There is an old saying ...if you can't be smart or good looking at least be handy!
Now I would like to adapt that saying to my new position as Assistant Principal...
If you are not the smartest or best looking principal at least know your plumbing!
Last week was so busy with reports due and parents to be called that just finishing was almost impossible. To add on that student issues seemed to crop up every half hour. Okay bring it on! I then got a call that the bathroom stall door was hanging off it's hinges and might fall on a kid. Okay take it off and put it in my office till I get there. Then the call that it can't be put back on. Okay just leave it off and I will look for new hardware. Then a report that all the stalls are locked and the girls can't go into the stall without crawling under the door. Okay I go and get a chair and my yard stick and off to open the doors (yep done it more than once). Then a call that the bathroom floors are sticky in the TK room and not sure why. Okay off to see what they mean by sticky...wrong floor cleaner used and reacted with the wax. Write up a maintenance request and get a wet mop to do the best to clean up. Then a call that someone has written with poop on the stall walls. Okay go and look (really don't want to) and it is not poop but tootsie rolls , thank you God. Then a report (it is Friday oh yeah!) that their is water all over the floor of the boys bathroom. Okay another look and find the seal that is not working, get the floor mopped up, another maintenance report and almost time to go home.
I know that in all my training in education , knowing how to evaluate and fix bathroom stalls, floors, and toilets never came up once. Now put on top of that the other maintenance issues such as bleachers that won't pull out, keys that don't work, PA systems that need fixed, and the list goes on. Is this the principals job and part of educational leadership? No and Yes... If the principal can't help with a solution who will? It is the principals job to lead the way to make teaching easier by solving maintenance issues. I will say that too much time can be spent on maintenance so I am trying to understand how to walk that fine line. Any comments? (I only have one tootsie rolls to write on stalls and look like poop, that is really creative!)
In small districts maintenance is shared between buildings that are miles apart. If you have an urgent need for a fix that impeded the educational process first you must find the staff person and hope he/she is close to your building or that they have a cell on and can find someone else to come and fix it. In the case of a overflowing toilet , try not to get the canoe out but have it handy. Not sure if bigger school districts have the same issue. I am fortunate my Dad taught me alot about fixing things. Unless it is electrical I can usually diagnose the problem and temporarily fix it until I get maintenance in the building. Not everyone is handy. So find a staff member who is and seek them out for an opinion when needed.
ReplyDeleteHad a great discussion with Mark, head of maintenance at MNW. We talked about building needs and how it effects the students,staff, and also the district as to costs. He is very knowledgeable about builiding maintenance but also about education as a whole. Wow get to know your maintenance head and staff it is worth while and makes the who Plumbing 101 issue easier to understand from all perspectives.
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