Champion Schools is almost 10 years old and the growth in the last few years has been exponential. Things are constantly developing so there are essentially countless areas for improvement in many different levels of function. The size and quality of the facilities and buildings are probably the first thing that you would notice if you spent a day around school. Summit Elementary shares a large building full of classrooms with the Phoenix School for the Arts. There are currently about 350 Champion School's students occupying 10 rooms and space is so limited that at every hour of the day there are students outside for either P.E. or lunch. This issue was addressed long ago and the delays in construction at the new campus are desperately close to being over. The new campus will make things a lot easier with the logistics for school bus pick-ups and organizing school wide programs, like sports. The square footage along with the surrounding community and what it has to offer will be good for the school but I'm sure there will be some negatives as well. The mass of the area around the school carries the same principle as businesses because the surrounding services and residential housing will start to have greater involvement with another educational institution running. After the space issue is taken care of the operating size of the staff is my biggest concern.
Right now, the school could use about 4-6 more coaches to ease the pressure off of the 6 teachers who teach and coach teams. Once the school moves campuses, they will probably increase enrollment by about 30%. I think the staff of 25 needs to do the same or more to stay productive and efficient. In my current position as marketing specialist I believe Champion Schools would be an ideal location for undergraduate students looking for teaching internship experience before certification. This would be an easy way to fill teaching hours and also attract attention from the large, local university. Keeping the social media friendly and updated will help Champion Schools to stand out among standard public schools. The small intimate nature of the school along with its focus and success in athletics will drive the enrollment steadily.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
A Look At CS Athletic Director, Junior Taylor
What daily challenges do you face?
To make sure everyone has what they need to do their jobs and operate efficiently. Pleasing everyone is difficult; from the JV to the varsity teams, from the players to the coaches. It can never be fair and equal for all.
How do you deal with deadlines, unhappy people and politics?
Working ahead and prioritizing duties. With playoff schedules that aren't announced until a short period before they happen, it's inevitable for some parents to be upset. It's important to bite your lip and listen to what they have to say. It's also important to tell it like it is and to be real with parents. The organizational structure doesn't leave too much serious internal politics. Teachers think the AD doesn't care about academics although he tries dearly to fulfill the mission statement of staying strong and disciplined in the classroom.
What do you like/dislike about the position?
Being able to see things grow from not having any teams at all when he first started three years ago, to state titles and several levels for various sports. He enjoys having a hand in many managerial duties for all of the sports. Usually, in an athletic department there would be a much larger staff taking care of all the things he has to do which makes it difficult but also more satisfying. He is fulfilling his own vision and plan, and doing it his way.
What would makes things more easy?
The new campus. A gym, a field and all the needs of the teams available in one place. A larger staff would help because right now they are operating with less resources than they would like and the quality of programs is important.
How do you deal with depending on others?
Having people with the same vision as him helps. He has the personality trait of a control freak which makes him want to control things and not depend on others all the time. He needs to build more trust which he is doing as the year goes along.
Who are your mentors?
He speaks to the head coach of his high school football team about twice a week. He taught him the value of student athletes working hard and giving them opportunities. He has coached for over 40 years and taught as PE teacher.
What is your vision for your LLC, Taylor Made?
Helping to keep kids on track, prepared for college academically and athletically, providing them with all the tools they'll need. He envisions his company being able to come to any school and get kids ready with tutoring and training that is more useful than what they can get in their current situation. The programs are tailored to every athlete. His company was created last year and the first year was very successful.
To make sure everyone has what they need to do their jobs and operate efficiently. Pleasing everyone is difficult; from the JV to the varsity teams, from the players to the coaches. It can never be fair and equal for all.
How do you deal with deadlines, unhappy people and politics?
Working ahead and prioritizing duties. With playoff schedules that aren't announced until a short period before they happen, it's inevitable for some parents to be upset. It's important to bite your lip and listen to what they have to say. It's also important to tell it like it is and to be real with parents. The organizational structure doesn't leave too much serious internal politics. Teachers think the AD doesn't care about academics although he tries dearly to fulfill the mission statement of staying strong and disciplined in the classroom.
What do you like/dislike about the position?
Being able to see things grow from not having any teams at all when he first started three years ago, to state titles and several levels for various sports. He enjoys having a hand in many managerial duties for all of the sports. Usually, in an athletic department there would be a much larger staff taking care of all the things he has to do which makes it difficult but also more satisfying. He is fulfilling his own vision and plan, and doing it his way.
What would makes things more easy?
The new campus. A gym, a field and all the needs of the teams available in one place. A larger staff would help because right now they are operating with less resources than they would like and the quality of programs is important.
How do you deal with depending on others?
Having people with the same vision as him helps. He has the personality trait of a control freak which makes him want to control things and not depend on others all the time. He needs to build more trust which he is doing as the year goes along.
Who are your mentors?
He speaks to the head coach of his high school football team about twice a week. He taught him the value of student athletes working hard and giving them opportunities. He has coached for over 40 years and taught as PE teacher.
What is your vision for your LLC, Taylor Made?
Helping to keep kids on track, prepared for college academically and athletically, providing them with all the tools they'll need. He envisions his company being able to come to any school and get kids ready with tutoring and training that is more useful than what they can get in their current situation. The programs are tailored to every athlete. His company was created last year and the first year was very successful.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
AD for a Day
I chose to shadow one of my mentors at Champion Schools who I interact with on a daily basis. His name is Junior Taylor and is the Athletic Director for our school. Mr. Taylor was one of the three people that initially influenced me to be a part of CS. I felt like I had a lot in common with him, which I do, and this would make the work atmosphere a little lighter. At the same time, he is the head of athletics so I call him "Coach Taylor" along with the rest of the students and employees.
Coach Taylor is an extremely busy individual which hasn't made the beginning of the year the easiest around school. Along with the birth of his baby daughter, he also spent some time testing the waters of the UFL, a start up football league. The Varsity flag football team, which he coaches, has only lost one game which was the one he missed while trying out for a team in Florida. In the mornings Coach Taylor gets to school usually around 10am. He has two phones, both email capable, which he has on him at all times to keep up with schedule changes and questions from the many parents that he has to deal with. He is responsible for overseeing the scheduling of all practices and games, (soccer leagues, football leagues, volleyball) and forecasting the sport seasons ahead. He has many associates such as league commisioners, other coaches and city officials for negotiating permits. Since CS has two separate campuses, he also is responsible for logistics of transportation especially for competitions.
As I said previously, he was one of the three main people that make up CS. Ms. Sawyer and the VP, Ms. Fagan are the other two. That being said, Coach Taylor helps with school events like their "Fall Festival" after school holiday, "Going to College" interstate trips and other miscleanous happenings. Coach Taylor finds small openings in his day to settle stirs between teachers, coaches and his players. As the head coach, he has to keep his athletes accountable in the classroom by calling them into his office for "motivational" speeches every so often. Everyday after school, after I've left, his team either has practice or a game which he has to go to. He contributes to the school photo albums and blog entries when he has the time also.
Coach Taylor is an extremely busy individual which hasn't made the beginning of the year the easiest around school. Along with the birth of his baby daughter, he also spent some time testing the waters of the UFL, a start up football league. The Varsity flag football team, which he coaches, has only lost one game which was the one he missed while trying out for a team in Florida. In the mornings Coach Taylor gets to school usually around 10am. He has two phones, both email capable, which he has on him at all times to keep up with schedule changes and questions from the many parents that he has to deal with. He is responsible for overseeing the scheduling of all practices and games, (soccer leagues, football leagues, volleyball) and forecasting the sport seasons ahead. He has many associates such as league commisioners, other coaches and city officials for negotiating permits. Since CS has two separate campuses, he also is responsible for logistics of transportation especially for competitions.
As I said previously, he was one of the three main people that make up CS. Ms. Sawyer and the VP, Ms. Fagan are the other two. That being said, Coach Taylor helps with school events like their "Fall Festival" after school holiday, "Going to College" interstate trips and other miscleanous happenings. Coach Taylor finds small openings in his day to settle stirs between teachers, coaches and his players. As the head coach, he has to keep his athletes accountable in the classroom by calling them into his office for "motivational" speeches every so often. Everyday after school, after I've left, his team either has practice or a game which he has to go to. He contributes to the school photo albums and blog entries when he has the time also.
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