Latest / The Recess-An Inside Look at the Auburn School District / Episode #34-Andrea Love, High School Principal

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Episode #34-Andrea Love, High School Principal · The Recess-An Inside Look at the Auburn School District

• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to the Recess Podcast.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: The Recess is a place where we tell stories about the Auburn School District to take you behind the scenes.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Dr.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: Alan Spociotti, the proud superintendent of the Auburn School District.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: Today, our guest is the principal of West Auburn High School.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: She is a great leader in our system, and she's here to talk about some of the amazing things that West Auburn does.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: If you have maybe an impression of West Auburn or you think you know about it, uh I'd like you to hear from our principal, Andrea Love, and uh learn a bit more.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I think you're gonna find that they have some very special and impressive things that are supporting students and helping us fulfill our mission in the Auburn School District of seeing kids for who they are today, uh maxing out their education and their social development so they can choose their own future.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: So without further ado, I'm happy to welcome in our West Auburn principal, Andrea Love.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome, Andrea.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_01: Good to be here.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so excited to have you on.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: I have actually had several of your West Auburn students, and now they're mostly graduates on the podcast, and it's been really fun.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: They uh just have such a story to tell.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, we recently had Sir on, and uh it was really fun to see his podcast got downloaded a whole lot, and uh he has a big fan club, and it's pretty clear why he's a fun kid.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so we're really excited to meet you and hear more about West Auburn.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: But we're gonna start where we always uh start on the podcast, and I'm gonna ask you who was your favorite teacher and why?
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_01: So I was a little bit of a nerd growing up, a math nerd specifically.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: So my favorite teacher was my AP calculus teacher in high school.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and his name is Bill Eagle, and he's still um, you know, working in education and everything, doing great things over in Wenatchee.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: And he was my favorite teacher because a couple things.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: One, he had super high standards.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: He had the expectation that if he saw you in the hallway, um, you had to be ready to answer any calculus question at any time.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: So we knew we were just on point and needed to be ready to go at any time.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um he also made learning fun.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: He brought his guitar in, he sang about sign, cosine, all that kind of stuff.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_01: So that was amazing.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_01: And then he was just a real person.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: He connected to us on that real level.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: He shared about his own life, and so we really felt like we got to know him as well.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's the first time we've had AP calculus teacher as the answer.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm dead certain that uh singing about sine and cosine and and all that uh is is definitely a first.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: Sounds like a great class, very memorable, obviously.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so before we start talking about West Auburn, yeah.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: I I just want people to know you briefly.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: You have been committed to alternative education for almost your whole career.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: For sure.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: Could you just kind of briefly speak about that and and why have you chosen that path?
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: How does that resonate with you?
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: So it kind of started by chance.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: I was um getting my master's in school counseling and I was just looking for a para job.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: I knew I wanted more school experience before I just dove into being a high school counselor, and there happened to be an opening for a math para job at an alternative high school.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: I interviewed, I got the job, and then from there on I just fell in love with it.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: And I really, really believe in and have a heart for what small schools can do.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: And that's not to say like our big high schools, our big middle schools, they do amazing work as well.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_01: But I also know there's a pocket of kids that they're not always able to reach, and they also just don't necessarily have the same flexibilities.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: It's a huge system.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: You're trying to move basically a mountain, and we get to be way more nimble in small schools, and we also just did get to develop those relationships on a way deeper level.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_01: So I fell in love with it.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: I got lucky to be able to be hired as their school counselor um a few years later when I finished my master's.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then I had a few other experiences um in Highland School District in small schools.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: They had small high schools at the time, so I got to be a dean at one of their small schools, um, and I just loved it.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: So it's a huge passion for me for sure.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: One of my aspirations for Auburn School District is to be a great school district for all students and families, not just some.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like we've been, you know, very good and and even great for for many, uh, but not everybody.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: And and West helps us to close that gap.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um I like to think about my own two children, you know, who are biologically of the same background, are very different and have been since birth.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um and you amplify that across literally thousands of high school kids.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: Like it's not one size fits all.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: We need options, we need personalization.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so we're gonna hear a little bit about West Auburn now, but uh we're really fortunate to have your passion and your experience in alternative education um as you grew up as a leader and could marry those two things and be principal of West Auburn.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so West Auburn is the district's alternative high school.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: Tell us what that means.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so it means a lot of different things.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, for me, what's amazing about what we do is that I get to have the opportunity every single week to sit across the table from families and ask them the question, like, what does school look like in your dream world?
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_01: What does that look like for your student?
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_01: And when I'm talking about that, a lot of times it's some of our hardest cases.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_01: It's students that are in really, really challenging life circumstances, and we get to brainstorm and try to build a program around them.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: We have six programs that we manage at West and that we run, but sometimes even with those six options, we have to get really, really creative within the programs and kind of piece things together and pull resources to make something work for an individual student.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_01: So it's just that is something I'm really passionate about, and it's amazing that we get that opportunity to do that and to build school around students and families.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, the other thing that we really focus on as West is that we want students to have their best possible school experience, period.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_01: So we know that a lot of our students have struggled in other schools.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um maybe the school setting was too big, maybe there were academic setbacks, maybe they have mental health things going on.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: So anxiety was just really rough for them to come into a big setting, and we get to just do school different.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: That's great.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: You know, hands down, uh some of the most memorable graduation speeches I've heard are from West Auburn students, and um and honestly some of my most memorable interviews here on the recess because students can really articulate why the school is so special for them, things that um they've had that have been challenges to overcome, and how the school has supported them in that way.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: And then I appreciate you starting with the intake uh and explaining that.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: So uh I assume it's you and or maybe uh your assistant principal, Mr.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: Miller, but uh there's a meeting with every incoming student, and that's something as as Andrea said, our our comprehensive high schools have a ton of strengths and and we're really proud of them.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: But with fifteen hundred to two thousand students, that's not feasible.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um but on the scale that West Auburn operates on, we can do that and and that helps to individualize for students.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: So when you hear students from West who are so fiercely proud, they are because I think they feel known and cared for and uh it it it just really resonates all the way through.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: So let's talk about the programs that you have that once you've done that intake and you you understand, you know, if a student uh maybe is on track or not with their credits, uh they have anxiety, uh they're younger or older, and all the factors that you kind of play with, you place them in programs.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: So can you provide an overview of the programs at West Auburn?
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: So we have six different programs, and I try to break those into three different buckets of kind of the different style of programs.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um so the first two programs we have are actually on site, they're in building, where we get to see kids in building every single day.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Day School is our program that's our full-time program.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's the most similar to a comprehensive high school in that students have a set schedule.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they only go to four periods a day, but they rotate through classes and earn credits just like their peers at their other high schools.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then we also have a part-time program on site that's our hybrid program where students come only for about two hours a day.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: It's an incredible opportunity for students who maybe have mental health channel challenges, maybe they're parenting themselves, maybe they also have a job and need to help provide for their family.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so it's another just great opportunity.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_01: We've also found, um, especially lately, that students sometimes start in that part-time program.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe they're just needing to get re-engaged, maybe they've had um attendance struggles in other buildings and starting off part-time just makes more sense for them.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then they kind of work up to being in our day school program.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then our day school program, it's really, we have an incredible culture and climate that we've built in that program.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and Dr.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_01: Switchotti talked about kind of how students feel seen there.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: We've really been intentional too about like our vision for West, marrying that with the district's vision for equity, because that is our goal is that students are seen and her, yes, it's a little bit more traditional, but the classes are still a little bit smaller.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that allows us to really, really get to know our students and still create that kind of personalized space for them.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: So then we have two online programs.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's really fun to be able to talk about those programs because they are so similar and also so different.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: This year we got to fully merge Auburn Online into what we do over at West.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: And so Auburn Online um is more traditional in that students take six classes a year, um, just like they would at a comprehensive high school.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_01: We also have a middle school program and currently an elementary program in that.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it's really nice because students get a high level of structure and support.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_01: So this is for that kid that maybe, you know, just wants to be at home for the comfort of home, maybe they have medical needs that don't allow them to come into a building, or maybe they're involved in activities.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_01: Some of our students do some super cool activities that don't allow them to have the time to come in the building, but they still get that structure.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_01: They still have a regular homeroom period that meets, they still have the support of teachers that are there for academic and testing blocks.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then we got to start a brand new program this year, which I'm super grateful that we got to do.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_01: And that's where we got to bring in over a hundred of students that we used to send to an outside program back into our school system here at West.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_01: And that program is called the off-campus program, and it is our most flexible option.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_01: Typically, students just take one or two classes at a time.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of them have a lot of other things going on in their lives, but this still allows them to be engaged in school, um, to make progress with their education and to work one-on-one with a teacher who can really guide them through that.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then we have still two more programs, and I think of these ones as our partner programs.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_01: So we have um Open Doors, and that's a partnership with Green River, and then we have Virginia Cross, which is a partnership with the Muckle Shoot Tribe.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, open doors is incredible because they have all the things, and that is the full spectrum from if a student is just like, there is no way I'm gonna be able to get caught up and graduate from high school and like to get a GED, that's an option.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, all the way to the student who might be a little bit behind in credits, um, but is motivated and has a career path and interest, and they can go into a technical um program and get a certificate from Green River or to get their AA through Green River.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_01: So it's really, really wide range of opportunities.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_01: And then Virginia Cross is just a super special partnership.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: It's kind of the only one-room schoolhouse that I know around about around here where students get to come.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they get individualized learning with an instructor where they really, really infuse the cultural aspects into the education.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: That's a lot.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: That's a lot, but it's it's needed to meet the needs of students.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: So um Andrea just threw a lot at our audience.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: Let's kind of recap.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: So day program uh where where students are on campus, but it's it's it's a much more controlled environment, just smaller numbers overall, tend to be smaller class sizes and so forth.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: But day program, then you have two online programs.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: Auburn online, where you you uh took in the Auburn online program that we started in the pandemic uh for secondary moving forward, uh that will have middle school and high school.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: The um off-campus program is another online program where kids can come in for support, uh, but it it's uh has a has a different target audience.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: Then you have partnership programs with Green River College for open doors, where I think we've done a great job of taking some of those older students and uh working on that handoff uh so that they can maybe start with us, but really be Green River students before long, and then our partnership with the Muckle Chute and the Virginia Cross Center, which is located up on Mokleshoot Hill, uh and it truly is a one-room schoolhouse.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: I never thought of that.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so again, we're trying to meet a lot of different needs, learning styles, time and availability, and kids with a lot of responsibility, and maybe they're working, or uh they themselves, uh in some cases are parents, and uh making it all fit together for students, I I think that's great.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: Did I miss anything in my recap?
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_01: I think except for hybrid.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: Hybrid time program, yeah, part-time program.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_00: Good.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: Well, let's talk about what students thrive in the programs.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, sometimes I hear that kind of trope that, you know, you're only at West Auburn because of whatever.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: But as I meet West Auburn students, it's amazing how many different backgrounds, life situations, um, you know, maybe they just didn't fit in a comprehensive high school, uh, it's too big, loud, busy, they need to focus, they need the relationships.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um then you hear some extraordinary like personal background stories of you know that they've had to grow up pretty fast based on what's going on in their family and and with their parents.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um and you hear all these different stories.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: I I find West Auburn students to be proud.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_00: I find them to be in general more mature than a typical high school student, partly because they tend to be older, but also partly because the students who succeed at West Auburn in in my observation they kind of get it.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: Like they understand they they've they've reached a point where they are determined to be successful in their life and they're looking for an opportunity to do that.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: And that's really fun to see, and and a lot of them will admit, hey, I made mistakes, or I you know, I didn't go to class or I fell behind or I I didn't take my studies as seriously, but like that light bulb has gone on, is like, okay, there's a path for me, I've got to step it up.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: So that's what I've seen.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: But could you talk about uh the students and and just you know who's really in the wheelhouse of West Auburn and how do they thrive?
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_01: The answer could go on and on.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not gonna do that to you guys, but it's a super super super broad um student population that we serve at West.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_01: And so really the bottom line is I think of it as students who just need or want something different.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they also are typically the students that thrive there are students that want that personalized approach.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_01: They want more one-on-one support.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_01: It's not a great place to come if you want to hide.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_01: We're too small for that.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_01: Like you can't hide and just not go to class.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_01: That's not a thing that happens at WIS.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because we want to get to know you.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_01: We want to have that personalized connection with you.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it is like Dr.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_01: Spitati said, it uh includes students who kind of need a second chance sometimes.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's students that maybe haven't had the best experience in a traditional school.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_01: Things just didn't go well for a variety of reasons.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, a lot of times those are different family circumstances that they may have.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um it could be things going on with their own mental health.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it also could just be family commitments.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_01: They're um family, you know, they help take care of younger siblings, they work themselves to help support the family.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_01: So there's such a wide variety of students um that we serve at West, but I think the ones that thrive there are the ones that are ready to engage.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_01: If you are ready to engage and come to the table, we're gonna meet you at least halfway.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_00: Perfect.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: So uh can you talk about some of the things that that bring West to life and just uh make it a fun place to be as well as all of all of the academic mission?
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, for sure.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_01: It is a super fun place to be.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_01: I was talking with a teacher who's gonna be starting at our school next year, and we were meeting him in my office this morning during arrival, and I start to hear the music.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_01: There's music, you know, it's 745, but but we're dancing it by we mostly, Mr.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: Miller.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_01: But um, there's music going on.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_01: There's um we start the day on Fridays with clubs.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_01: It's part of our homeroom, but students are able to go to the gym and play basketball.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_01: They're able to go do Legos, there's a gaming club, there's just all these different activities.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, one of our long-term subs walks around playing the guitar, and it's just a cool atmosphere.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um, at least one Monday a month, we start the day with pancakes.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_01: So um, Mr.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: Miller and I make pancakes and bacon and eggs, um, and we just serve the kids, and staff are welcome to come down and eat as well.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: And it just creates kind of that family environment.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: And then a couple other cool things that we started this year.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_01: We started um a basketball team.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_01: So it's kind of unofficial, Loki might be official now, but um, it was just started that students want to stay after school and play basketball.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_01: They like to play.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's a great safe environment for them to be and an opportunity to be athletic since we don't have traditional athletics um at West.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_01: And now we have uniforms, we've played a few games, um, kind of scrimmages, you know, student versus staff.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_01: We played one other alternative high school, and it was amazing the school spirit in the space when we had that first game.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_01: I have never seen or felt anything like it.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um tons of people came out, we packed up the gym.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then also as this basketball team was growing, um, we had a cheer team start.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_01: I had a girl wandering in my office one day.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_01: We just happened to ask her, like, hey, are you gonna cheer for this basketball game that we're have coming up?
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_01: Turns out she loves to cheer.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_01: That's like a passion.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_01: She had done dance and things like that before.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and she started a team.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_01: So um we now have advisors, we got them, um, pom-poms were donated, all of these things.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_01: And to see the pride on students' faces to be involved in something like that is so incredible.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_01: And it's not necessarily like your traditional cheer team that you might have at a bigger high school.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we're not Mountain View, we're not going off to win nationals or anything like that.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but students, it's inclusive.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_01: Students are happy and they're up there leading their school.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_01: It's just been amazing to see.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_01: We've also started a theater s program this year, so we have our first production coming up um soon.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_01: So tons of great opportunities for students.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_00: That's so true and so awesome.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and then I'm thinking like I know you have Career Day and I I've had a chance to visit that.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it's really rich, and like again, you can see the light bulb going off for kids, and I think you bring in businesses, and uh there's like post-secondary pathways through that or or other presentations.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um and then you actually have a prom.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_01: I do.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: Tell tell the audience about West Auburn prom.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's maybe a little different thing, but I think in a way that's really beautiful and and right for the community.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_01: When we were reflecting after prom, because it was just this last Saturday, our prom, um the words that were used were it is the most inclusive prom, period.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_01: So I would challenge anyone to find a more inclusive prom.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um what we do to kind of make it a more inclusive space and not your traditional prom is number one, we serve food to all students.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_01: This year, um, our theme was an Islander theme, and we had Hawaiian food from a local restaurant.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_01: It was incredible.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_01: But also then every student has the opportunity to have a really nice meal with prom, regardless of their financial circumstance.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_01: I think also whenever you break bread with somebody, um, it just creates that bond.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_01: There's a different space and a different vibe that happens when you share food with people.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we also know that not every student wants to dance.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_01: Like that's not within everybody's comfort zone.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_01: So we open up a couple of our classrooms.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, sometimes we'll do a movie in one, we'll have games available in others, and it just is this opportunity for people to come together.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, most years I bring my own son, several of our staff members brought their kids this year.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_01: We had a dog there.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's just a community environment.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_01: Everybody is welcome.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's only$10.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_01: Come on down.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: Super fun.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh that's the kind of thing that like I just see the kids sparkle when they talk about this and that and other things.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: You have a multicultural fair, right?
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I'm not sure if this episode will air before or after that, but just uh share a little bit about that program as well.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we were so excited to start that last year.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_01: It was our first year having a multicultural fair, and we know all the other high schools have incredible multicultural fairs.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um so we started ours.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_01: It's pretty simple.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_01: We have a few performances in the gym.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_01: They're really Incredible rich cultural performances that happen.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_01: And then we just pack our courtyard out with food.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_01: Families are able to bring, you know, food.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_01: We supply a little bit.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_01: We helped offset by buying ingredients for families as well.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_01: And then we also have different cultural crafts where people are making things.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_01: And this year our teachers are getting even more involved and they're having students create posters and other presentations as part of their coursework so that we're able to decorate the space and have way more representation.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: And then when the year wraps up, uh I know there's at least two celebrations of seniors.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_00: So you do one at the school and the gym.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's like your awards.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: And then the graduation ceremony on the Saturday at the Performing Arts Center.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_01: Graduations at alternative schools are like nothing else.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_01: So for a lot of our students, they might be the first person to have ever graduated in their family, and it is just a really, really big deal.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_01: Also, just being smaller, to me, it's just more personal.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we have students that really share from the heart too when they do their speeches.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's hard to not, you know, cr tear up, even if I'm up on the stage.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it's just an incredible experience.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_01: You can feel the energy in the room, you can feel the joy from the students and from their families.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it's just an awesome opportunity.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I'll just echo that.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, my thoughts about West Auburn graduation.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, first of all, it's really gratifying to see how it's grown.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and it it feels to me like each year there's more kids on the stage.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_00: Not every graduate walks, because one unique thing about West Auburn is you graduate kids throughout the year, or they they finish and they earn their diploma and they move on to work or post-secondary, whatever their pathway is.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_00: Uh not all of them are are available or they've some of them have just kind of moved on, but there's still a large collection of students on the stage and much bigger than it was uh ten years ago due to some really intentional work and structures that have been put in place to help kids get over the finish line and and really be clear that that's what we're here for.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_00: But that's not what makes West Auburn's graduation special.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's the families uh and the students themselves.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_00: It is so meaningful, and I I think Andrea hit it by saying it's like nothing else.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_00: Uh at a at a traditional kind of comprehensive high school graduation, you know, you're looking for a certain level of decorum, and you're also, you know, our goal is to get the comprehensives through in about I think an hour and ten minutes, and they might have four hundred kids in the graduating class.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_00: So there's really not an opportunity to be personal, you know, you kind of chide people so that they don't applaud over another kid's name being read, uh, and you have to do that at that scale.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_00: But at West Auburn, I mean the parents just hoot and holler, and it and very often, not just for their own child, but like they form relationships, they know each other, and and it's a real celebration, and it just feels so great.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_00: So uh congratulations for that whole culture in the school that you've in inherited but then built on.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, there's a lot of work that's gone that's gone on the staff, a number of staff members have been there for quite some time, and so shout out to the West Auburn staff.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, do you want to say anything about your staff before we we finish up?
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I say it as much as I can.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I have the best staff.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_01: I really do.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_01: I said it this morning.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_01: May have been because someone brought me a coffee, but no, but in all reality, um, we have an incredible staff.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_01: They are super dedicated to students.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they have been able to bring their strengths into our building um to help create some of these new programs that we're talking about.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_01: And they just have a passion and a heart for kids.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_01: We kids, we try really, really hard to do the front porch well and to create that welcoming space for our students.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and they do that each and every day.
• 26:17
  unknown: Great.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_00: So West Auburn staff uh bring your principal a cup of coffee and you're in good shape.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_00: Now our our teachers are amazing, our support staff at West are so proud, and just everybody is uh supportive of the kids and the whole school community.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: So uh thanks to our West Auburn staff.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna wrap up, and I want to know, thinking way back maybe when you're in elementary school, what was your favorite thing to do at recess?
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_01: Great question.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_01: It's kind of ironic because I don't play sports or anything at all like that now.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_01: I never really did, but my favorite thing was playing Foursquare.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um I just loved it.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_01: I love the game.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I uh I love these recess memories and always encourage people to get out and do it.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if uh if your son plays Foursquare or if uh if he would humor you and uh set up a game, but uh encourage you to get out and do that again.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_00: But it's it's great.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_00: You have fun memories of Foursquare.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um I'm I'm gonna finish with just one story when when we hired Andrea Love and when uh the previous principal retired, we ran a process, we had two outstanding finalists, and what we did was we actually had the students uh be a part of an interview process with them and the debrief was the most uh engaging uh debrief I've ever had.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: It was an hour-long conversation, and it was because the students really wanted to be understood of what made the school special, what made them special, and uh how the principal could support them, and of course the successful candidate was Miss Love, and uh she's just taken the school to higher levels.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_00: So, Andrea, thank you so much for sharing about West Auburn today, and uh I hope that everybody shares this podcast, whether you you just tell somebody, actually, no, this is what I know about West Auburn now, and it's a little different than I thought.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_00: That would be great.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_00: We want to spread the word even better if you share this podcast or uh subscribe to the recess so we can get all of these stories out about our great people and programs in the Auburn School District.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_00: Andrea, thank you for being my guest today.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for having me.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_00: And that'll do it.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_00: We'll see you next time on the Recess Podcast.