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Suzanne Isago is an account clerk at Giano Intermediate School.
Last year I felt honored and privileged to be part of the strategic planning committee. I worked on Strategy V, which was to ensure superior classified and certificated staff who know what they’re doing and are well educated for their positions. Also, to make sure that they all have colleagues they can talk to and approach for help if they need it. We discussed many different areas like not only having the knowledge and experience, but also the desire to learn more about areas that aren’t necessarily their own. For example, because classified employees have to sometimes cover for other positions, it’s important for us to know each other’s jobs. That kind of working relationship shows a lot of teamwork inside the schools. What’s so great about it is you’ll be able to call on anybody in the district to find an answer to your question. It’s almost like, “Let me drop everything and help you.” I love that about our district – they want to make sure that they answer your question and help you do everything right.
When I first heard about the opportunity to work on Strategy V, I thought, “Oh yes, I want to be a part of this. This is a great opportunity for me to learn more from people who are so well educated, like the administrators and teachers.” When you’re around those kinds of people, you gain more knowledge. Your thinking changes in a positive manner. I also feel like it’s so easy to approach them now. Before, I thought, “How do I approach them? How do I approach an administrator?” I always thought so highly of them, and now being able to talk to them on a personal level has changed my working relationship with them. This process made it so that we were all on the same level, and we could speak what we believe.
As a result of working on Strategy V, I think I’m more open-minded. When I need to find an answer to an issue or a question, I’ll think, “Let me go out of the box and try to solve the problem or get an answer.” Before I would say, “I’ll just go ask somebody else.” It was so easy to pass the buck, but now when someone needs help and I don’t have the answer, I’ll say, “I think I know somebody who might be able to help you.” Or when somebody is new at our school, I want to make sure they are introduced to our administrators or to whomever I think they’re going to work with. That way, they can have the support that they might need throughout the day. So there’s somebody they can go to just to say, “Hey, what’s your thinking on this?” or “What should I do about this?” Overall, I think I’m trying to be more helpful.
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