I have a lot of people say, "How do you get these things done at your
school?" Well, I am saying it is not that I crack a whip, it is not that
I am yelling or screaming; it is a real fact, climbing down off that
pedestal or that title "principal" and saying I am one of you. I can do
exactly the kinds of things that you are doing. I don't feel bad if I
have to get a mop and mop the floor or take a broom and sweep the floor
or pick up a piece of paper--and I walk the hall. I don't feel bad at
all. I think the major thing is that I love people and I care about
people. I'm a people's person and I treat them as I would want someone
to treat me. I have told my faculty members--teacher, principal,
custodian, cafeteria staff, secretary--those are titles but we all are
human beings and we all have needs and that is the way I have operated.
They come to me now and say--I suppose when I became principal the
custodian was not used to doing certain things. I only had two. I told
the Superintendent that there is no way I can keep this building clean
with the staff that I have. So, I need some more personnel--I really do.
He said, "You have to keep the building clean." I don't have the people,
there is no way that I can do it. He said, "You tell me what you need."
I said, "I'll be down during the summer." So I came down and I had my
little list of things and how many full-time people I wanted for the
grounds and so I had it all divided and when I
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first got there was this person who had been there about ten years. He
had everything to do. I'm saying--how in the world and I'm also saying
who is going to take care of the bathrooms? And they were not cleaned to
my expectations. I said I am spending three-fourths of my time in this
building and I do expect it to be immaculate. I said we can get it done.
I only said that once. I only said that once. And I'm going to give you
the supplies, equipment and the personnel to get it done. So I have two
full-time custodians; I have four part-time. I have a female coming in
the morning to clean the office areas--vacuum and those king of things
and I have a female in the afternoon to clean classrooms, and I have a
gentleman coming in to vacuum the office areas again and empty the trash
cans; another gentleman to take of--we have A hall, B hall, C hall, D
hall, F hall, and I have all these halls designated to certain ones.
They know exactly what they have to do and they have four hours to get
the job done. It has worked marvelously.