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The Principal Liner Notes Podcast

Connected Conversation with Martha Jaureguizar

Principal Martha Jaureguizar joins me for an inspiring and upbeat conversation on school leadership. She shares many ideas and lessons as an experienced principal at Kendal Lakes Elementary School in Miami, FL. I am grateful for Martha for sharing how her expertise and the #CelebrateKLE Story.


Follow Martha on X: https://x.com/MTJaureguizar

Broadcast on:
05 Oct 2024
Audio Format:
other
Oh my goodness, I'm having so much fun here and you all are just jumping in the middle of just a great conversation. This is Sean Gaylord with the principal liner notes podcast. I am, gosh, my heart right now is so full and it really is Martha and I am so grateful to be here with a kindred spirit and and and just just somebody that I have just deep affection for Martha Harégizar is here. She is the principal of Kendall Lakes Elementary School out of Miami-Dade County in Florida and and and even though I'm here in North Carolina and Martha is is in Florida. We have, let me let me say this, Martha, you're the kind of person that if we were in the same district, okay? If we were in the same district and we were both principals together and we were going to a a principal meeting and I was already there and I saw you coming in. I would move my seat to where you are or I would sit next to you, my friend. Thank you, my friend and and I would and or I would save a seat for you. I would say no, this is this is my seat, this is my friend and then you and I would would just oh my gosh, I'm I'm just so so that's kind of what I envisioned this conversation right now. You and I are in a district meeting we're trying to pay attention but but but we but but we are we're like talking side barring doing all of those rude things that you shouldn't do in a professional meeting but but but but we're just connecting because as we as we are kindred spirits as principals and kindred spirits as as human beings welcome my friend. Thank you so much. I can tell you I've admired your work, met you through social media, obviously your book The Pepper Effect and shared it even with colleagues here. It's always an honor to connect with leaders in our industry, you know, people who are focused on being the best that they can be to serve the ones that they love and adore at their levels. With other heart and I know that I do feel that from you as well as others I have followed on social media because we can't always be in the same neighborhood in the same, you know, communities are in the same districts but a lot of it is bringing us together and learning from each other because there are so many similarities in our work and in what we need to do to move the needle forward for children for our staff members and for the communities that we really proudly and with deep honor serve. Absolutely and and you on you know for at least 16 16 strong years. Yeah. And counting you you you are doing more than just moving the needle for kids forward and that's one of the things and I guess here friends this is the power of a professional learning network that you're seeing in action, you know, being a principal can be a lonely isolating job and for me social media and tapping into the PLN was you know and still is is my way to to learn and to connect and and one of the things that that you you have done and I know you take great pride in this in service of kids, you know, as a leader is is you you have cultivated leaders with some of some of some of some of those folks under your watch. I also follow and connect with on on on social media and you know, I've seen you and that team, you know, presented F E T C. I've seen you highlight their work and I and I would just love to kind of hear kind of your approach to cultivating that that teacher leadership to cultivating that leadership within within your within your schoolhouse. Well, I think as leaders, people genuinely look up to us for that guidance and I think the hardest part is that as much as you want to guide, you want to inspire and uplift individuals and I always say that counts for the big people as well as the little people in my schoolhouse, but it's really not my schoolhouse, it's our schoolhouse. And I think at the end of the day, the one thing I focus on the most is validation because you have to really give that credit where credit is due. And when I walk a building, absolutely, you're looking for things like, are there stains on ceiling tiles? Is there something that needs to be picked up? You know, but look at the positive things that you see. Is there a beautiful bulletin board? Is there a child helping another child? Is there a teacher doing an incredible lesson incorporating technology or Kahoot or at the same time, encouraging children to create their own web pages and designs? So I look for things that are not the norm, you know, because I hope that our teachers here, you know, are, and they are amazing professionals, that they are fearless in approaching instruction to be the best that they can be and really take those risks of, this is an assignment, but you know what? How can we make this assignment creative and inspiring so that the kids want to do it? You know, I always jokingly say, but it's not really a joke. It's like, we work hard, but we play harder. The school has to be fun, especially at the elementary level. And kids need to understand those expectations. And I find when you find individuals doing an amazing job, just celebrate them. And that comes back to you with, you know, your hashtag CelebrateKLE at our school that you shared with me so lovingly, you know, years ago. And it's about celebrating people. And when you celebrate people, you do validate them, but when you validate them, you encourage them to continue to persevere, to do more, to give more, because they feel like I'm compelled, you know, I'm allowed to be that person that I never thought I could be. And I think when I look back on my school years, people did that for me. You know, I sit here once architect major at the university. And I don't know what happened my junior year in college. I just made this U-turn and I said, no, I'm going to be a teacher. And I have zero regrets. I love this job. It is consuming, but it is also so uplifting and just heartfelt. So I think that's part of the nature of what we have to do to inspire, to lead, to validate. Because I always say, someone's got to replace me someday. Someone has to replace the classroom teacher someday. And we have to inspire another generation to do that work. It is powerful how, you know, and you tapped into a very key thing, you know, in terms of leadership, because part of that leadership and cultivating leaders is being very mindful of legacy. And not necessarily the legacy on a personal, you know, micro level, you know, from Sean's, you know, Sean's legacy or Martha's legacy, but also, you know, looking at it through the lens at 80,000 feet at Mach 20, the legacy of the whole and of the whole schoolhouse, our schoolhouse and being very, very mindful, you know, of that. You know, so, you know, and kind of in the other realm, you know, you have teachers, and I love how you frame this too. There were so many rewindable moments in this episode already. It's amazing, but as principals and as leaders, we are talent scouts. Absolutely. And yes, we're looking for the water stains in the ceiling tile and we're looking to, you know, or if we come across a bad instructional practice or what have you, but also it's important to have that 365, 360, you know, focus on all of the good things too that are happening and then using that to celebrate and then using that to build. How do you deal though when a teacher is reticent or resistant when you are trying to build them up? How do you, how do you roll with that? Well, I think at least in our school because we are a pretty large school, 700, you know, students, plus we have a lot of teams, you know, so when you have teams, the beauty of that is that you encourage a lot of collaboration. And I always feel that when you can learn from peers and colleagues and we have that common planning time for individuals, that it helps them because they have that time that's pretty, you know, respected for that week of them to get together so that they can exchange lessons and ideas of how to teach. And I think some people, I don't find it so much so that they're resistant, I think sometimes they're just hesitant and they're a little bit shy in the sense that maybe they don't feel as equipped because I have teachers here with 20, 25, 28 years of experience. So you, I look at that like, this is a person who is a trained professional, they really know their craft and I look at the new individuals that have come into our school and they, they realize, wow, there are some dynamic individuals in this building. And I also think it's important because there's no greater PD and I've seen this somewhere, you know, on Twitter everywhere, then sometimes the classroom right next door to you. And our school in at least the main building, because I have multiple buildings, but our main building is an open pod building, it's an open pod design. So you literally can see into every person's classroom, so to speak, when you're walking around. And sometimes people like, oh my gosh, that would drive me crazy. But at the same time, you truly have PD every day right next to you. So our kindergarten cluster, our first grade clusters are very close to one another. Our second grade clusters, because that's our main building are very close to one another. Our special education program clusters, again, very close to one another. So there is that team and that's why we are like, I've said it a million times, the KLE family. We are a family. We're not just a team. Everyone really helps to take care of one another, and everyone helps support one another. And I think that is a little bit different because we're not a school per se, where you do have the four doors, you know, four walls in the door, it's a school that's very much connected every moment of our day and our lives while we're here. Hmm. Man, it's so inspiring. But one of the things, too, that I know that you, and you share this before we hit record, and you have been ruminating and creating some synergy around the notion of greatness. Yes. And really unpacking that not only for the teachers you serve, but also the students that you serve. And I was so inspired by what you shared, and I love for you to kind of share your thoughts and actions that you're doing to kind of cultivate this aspiration of greatness within KLE. Well, for me, it's not just a KLE family story. You know, for me, it's a real personal Miami-Dade County public schools story, because I am a very proud product of this school district, had my high school graduation. So I grew up, you know, within this school district, and even at the elementary level, I met the most loving and amazing teachers who inspired me. And you know, I even had a PE teacher and especially certain grade level teachers that I had, you know, Mr. Pollack, Ms. Davis, Ms. Nelson, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Springer, these individuals I could tell had so much love for their work, so much pride, that they would say things to us like, "You're very talented. You know, you could do great things. You know, I believe in you." And it's sometimes those little words that you can hear, and it's so important, again, at this elementary level to hear those things, because they will transfer with you. And when you hear teachers like, "You know, I want you to come back and visit me. I want you to tell you, you know, tell me how you're doing." My PE teacher was like, "I'm going to read about you in the Herald because I know you're going to be an athlete." Things like that, that you say to yourself, "Wow, this person believes in me." So I think for my perspective presently, I had amazing teachers and individuals that believed in me from when I was so young that I grew up with that. Very much a part of my life in middle school, high school, to the point where, you know what, I was an honor child, I was in athletics, I did go to college on a scholarship. So for me, it's like, I feel that legacy that you mentioned. I am their legacy just as much as now I become the legacy for someone else. And so I was raised, you know, tough love, I always say it's tough love. And even to this day I tell my kids and the kids here, I love you enough to tell you sometimes those things you don't want to hear. But that's because I really love you, you know? So I always tell the kids here and the teachers here, my biggest thing is status quo is not the way to go. I don't want you to be average. Look, these are on my desk. I pass them out. I love these things. I'll send you some, you know, it's important to teach children, especially in title one schools to believe in themselves, you know? So that's a hard concept to kind of teach young children. So this year during our assemblies and, you know, on social media posts, I've started with greatness begins with it, you know, and I want them to start to tell themselves that they can be great, that they can do great things, that it's going to take a lot of hard work, but that's okay, you know? And at the same time that even great things and great people, they're going to have moments in life where they fail, but you can't look at it as a failure because we have to teach children, especially at this age, to learn to pick themselves up, you know? That is to me one of the most critical core lessons as parents and as adults that we have to teach children. And as a society nowadays, no one wants to see their children fail. You know, they want them to have it and, you know, better than they had it as children. They want a better life, they want, you know, better careers, they want better whole, bigger, you know? And what they don't understand is that all those things that defined us, the struggle, the grit, the determination, you know, learning to set goals and saying, I accomplished that. That's what made it possible for you to reach whatever level, you know, you're going for in life. And if we could share that and that's what we try to do here, you know, teach goals to the children even at this age, you know, with elementary time, you know, what is your goal for this nine weeks, you know, what is your goal for I ready and your lessons and your proficiency, you know, make it a goal to become our student of the month, make it a goal to earn, you know, a bracelet that says, you know, be kind or, you know, you're amazing. Or I was able to overcome a challenge. Those are the things that we have to teach children that are part of the social and emotional curriculum that, you know, is very broad. But to me, is more vital because that is truly the foundation they need to excel academically. I'm sorry, because that was a really long answer. It was beautiful. No, there there are no limits on on volume or length of responses. So no, there is no and no apology needed. Our listeners and viewers are totally vibing, vibing here. You referenced earlier a certain hashtag, which has has really evolved and and in many ways, you know, it's it's more than than than just, you know, words, you know, in a social media post with, you know, and and so I want to talk a little bit about hashtag celebrate KLE and what that means and how that has evolved, you know, we, you know, we do have some beginning leaders that do tune into the principal liner liner notes podcast and and, you know, I know they may have different levels of expertise with social media and marketing and branding. But this, this hashtag has become much more than just an emblem in a marketing plan. And I'd love for you to to talk about the beauty and and the just the importance of that story. Well, for me, it was just the beauty of connecting with you, you know, through social media first and foremost. And, you know, you put out their posts and to be quite honest, I don't have at our school a lot of Twitter followers here because it's it's not, you know, the community that we serve. But they do know how important it is here to have that positive school image. And we're very fortunate because we work really hard at all the things that we need to do to have a positive learning working environment. And yes, school culture, I've always said it is the toughest thing. I mean, that involves an encompasses everything that we must oversee. So when you're posting to social media, you don't know, I certainly don't do this for likes or whatnot. I do it because I just want to use Twitter. And I've said this before, Twitter is my gratitude journal. What I put out there, it's because I'm grateful to have in my life. So, you know, I don't journal every day per se, although I am doing the stoic, which is hysterical because I know you're doing the daily stoic journal. Yeah. So it's my husband. I know it's funny. I'm telling you, we're just really very connected and the strangest things. Absolutely. Oh my God. For me, I use Twitter as my gratitude journal. And I love again, validating the work I see in this building and in our staff and in our students, because I want them to feel that kind of love. And I always say, in our school, we're cultivating a legacy of love. But when I was posting things, and I just say I, but to be honest, we have multiple people here. It's the media specialists, the counselor, myself, it's a, it's a three person, you know, a team here for our social media. You would reply and you would be so positive and so uplifting and so complimentary. And you know, one day out of the blue, you just put, we need to have a hashtag celebrate KLE. And I just read that and I was like, you know, I'm not a marketing person. But at the same time, I look at like the honesty of what we do, because we don't have that necessarily mentality of the marketing and the branding. But I read that. And I was like, wow, that is a hashtag that can really unify our whole school. And it doesn't matter what theme we have for the year, because you know, we've had different themes over the year. Last year was cultivating a legacy of love. This year, it's get in gear for an amazing 50th year, because we're celebrating 50 years of KLE. But celebrate KLE as our hashtag can live on and on. And anytime you pull it up, you will see how we celebrate this school. And more importantly, how we celebrate the people in this school. And I think as leaders, because I know your audience is both, you know, veteran, as well as, you know, rookies and novice personnel, because leaders, we can't make all of our posts and all of our communications about us. And I think the image of your school really needs to be the image of your school family, your school team, and everyone that is present, and that contributes wholeheartedly to this cause here. So I always, you know, my staff will be like, Miss J, get in the picture. And I'm like, no, I appreciate it. But no, I want you guys to be in the picture. It's not about me. And I think that's one of the things that I hope, you know, as a school leader or a person in that, that you always keep in mind. Because when you realize that this job is so much larger than one person, it really takes a village. It takes this entire community of stakeholders to do what we do. So, you know, find something like that for us at Celebrate Kaylee. And, you know, again, thank you. Thank you. You know, we are so worthy, I will say, because we worked hard to earn it. But, you know, it's about that, you know, how can you connect with people in a way that they understand? And this was your perception. Like, I didn't create this. You did. It was your perception based on all the things that you have seen about our school. And I'm so proud that our district has this new campaign, which is hashtag your best choice MDCPS. Because again, it's a way to highlight and showcase all these amazing schools that we have to serve and support that enormous diversity that we have here in Miami-Dade County public schools. But I do think it would be very unifying for any school leader, any organization to have a hashtag like that that can always be universal for them, you know. And we've branched out more now to Instagram. I was very anti Instagram because obviously I'm in elementary school. And it is really a better way to communicate with our families because of the, you know, the connections that they have through that versus Twitter. So we've kind of now transitioned a little more to Instagram for our school team and our school community. And it has been able to connect us much more, you know. So we're really excited just to showcase the wonderful things that we do get to celebrate because we don't do enough of the celebration, you know. And I do feel that the more as a leader that you can celebrate the success of others, it's, you know, again, it's so not about us. The more you will be able to have people become that positive, less resistant person because they realize, look, I'm not out to get you, you know, I'm here to serve and support you. And that's why leadership is so hard, you know. I always tell people I'm mentoring. If you really want to be a leader, you better learn to be uncomfortable because this is not for the faint at heart. Okay. This is a job that will challenge you to the core. And sometimes I say it, like only the really brave need apply, you know, because the work does take a lot of your time. But more than time, I always say your energy. And when it's your energy, people don't understand like the highs and lows of energy and just in general how much that does impact your entire 24 hours of your day, you know. So learn to incorporate you what I call your high effect, your high impact strategies, because those are the ones that are going to give you the best return on your investment. And if you can learn to celebrate people and validate them, I've always said you would be amazed. And if there's one thing that the teachers have given me feedback because I do survey my teachers all the time, is that they know that I value them. I admire them. I also tell them I'm really jealous because I don't have a classroom to set up anymore and kids to have in my class anymore. So, you know, I have to live vicariously through all of them because I, you know, I'll just say I traded the teacher title because I'm still a teacher at heart. So now I get really excited, you know, decorating our school, you know, because I don't have my class anymore. So, you know, they know they've seen me painting. And I hate to say this. I don't like to put this out there, but they've seen me pressure cleaning. They've seen me doing pretty much odds and ends all over the place because there's also a very important message we send as leaders, you know, there's no job beneath you. And if you aren't really willing to work with all your work units, then how could you really say you are the leader of that building? You know, I love my custodial team. Love them. We love to celebrate them. My cafeteria crew are the most insane people I've ever seen. Those people dress the same every single day. They have uniforms. They look just spectacular. There's so much love there, you know, and our teachers, the same thing, they have grade level shirts. They have spirit shirts. You know, when we celebrate the spookiness of Halloween, it's always a surprise. No one wants to tell you what costume they're going to come in because it has to be the shock and awe of this is this group's thing, you know. But I think you set that tone to celebrate in your building. Because if you're not celebrating people, then don't expect teachers to celebrate their children as much either. And it is a trickle down and a trickle up effect. So the more we can celebrate, the more you're going to accelerate and elevate anyone's achievement in your building. Right on. Oh my gosh, that wow, what powerful, powerful leadership wisdom, Martha, I am in awe of you. Like I said, as I've said to you through social media, you are someone whose leadership I truly love. And when I say that, I just mean that, you know, from the bottom of my heart, my friend, and how, you know, when I was hitting hitting my wall or hitting my days, and I would follow you and get inspiration and strength, you know, from from what you were doing with your team in your beautiful school community. And and so I am so, so, so grateful for you. You are my Beatles. You you are, you are my, you're gonna make me cry, Sean, stop. I mean it, I mean it, Martha, I mean it, and you're gonna make me cry because I'm just and somehow, okay, I'll put it to you this way. I don't think they'll let you they'll let you out of the state because you're so great at what you do. But if you're looking for a classroom, I'll tell you what, come to my school, come to Charles England, and I will be your T 80, your teacher, and and we'll we'll we'll we'll make it happen. And and because you have an open invitation to come up to North Carolina. And I know I got I've been saying this for years. Yes. When I thought we were gonna connect to F E T C, but but it didn't happen. Yeah. But but I have got to get you know, here's the thing. I've never been to Miami ever. You're going to take a vacation here. This is beautiful. And I love the beach and I love the ocean and you know, but yeah, I got it. I got to get down there. I've never been. I've never been. Well, I would suggest definitely, you know, Sarasota or Santa Belle for the beaches, because it's a lot more, you know, relaxed. Yeah, then you can always come down. We'll have some Cuban food for you. You know, hospitality here, because there's no other better way to connect people than over a meal or a celebration with food. That's the one thing they love here to celebrate with food. That's right. That's right. You know, and yeah, I'm feeling my Afro Cuban, you know, roots coming out and and we we will get down. Oh, yeah, como vah. So there you go. There you go. Martha, folks want to to follow you and connect with you on social media. I know definitely follow the hashtag. Hashtag celebrate KLE, but but how else can people find inspiration and connect with you? Because I don't want to be the only one to to help with all of your your traffic. Thank you so much. Well, for both our our schools account for both Twitter and for Instagram, we do have it at at KLE family, because it is this is a family. And my personal Twitter is MT, Haudegisad, which I know is really I'm not going to do a spell test for anybody because that's a challenge in and of itself. But like you, because I know you do the same thing, like that's an ode to my mom and my grandmother and their initials and my great grandmother, because I'm here because of that. So, but I will also see if I can send you a really cool link to our school video that we just had produced. Share that. Yes, I just honestly, I felt like I was in like a Hollywood movie when they made it was it was insane. It was so professional. So, and I, you know, I have to thank our office of strategic planning for that because, you know, sometimes in meetings, I always tell people, ask questions and ask for help. And I did. And, you know, what this video was one of those answers. So, I was like, absolutely just in such awe. And our team too, when they did this video. So, you know, it's a great little snapshot of our school. And the people here that really comprise the beauty within this wonderful place. So, you know, I will be happy to share that with you, absolutely. And if anyone, you know, also wants to reach out or email or call, you know, I've had people call me sometimes when they look us up as well, like, how did you get your lowest 25% to improve math during COVID? How did that happen? You know, it happens. It happens. But I am blessed with the best people I have ever seen in my life in this building. They are just such advocates for children, for hope, for bringing and closing that opportunity gap that exists. And I know you're very much partial to Title I schools too. And for me, it's an honor to serve a community I can relate with and see the success that we're achieving. Because even though we have so many, you know, really what we call that high fragile demographic group, our school is still within the top 10% of this entire district at all elementary levels and something that we share. And, you know, I want to thank you again for just being such a dear friend, social media wise and always inspiring me too. And kind of like replying and putting little comments of hope because everyone needs that, you know, we're the principals and we don't always get notes. But I tell you, you know, my region superintendents sent me a text the other day that was just uplifting. And we all could use that. So if you haven't seen it, that's the text message my boss sent me was, we just won the Values Matter Miami Cup. Yes, I did. Yeah, I'm sorry, I brought it up because I I'm so like in Ammer by this this award. But our district student services is a huge, huge advocate for nine core values that our district has. And my husband and I are huge Florida Panther fans. It was our first date was actually to a Florida Panther game. And so we've taken the kids over the years and we actually went to Stanley Cup games and stuff like that, which was just a lot of fun. And so they showed up when we were doing our opening of school meeting with our team and they wouldn't tell me they just said, Oh, we want to launch this new program at your school because you're such a great advocate for the values. And I'm like, absolutely. Of course, you're more than welcome. You don't want breakfast. We'll get extra food too. You know. And, and they wouldn't tell me what it was. There's like ultra secret, which is good. Everyone likes positive surprises. So they showed up and they bring this in this velvet like rap. So a big trophy. I didn't know what it was. And then I see this lady wearing white gloves holding it. And I was like, Oh, wow, this is a big deal. And then they slowly like, you know, uncovered it. And I'm like, that looks like the Stanley Cup. Yeah. And I'm like, wow, what is that? And they started going over it. It's it is on Twitter and you guys can see it there. But it was so cool. And then you see it. It says values matter Miami. And it's like the cup. And so every school has a chance to earn it on a monthly basis. So it's going to be traveling. And we were the first school because they felt that our school really did showcase those nine core values. And our counselor Ms. Siviles is like the best school champion for these values with our kids. And we always reinforced the values because of the behaviors. So I got to lift the values matter Miami Cup. It was amazing. Because again, it's an award we all share. So when you win school awards, especially, it's just 10 times sweeter because you get to share it with all these people you love. Though, you know, that's the best part of this job. It's it's my family at work because people sometimes don't want to, you know, they don't want to stop the alarm to get up on Monday morning. And, you know, we get excited about Monday morning. So we'll do some celebrate Mondays as well. Yeah, we've got to figure out a way and maybe with with both of our schools, let's think let's think of a way that that we can somehow connect our dots on a celebrate Monday. I would I would love it, you know, if Kayleigh and Charles England somehow we had like a joint cross, you know, continental celebrate Monday moment. We we've got to figure this out. And and I think that would be super cool. Yeah, you know, I think anytime we can connect personnel and teachers and just expand, you know, that that relationship building, you know, with teachers, I think is so, so powerful. But I I'm in. I'm in. I'm taking note. I'm taking note right now. Like we if that that will be epic, we could we can kind of designate a day and bring both of our schools together, bring our students together and, you know, we can do this with with technology nowadays. It's it's really very impressive. And, you know, the sky's the limit. And like you said, we do operate sometimes at like, you know, Mach 80. This is this is what we would do at a principal's meeting, you know, you're not really sitting here. And then I'd say, hey, you know what, why don't we celebrate Monday together? And then we would be sidebaring and having this kind of back channel of of collaboration and and and oh wait, there's that important power point. Let's pay attention. All right. But wait a minute. Let's celebrate. You know, yes. And and really, I think it's great when you can, you know, originate that because we do we have like even primary classes that are adopted by, you know, older classes and we always have our cubs here as well as our tigers. And I think when you when you cultivate that within your schoolhouse, you know, and you promote that it really does make an enormous difference. One of the things that warms my heart is when I see the safety patrols, you know, holding hands and walking in our little three and four year old pre K kiddos, you know, because it's hard for a parent to leave that child at the gate. I get it, you know, but there's always a loving, caring person who is going to help your child, you know, make it inside our school to their classroom for the safety. And our website has a lot of information to about our school. But I'm blessed with a great, great region and district that is incredibly innovative. The amount of support we receive for really big things like technology integration, PD or staff. The excellence in academics, like through STEAM, which our school is a gold STEAM school, we have an amazing, you know, and that's part of, I guess, having an enormous district like MDCPS because we are huge. I mean, we're the third in this entire nation. But when you have so many amazing principles, many of which have, you know, transition to go downtown. And now we're leading different divisions. It's so helpful because they can connect and relate with us and what we need and how they can support us. And I love our student services division the most because they're at the heart of what we have to do, which is, you know, care for people and in their most need. And when you have counselors and mental health coordinators that are constantly led by them, you know, it's not just the principal leadership, you have to look at your whole district, you know, and that alignment that has to exist so that we can flourish at the school site because, you know, and I say that, like you said, the principal ship is sometimes a really lonely job. But when we pick up the phone and say, I need some help, can you do this? Is there someone available? You know, we had to solve a transportation concern for a parent this week. And to have individuals that you can reach out to that can help you, it makes all the difference in the world. It really does. And I will say our superintendent, Dr. Dottris, he's one of the most humble, caring people I've ever seen. When you hear him speak, you know, it's truly from his heart and soul. And to have a person like that at the helm of your school system also sets a very powerful tone. So I would even encourage people to follow him. I mean, I understand he has an entire social media department. And I can't even imagine doing his job. But when you see the depth of what, you know, is, is able to be accomplished when there's so much unison. And you're the orchestrator man, you know, you're a musician man. So you know, when there's an orchestra playing and everybody is in sync and in tune, you know, the melody is just oh, so sweet. And just the sound, it just is soothing. It's calming. It's just relaxing. And you feel like, yeah, I can enjoy it. I can learn from it. And then I can make something happen from it. And I think that's what I feel in this job. You know, with the people here, the people at my region, the people at the district, you know, they're their help and encouragement make me want to do more. Right on. And you know, and you are such a champion for your school, for for your district, your region, you know, it I just have to say over the years, it's like if I was remotely closer to Miami day, you know, that that's, you know, man, that'd be a district that I would want to be a part of. And that, you know, and just just just how you champion and echo and really celebrate and uplift your colleagues and and and folks that are on the state level and regional level. Just know, you know, there's a guy in North Carolina that, you know, is is very inspired and motivated by that and grateful for how you model that that celebration. So I'm very gosh, Martha, I'm so grateful for you. I'm such a fan of yours. I'm glad that that we we could have this time together. And I know it's it's the first of many this conversation is long overdue. And I know it's it will be the first of many your lifelong for me, my friend. I am absolutely so grateful for you. And we're gonna we're gonna we're gonna meet up in person one way or the other. One day. I think so. I think so. Yeah, it's it's for sure. I get I can bet on that. Yes, it's gonna it's gonna happen and bring bring all the families together. And yeah, and you know, honestly, Sean, this job wouldn't happen without our families. You know, it's so important for people to understand that. And my husband is the person who gets me these kind of books that I read on leadership, especially, and he's actually doing the stoic journal too. So, you know, we're we're kind of doing that as a husband and wife team. You know, my my kids right now are driving me around because I'm not able to drive right now because I'm recovering from surgery and stuff. And you know what? I think them just like, you know, you think them too, because our our days can be long, but they're just so important, you know, for society and for humanity. So absolutely. Yeah, this you cannot do this gig without family and and their understanding and patience and support and encouragement and and just so, you know, grateful for my wife and my daughters and they're they're they're my why they're my fab for. So, so I I totally I totally get that than that. Gosh, that that man. Don't get me crying. So I know it is. It's it's tough. It's tough. So so as I as I sign off here and if I if I had the rights to play one of my favorite Beatles songs off of their 1968 eponymous album known as the Beatles, it's also affectionately nicknamed the white album. And there is a beautiful song on here written mainly by by Paul McCartney, uh, in tribute to to his sheep dog named Mark. No, no, Martha is not a sheep dog. No, we're near that. All right, I'm a dog lover. So we're all good. So the song the song is called Martha, my dear. And if I and if I had some sort of rights and and budget, I would be playing that song right now as as we as we sign off and and again, so I'll I'll send a song to you. I will I'll make sure that you you're able to. Yes, it's a new one for me. But thank you. That's really very sweet because I know you love Beatles. I do. That's my band and it is you'll I hope you love this song. I've been hyping it, but I'm going to I'm going to get I'm going to get it your way. But but Martha, my dear Martha, how okay Martha, how Reiki's are. I did it. I did it. I did it. I did it. I did it. I am so grateful for you. And as and as I sign off here, um, this this sign off is is is coming from my heart to yours. Don't forget to share with the world your hopes, your dreams, your ideas because the world needs them and you help make the world a better place. Martha, you definitely help make the world a better place in the world is a better place because you are in it and what in that legacy of love and greatness that you are inspiring in your leadership for all those in the K the KLE family. This is Sean Gayler. This is the principal liner notes. Thank you for tuning in and hope to catch you on the flip side. Hopefully in Miami-Dade one day. Yes.