Audrey and Sapphire were two of the Thompson School District students who participated in Shadow a District Leader Day. They spent the day with the Communications Department and ended their day reflecting on their experiences.
When did you find this experience, and who/what got you to sign up for Shadow a District Leader Day?
When I (Audrey) first heard of the ‘Shadow a District Leader Day’ from my mother, I didn’t think of it as something too special. I didn’t really know what to expect, and I soon waved the idea off–but my mother told me that this could really give me a new perspective. Soon enough, when we heard that I got accepted, I felt really happy that I was going to be able to see the behind-the-scenes.
My (Sapphire’s) mom told me about the ‘Shadow a District Leader.’ I thought it would be cool to see what people at Admin do. I agreed to sign up, but I didn’t really know what to expect. My mom was really excited about it, though, so I figured it would be fun to see a different perspective on how the school district works.
What was your day like?
First, Sapphire and I (Audrey) went to have breakfast with Mary Iliff. Then while we waited for Michael Hausmann, we went and took some photos of some of the other groups at First Watch.
After, we came back and met with Mike and went with Brian Lindecker, and he showed us behind-the-scenes of filming. After that was done, we went to take more pictures with Mary and had lunch with all the [communications] staff (talked about ice cream and a mouse holding a banana?).
Then we went with Matt Beall, and he showed us the [website] programs. Finally, we talked to the translators and then wrote this.
What did you get out of this experience?
I (Audrey) genuinely got a lot out of this opportunity, and I’m super happy about that. At first, I was kinda nervous to meet a bunch of adults, but I felt comfortable and got to talk with so many amazing people! This experience gave me so much insight into what goes on to protect and make sure schools are safer.
During this experience, I (Sapphire) got to give some of the administrators advice from a student perspective on what I think could be changed. I got a lot of information on how the district administrators do their jobs and what makes the district run. I learned a lot, and I’m really happy I got to experience this.
