretaries are amazing people, and I am and have been privileged to work with many, many wonderful examples. School secretaries welcome new familes and help those families navigate all of the necessary paperwork to officially register new students---while graciously answering phones that seem to never stop ringing. School secretaries act as nurses, mechanics, eyeglass repair folks, and computer technicians. School secretaries help keep our schools safe, ensure resources are available for teachers to teach, and maintain accurate paperwork for the countless reports that need to be submitted. School secretaries are often counselors, social workers, and sometimes assistant principals. School secretaries offer smiles, hugs, and even that unmistakable look that says, "You can do better, and I'm going to check on you later." School secretaries listen, share, suggest, and implement. School secretaries are accountants, custodians, moms, dads, and occassionally realtors. School secretaries are constantly looking to learn new ways to be more efficient so they can help our schools be even better.
But more than anything else...school secretaries build relationships. They build relationships with students, teachers, colleagues, and parents. They build relationships with caregivers, grandparents, service providers, and babysitters. Our school secretaries make our school a place, "Where Everyobody Knows Your Name." Those relationships, I know, positively impact student achievement, and I am grateful for all of the school secretaries that make and have made my schools better places to learn.
I always liked that song. Everyone should have a place to get away--where everybody knows your name. You should feel comfortable and welcomed--where everybody knows your name. You should be able to be yourself-where everybody knows your name. It's a nice idea.
We live near a large grocery store which was built about the time our now teenage daughters were born. Grocery shopping is not one of my favorite activities. I keep going back to that store, however, because people know me there. In fact, one of the employees, Denise, always asks about our daughters and marvels at how much they've changed since they were babies and in the infant carts. I remember one time my parents, who do not live locally, took our daughters to that grocery store. Denise recognized out girls, called them by name and asked, "Jennifer, who are you with today?" Jennifer, in her three year old confidence, said that she and her sister were with their, "Nana and Papa from Wisconsin." The shopping trip finished, and all was well. The next week I saw Denise who told me, "David, I was worried that I didn't recognize who was with your girls. The girls looked happy, but I still asked just to make sure everything was OK." Denise, a grocery store check-out clerk, was making sure our 2 and 3 years old daughters were not with strangers and were safe. The relationship my family has with Denise is why I shop at that store.
Schools are similar. Recently a family stopped at the end of the day to say hello. The children had been all the way through our school and no longer have students here. They were moving to a different state but didn't want to leave without visiting our school secretaries.
School secretaries are amazing people, and I am and have been privileged to work with many, many wonderful examples. School secretaries welcome new familes and help those families navigate all of the necessary paperwork to officially register new students---while graciously answering phones that seem to never stop ringing. School secretaries act as nurses, mechanics, eyeglass repair folks, and computer technicians. School secretaries help keep our schools safe, ensure resources are available for teachers to teach, and maintain accurate paperwork for the countless reports that need to be submitted. School secretaries are often counselors, social workers, and sometimes assistant principals. School secretaries offer smiles, hugs, and even that unmistakable look that says, "You can do better, and I'm going to check on you later." School secretaries listen, share, suggest, and implement. School secretaries are accountants, custodians, moms, dads, and occassionally realtors. School secretaries are constantly looking to learn new ways to be more efficient so they can help our schools be even better.
But more than anything else...school secretaries build relationships. They build relationships with students, teachers, colleagues, and parents. They build relationships with caregivers, grandparents, service providers, and babysitters. Our school secretaries make our school a place, "Where Everyobody Knows Your Name." Those relationships, I know, positively impact student achievement, and I am grateful for all of the school secretaries that make and have made my schools better places to learn.
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