"Critical Friend" Kevin

Today I had the chance to enroll my daughter in school for next year. She will be a sophomore, and she is just as excited to be part of the Borgia community as I am.  As I sat across from Mr. Wunderlich as he discussed class options with my daughter, identifying her needs and preferences, I realized how nice it will be to experience Borgia from "both sides of the desk." A big part of my job is knowing what is going on in our building and how we handle students' academic needs. While I can learn quite a bit about this by being observant, I am going to accelerate my knowledge of the way we do things by experiencing them as a parent. After watching Mr. Wunderlich work, it is clear to me that we have a counseling staff that seeks to truly know our students. I would have likely learned this working with our counselors this year, but now I already have a good taste of what they do, as well as what they want to do to enhance the experience of our students. After enrolling today,...

Though I don't officially begin the job until July 1, I am already getting quite the positive taste of the St. Francis Borgia school community, and this all began with my opportunity to meet the staff last month. On the final work day of the school year, the students were no longer in the building, but the teachers gathered for mass, a breakfast, and to tie up loose-ends heading into the summer. When I introduced myself to the staff, I discussed my past, sharing that my preparation to lead the school academically stems from the great people I have had the chance to work for and with in the past. I discussed my great years in the Parkway School District, and shared that I learned quite a bit from my time at St. Dominic, even though they did not want to hear much about my time with our rival! What surprised me about my visit, however, happened next. The questions from the staff were not about my professional background. Instead, they were about my family. They wanted to know about my...