Team Building

When I first arrived at Valley High School, I brought one assistant with me, Peggy, who had been at Valley before she joined my at the the night school, where I was briefly principal and she the assistant. There were three other assistants: Steve, Louis, and Leah. I had worked for four years with Leah at Cleveland, where she had done an administrative internship. I thought that the most important thing that we needed to do was to form a great team and work together to make Valley a wonderful high school. Gradually, I added other members to the team, even though some did not think that this was a good idea. Over time I added the activity director, the librarian, the head of counseling, and the head of the Valley Academy, which is what we called our GE college bound program. We met formally every Monday morning and directed our attention to all the activities for the week and ensured that each activity was covered by an adinistartor. Informally, we met many afternoons after the students had gone for the day and relaxed, told stories, and concerned ourselves with the good and the care of the organization. Sometimes we had to drag ourselves away from the school and get home to enjoy our families. Frequently, some of us would return for an evening engagement, so our days were full and frequently long.

I strongly believe that all members of the team brought individual strengths to the team and knew their jobs. My job was to encourage all to do their very best and then get out of their way and let them do it. For me, failure was always a learning experience and did not need me jumping down their throats. Of course, repeated failure did need my attention, but that seldom happened, if ever. I knew that I was beginning to succeed when one day Dianne, my secretary, who had been at Valley for many years said, "You really do know what you are doing." I cherished that compliment for years and always referred to her from then on as the lovely Dianne. Dianne also attended our administrative team meetings and took notes, as well as adding her own unique point of view. Our team survived repeated personnel changes as people received advancements to other positions in the district. New additions were quickly integrated into the team and contributed in their own unique ways. Barry, when added to the team, endeared himself to the entire faculty by developing and implementing a great phone system, school wide, that could be accessed by all who worked at the school. The loyalty generated by this team to all members had endured to this day. About a year ago, many of us got together for lunch, which proved to be a high point of my life. I think I can die happy knowing how close we had all become.