WSD Voice - Podcast

Learn more about WSD's work-based learning opportunities in Early Childhood Education through our Career and Technical Education programming. Superintendent Martin joined the high schoolers as they engaged with students at both Knudsen Elementary and Stepanski Early Childhood Center. These moments of connection, leadership and learning are what make WSD so special!

Guests: 
Lauren Potterfield - Teacher, Kettering High School 
Tony Miller - Teacher, Kettering High School
Sophia Holmquist - Student, Kettering High Schoo
Casidee Davis - Student, Kettering High School
Javon Cole - Student, Kettering High School

Hosts: Sarah Davis, Director of Communications and Community Relations
Adam Martin, Superintendent
Producer: Jane Tekiele, Video Production Coordinator

- Hello and welcome to WSD Voice, a podcast focused on positive and informative news in Waterford School District. I am your host, Sarah Davis, the Director of Communications and Community Relations, and I'm here with my co-host Waterford School District Superintendent Adam Martin. Today we are going to be talking about an opportunity for our students that is part of our career in technical education programming called Early Childhood Education. And this program features a tremendous work-based learning opportunity for students who are interested in careers in education. Here to discuss this important program on WSD Voice today is Lauren Potterfield, family and consumer sciences teacher at Kettering High School High School, but also coordinator of WSDs Early Childhood Education Program.

- Thank you so much for having us here.

- Thank you. Yes, we're happy to have you here. As well as Tony Miller who has many titles. We have marketing teacher and DECA advisor at Kettering, but then also work-based learning coordinator and career and technical and career and focused education coordinator for the district.

- Yeah, that's a few of them. Thanks for having

- Us. So thanks for being on the show, both of you. Let's dive right in. Adam, I think you're starting the questions off.

- I am, I am. So Lauren, could you help us out with the early childhood education program or the ECE program? Could you talk to us a little bit about the overall goal of the program and then how it helps students prepare for a career in education or a career in any child's industry?

- Yeah, I'd, I'd love to do that and Tony, jump in if I forget anything because what I want to start with is that this is created by the state originally to help fill those gaps in teacher shortfalls that we are still experiencing, particularly in early childhood education. For us, that is the preschool level and early elementary. So that is what it was created for. We do prepare kids for careers in teaching, but as I think we'll discuss is also very valuable for a whole bunch of other reasons as well.

- Okay. And Tony, while we're concentrating on the ECE program specifically today, I know there's a lot of career and technical programs, career focus programs that we oversee in the district. Can you kind of talk about that a little bit and what we have here?

- Yeah, so the, the early childhood program is the eighth of our CTE programs. It's our newest one. So we have CTE programs and computer programming, computer networking, web design, marketing, business finance and family consumer science. So we've had seven for a while. Early childhood's going to be our newest one, our eighth state approved CT program here in Waterford.

- Okay, wonderful. And you're head of marketing, you were just telling us about a fun holiday craft that you have are more than a craft but program that you have going on over there. So a lot of really good opportunities through our students that one's through the school store. So

- Absolutely

- They get to engage with that.

- Yep.

- So

- Getting back specifically to the ECE program, Lauren, could you talk to us about the kids that are attracted to that program and then through the curriculum, what experiences they, they get to have?

- So I definitely want to get the kids who are interested in education. This is their opportunity to try that out, get a feel for it, get to really do some teaching in a classroom environment, some real hands-on stuff. But I also really just want any kid that has an interest in taking this class. And that's how I sell it because I talk about all the fun that we're going to have, that we get to leave campus three times a week, that we do fun things in the classroom. You get to work with the kids in the preschool and we have an elementary version as well. Now I really just want any kid who has an interest along with that, I am looking for the most diverse population of kids that I can bring into this program. So it's not just like I am looking for gender diversity because I think with teaching, and especially when you're talking about preschool, the prevailing view is that, oh, that's not a career for boys. But I have to tell you, those preschoolers love having boys in the classroom. You know, when you think about it, they generally speaking, their primary caregiver is a woman. Their teachers are women, females. So the boys can give a little bit of that balance to that situation. And the boys in our program, they, they love it. They do quite well. So I'm looking for that. But I am also looking for cultural diversity. I am looking for people with multiple languages who are interested. I am looking for different socioeconomic backgrounds in my students. I am looking for different abilities. This class is supposed to be an 11th and 12th grade course. I do take 10th graders, especially if they have a real interest in doing this. It does require that these kids have a high level of personal responsibility and they show that, you know, we, we teach them what the expectations are, but they really do show that they can step up to the plate. They can problem solve, they can be self-motivating, they can take initiative. And so I'm looking for kids who can handle that other, otherwise it is basically open to any kid who is interested in it. And the the last thing I'll say about that, because I think you guys experienced that today when you were talking to some of the kids. I know that if I get them in and let them experience what the rewards of teaching are and the responsibilities and the day-to-day tasks, there are a lot of kids who will say, you know what, I didn't really think about this as a career, but I am now. So that's fabulous too.

- Yeah. And I think an example of that today was with Javon who said he's going into architecture, but here he was again a male at the preschool level and he was talking about how much he enjoyed that. And that was, that's probably an experience he wouldn't have had otherwise.

- Yeah. And I, I recruited him. I do recruit a lot of kids because I can tell that they have the kind of, you know, teacher soul. A lot of them I know from other courses that I teach, I can see how they're working with other kids and how they're patient and how they will teach and not just show or do. And he was one of those kids that I felt like had that ability and I think he's discovering it too. So that's a lot of fun. Yeah.

- And we'll hear from him later, but once, so once you get them in the program, once they give you that Yes. What are some of the things that they do while they're in there?

- So their least favorite part is the first two months of the year we are in my classroom in Kettering. Okay. They are learning the things they are going to need to know to put into practice on site besides like I teach them things like how to do a read aloud to preschoolers. And of course we modify all this for those kids who are going into the elementary. But what they really, really don't like is that we do about a dozen online trainings. They do health and safety, bloodborne pathogens, confidentiality, seclusion and restraint, all kind milestones, all kind of actual trainings that are on platforms that our district teachers engage in these same trainings. So they are legitimately training like a district teacher. Would they get to keep credit for that as well? We do first aid CPR so they can handle emergency situations which do come up sometimes. What else? That that's, that's I think their least fun. Although I will tell you that once we get to cite they realize, oh my gosh, I'm really drawing from this and pulling from this all the time. We are just learning about how to read stories. And I had, after we did this lesson, I had a couple of kids come and say, oh my gosh Mrs. Potterfield, I read a story today. And the kids were all asking questions and they were engaged and it's like, it's just like you said, like yeah it was so you could see them really applying that stuff as well.

- Right. And you would maybe think reading a story, why do I need to learn how to do this? I can read a story. But then once you get into the classroom, you see how it could be different when you're doing it that way.

- Yeah. And they can see why. You know, I actually think that helps them understand what their teachers are doing in the classroom. That everything we do has a purpose and we might be playing but it's play with a point, you know. So I do see them making those connections too. Like oh, oh I see. Story extension is like another reinforcement for teaching with the book is learning. And so it does help them make that connection as well.

- All right. Well thank you Lauren. Before we get into what else our students learn from the ECE program, we're going to take a quick commercial break.

- Waterford school district superintendent, Adam Martin here, the Waterford Pool and Fitness Center is your recreation and health community center. We offer a welcoming, supportive environment for people who are interested in recreation, fitness and enjoyment. We have both land and water classes for all levels and offer annual and three month memberships. Find out more about our pool and fitness center programming on our website, WSDMI.org.

- Okay. And we are back to our WS D voice podcast talking with Lauren Potterfield and Tony Miller about our district's prestigious ECE program. We left off with Lauren telling us about the two schools our students can learn at Knudsen and Stepanski. Adam, what's our next question?

- Next question. So students are dropped into our schools for that hands-on learning experience. What other things are they learning from that?

- What things are they learning there?

- Yeah.

- Okay. So this program is amazing because every student gets a placement. We have this year we have three at Knudsen and I think we have 18 at Stepanski. They're assigned a classroom and we make those placements carefully based on the student's level in the class, what their needs are, et cetera. They stay with that placement the entire year. So their mentor kind of guides them on what they actually, you know, each kid has specific things they're trying to learn. So they're getting that direct like about education, those kind of skills. But I also, professionalism is like a big thing. They are learning you cannot be late to this class because guess what? The bus will leave you and then it's a problem because where are you going to be for two hours? Like there's no place for you to go. You can sit in the office, you can help the attendance lady, you can, you know, so there's like real consequences for not nobody gets those, they, they do their job but you know per being on time, if they are absent, they are required to email me and their mentor teacher in a certain way before a certain time. They have to come dressed appropriately according to guidelines. And I feel like even if they don't go into teaching, you are going to use those skills anywhere you go. And for adults that those seem like no-brainers. Well yeah, I got to go there and I got to be on time and I have to stay focused on what I'm doing. But for teenagers this is something they are learning and so they really show me that they can handle those tasks as well.

- Well I appreciate that they're getting the opportunity to learn from a mentor teacher and establish some of their own soft skills, air quote, a little bit of things that are going to pay them forward in wherever they end up next. Can you talk to us a little bit more about some of the curriculum standards of things that you teach or guarantee that they have proficiency on in the coursework?

- Yeah, that's a great question too because in this program, besides getting a lot of certificate, like small certifications through those trainings through First State CPR, every student in the program is working towards one of two certifications. Most of them are working towards a child development associate, which is a real certification. It is industry based, it is nationally recognized. This is what you need in order to work in a preschool classroom. It's the first step. So we're working towards that. We do 120 classroom hours towards that. They're building a portfolio. They also have to do 480 hands-on hours. Wow. In the community in a preschool setting. And the elementary kids, they are working on something called, it's a YDA Youth Youth Development associate certificate, which prepares them to lead out of school time activities. So there's no like elementary certification per se, but this sets them up to continue education in that field if that's the direction they want to go. Theirs is a little different, they still need that 120 hours, but I think they, they need fewer hours. I think they need 140 hours in the community to be available for that. Now we haven't had anybody actually earn them on my watch, but I do have a lot of kids who have gone out into the community. They're working at Stepanski now, they're working in daycares and they are and have earned them since. So it's at least the foundation.

- You mentioned community a couple times in that last question. The students are in the classroom, they get to go to the different schools to Stepanski and Knudsen, but how else are they engaging in the community?

- So this is what is really great about this. I think I will tell you that recently you met her Sophia today. Yeah. Yeah. She had told me recently. She works at a daycare after school as many of my students do. And she had said, you know, Ms. Potterfield, I think we're taking over the early childcare scene in Waterford because everywhere you go it's just filled with your students or former students from this class. And I'm like, that is amazing because they get hired for these jobs because people know they're trained. They have the certifications and trainings, they've been with me, they've had hands-on experience. So we have that. But also many of them will volunteer for afterschool events at the various sites or Saturday or whatever, you know, extra family kind of things. So the community sees them there. They all have a bright blue sweatshirt this year and people start to recognize that that's what that signifies that they're part of the program.

- I saw them and I really liked them.

- They cute, they designed those themselves.

- Yeah. Very nice.

- They're very proud of it.

- Yeah.

- They'll also tell me stories of how I was at Burger King and I saw one of my students and his family and he ran up and gave me a big hug and then I talked to his parents and like, so they're engaging in a very positive way in many different venues around the community, which I think just is such a wonderful shining example of what Waterford has to offer kids in this district.

- All right, well thanks Lauren. Now that we know some of the background of the program, we're going to hear from those students that we've, we've talked about earlier today. Adam and I, Lauren, you were there to visited with WSD students, Casidee Davis and Javon Cole who they both assisted Stepanski Early Childhood Center, then we headed over to a first grade classroom at Knudsen and spoke with Sophia Holmquist. Like I mentioned, superintendent Martin had the opportunity to interview these students and learn all about their experiences in the ECE program. So let's listen to what they had to say.

- Hi, I am here at Stepanski with Javon and Casidee and they're going to help talk us through some of the incredible things they're doing as student interns here at Stepanski. So guys, you ready for some questions? All right. So question number one of the things that you guys have studied to help prepare you for here, what was the most challenging and what was the most rewarding that you guys have been able to put into practice?

- So it'd probably be like the stages of play. because we always think that we know how to play but we have to learn how to play together. So that's what I think is most challenging to learn in theory.

- Javon, can you talk us through, is there a specific training that you got at some point that you've been able to apply where it was a direct one-to-one from the classroom to working with the students here?

- I think the most one-to-one is to do a bunch of steps on how to deal with the conflict. Basically just teaches them in a way that like educates them more rather than just trying to solve the confidence we put under the rug. I have had some confidence in my classroom, nothing too intense, but they were able to get solved and they have been happening much less. So

- How has this experience impacted what you guys are thinking in terms of your future goals? Cassie, we'll start with you and then over to Jay Munk.

- I was originally thinking about like being a marine biologist, but this has really opened up like my Verizon of careers. So I might become a teacher instead.

- Okay. Same here. I am planning to be an architect but this is honestly like really good for experience if you know that doesn't work out. But it does just give me more opportunities and more variety for my future.

- What is your favorite part about being here at Stepanski and how does it compare to the classroom learning at your high school when you were learning in the classroom?

- My favorite part is definitely just being able to help the kids like get through their day. Especially comparing it to like when I was in around their age, all I had was like a singular teacher. But it's probably much more helpful just knowing that I'm helping the teacher out and helping these kids out. And compared to the learning at Kettering, I'd say very different, much more hands-on stuff and real I guess. Like I'm actually just here. Yeah. And being able to work with the kids.

- Yeah, it would definitely have to be like working with the kids. because I Kettering we're just on our Chromebooks and we're still learning stuff but here we get hands-on experience.

- Okay. So you're going to start with you on this one. What is one specific way that you feel that you've made a positive impact on the classroom here at Stepanski or even just at Stepanski as a whole?

- I think I help my teachers with a lot of things, but it's also like helping the kids' moods every time I come in they could all like, oh my gosh, Casidee. And they run over to me and gimme hugs and they hug me when I leave. So I think I just help with their mood.

- I think it's the same here. I just help them and like it to be an exciting new part of their day that not many other kids probably get. So there's probably a

- Freshman somewhere or maybe a, an underclassman that's watching this podcast thinking about, Hey that sounds pretty cool. What would you guys say to them about the experience to help encourage them to either join it or what they'll learn from it? And this will kind of be the end here.

- Just take the chance. Don't miss opportunity. Just because you're like, I'm not too sure. because if you don't take the chance, you'll never know if you like it.

- All right. I lied. I have one more. When the program ends, what's the biggest thing you're going to miss about it? By the kids?

- Yes. I would have to say the kids and my friends in this class. I'll be like my biggest thing.

- Well, Casidee and Javon, thank you guys so much for sharing a little bit with us and for your work with our students. It's incredible work that you guys are doing and we're looking forward to seeing how this helps you at the next step. Thank you so much. Alright, I'm over here at Knudsen with Sophia, one of our ECE interns. And looking forward to hearing from you about your incredible experience here. So let's just get us going. So talk to me about how this experience has impacted kind of what's next. I know you're a senior at Kettering and probably thinking about, okay in June here after I graduate what I want to do. So how has this experience impacted your future goals?

- Jacque, every day I look forward to coming here and I think about the kids every time I wake up and it makes me so excited and I know that's what I wanna do for the rest of my life.

- So you're thinking about being an elementary teacher? Definitely.

- Definitely.

- Okay. Upper L, lower L or does it not matter?

- I've really enjoyed lower elementary. I've worked with F first grade for two years now and I just think it fits.

- What is the one thing that you would say maybe others would say, whether that's students or teachers that you've been able to positively impact here at Knudsen?

- So last year was our first year at Knudsen with my program and I've noticed more teachers have wanted more of our interns and it's, I think we play a really positive role on all the students helping them extra one-on-one help that kids might not be able to get because of the big classroom. And yeah.

- So you've been at this for a year and a half, working in classrooms with students that aren't yours and working with different teachers. What is the one skill, the professional skill that you've learned the most or that has been developed the most in this that you're going to be able to take with you going forward once you're done with Waterford schools?

- Firsthand, hands-on experience. Really no other class has been able to teach me as much as I learned here. I've been able to go through two classrooms and learning the different student teaching and how to other students' learning abilities are very different. I've been able to apply that and learn so many different kinds of teaching skills and learning from multiple teachers, I've been able to apply that.

- Yeah, it's pretty amazing. A classroom of 25 students with 25 different personalities and 25 different ways to, to learn in their needs. Right. It's incredible work. Talk to us about the opportunity that you had, the positive piece that you had that you would not have been able to have if you weren't an intern here with the ECE program. What is that one thing that you're taking away with you?

- Definitely just the experience overall. I'm in a classroom, I'm working with real children, real issues, real learnings. Also this class has presented to me scholarships and opportunities to go out and talk in front of people and get that confidence that I would not have without this class.

- So as you're closing down your high school career here, you mentioned scholarships. Talk to me a little bit about how this program has helped with scholarships and I'm sure you're probably starting to apply or already applied for colleges. How has this experience directly impacted those things?

- I've worked with two teachers and they give me a lot of their just opinions on where to go and how to go about it. The best way, what they would do that's different. And learning from what they've done has helped me a lot. Letters of recommendation, I've been able to reach out to my past teacher and she's helped me with that. Scholarships. The Golden Apple scholarship is a big one throughout teaching and I've been able to apply to get that one. And yeah.

- So for underclassmen or maybe middle schoolers that are considering, hey, what is something that I might want to do in high school? What's an experience that's there that would be unique? What could you tell them about this experience to help provide some guidance, support, maybe some encouragement in terms of what this is.

- Definitely be brave. When I came in as a junior, I just found out about this program and we came to elementaries for the first year. I was nervous because there was only three of us who were going. And I just wanted to get that real experience I wanted to do in the future. I knew I didn't really want to do preschool. I knew I wanted to be in elementary and so I was brave and I came out here and I'm very proud of this whole experience.

- So it has had a, a pretty profound impact on you, you would say? Yes, definitely. All right. So talk to me as the, the last question here. What is the thing you are going to miss most about this program? When it, when it closes down and when you're all done?

- I'm going to miss the students the most. Even last year, saying bye to my last first grade class was one of the saddest moments I've ever had. I got to see them in their second grade classroom because one of the students requested to see me because it was super hard saying goodbye. But I think that's the number one hardest thing about teaching is seeing your kids grow up. Which is an amazing thing, but it's hard to see them grow up as well.

- Well, Sophia, I just want to say thank you. If it, if it hurts saying goodbye, that means you've done it the right way. Appreciate you sharing with us about this. Anything else you'd like to add on?

- I love this experience and this program is truly

- Amazing. Thank you.

- Thank you.

- All right, well thank you to all three of our students for sharing their experiences. Tony, how is this program funded?

- Well, there is a pretty complex formula, but, but as you heard, all of those certifications that we're offering the bus transportation to and from CTE programs can, can get pretty expensive. So there is a state formula that involves kind of the number of enrollees in your program, the number of students that complete your program, how high demand that job is, and what the outlook looks like and the average salary. So there's a, a formula that kinda gets redone every few years from the state. So all of our CTE programs get funded based on that formula. How many students are in our CTE programs and how many students get through our CTE programs.

- Okay. - And then we obviously are able to use that money for student organizations, BPA, DECA transportation field trips, buy those fun things, those babies for the classrooms that the kids take home on the weekends. So we can use all that money to help support our CTE programs.

- Okay.

- Tony, thanks for sharing some of that. Lauren, what are some impacts the CTE funding has on the ECE program? And then Tony, are there other impacts that the funding has on some of our other programs?

- For us, I think, I mean we couldn't do the program without it really, because even from those sweatshirts, those aren't free. We do provide one sweatshirt for every kid so that they can go and be a part of the group. We have transportation to and from Kettering to the sites each day. I don't, we don't want kids driving because some kids don't have cars. We want them all to be able to go. We also, I think the biggest expenses for us are when we leave campus altogether. We do take field trips. I take them to one conference every year. We are probably going to go back to Educators Rising again this year. Actually. The kids can compete at that one and they're looking forward to doing it this year. That's at Wayne State and it is for students across the state in this program. That's real fun. I took them to my AC once that was in, was that in Grand Rapids? That was a real big one we took two years ago. I also will take them to different universities and colleges so they can see the programs at those colleges. And for a lot of kids, it's like the first time they've ever been on a college campus. So they get to see the facilities and learn about the program and talk to the students and the professors there. That's probably our big, what else do we, do you think we spend? Yeah.

- Well with, with, for example, with BPA and DECA, they get to compete at their district state and hopefully national conferences. As Lauren mentioned, transportation is a really big expense. So having that extra funding for transportation to get us to those conferences. Whether it be, you know, Oakland University as a hosting a conference coming up here soon for DECA, our state conferences in Detroit, there's often a conference in Grand Rapids. Ideally we'll have kids that will qualify for nationals and we'll be traveling out of state with them just purchasing equipment, materials. We can even use some of that CTE money to help support the teachers and send the teachers to their professional conferences. So ideally all our CTE teachers are attending a conference every other year, at the very least for their professional area.

- I want to add too, it's not just the funding that makes a huge impact on these programs. It's the support that we get from just districtwide. From, from doing this all the way down to the mentor teachers at my sites. Like we cannot do this without their support. The way they work with these kids is amazing. The principals at both sites at Knudsen and Stepanski, Ms. Bratton and Mr. Gregory, they are big supporters of this program because they're getting to see firsthand the impact that it does have on the kids. Yeah. So I just wanted to throw in that it's not just about all about the money. It's like everybody has a stake in this.

- Sure, sure. So this isn't the first. These three students that we talked to today, they're not the first to go through the program. Have, what are some accomplishments that others have had once they've left? What are some successes that you can kinda tout?

- Well, once they leave, they always want to come back. So I do a day in the spring where former students, and I'll invite the ones that have expressed interest, they can come back and they can work with the students that are currently in the program. So they are at a wide variety of colleges and universities studying different things and they will tell them about their journey, which I think is actually a big thing. because a lot of kids come into this program thinking like, college is not for me. And then they find out that not only is it for me, I could go there. So that's good. Last year we had some award winners. We had one student earn the Golden Apple Scholarship State of Michigan. I, I don't know if that was the first year, but it's kind of a new scholarship and she will get up to $10,000 worth of funding and a lot of training as she journeys to be a teacher. And then I had two students get accepted to the next gen ed summer camp that is at Wayne State. That also is like a teacher prep as well. So they're making a splash.

- Okay. And we heard Sophia mention the golden apple and how she's just applied for that and is I have

- Three. Yes. Oh, you have three of Okay. That are applying for that this year, so fingers crossed. Yep. Because it does make a difference. Like the one that earned it last year, she really needed that funding in order to go to college. Yeah. Like she had part of it. She was an athlete. You know, she's a hard worker, good grades, but just that little extra boost, plus the support and they're guaranteed a job and so,

- Yeah. Okay.

- Huge.

- Lauren and Tony, what does the future of this program look like going forward? Tony? Is that more you

- I'm sure. Well, I'm sure Lauren has a vision. You know, I'm hoping that we can expand it to all the elementary schools. You know, as Lauren mentioned, it takes a lot of, a lot of commitment from the principals and the teachers. Right. But now that we've opened it up into a couple elementary schools, ideally we'll be able to open that up into more elementary schools. Hopefully, you know, Mr. Gregory's having a good experience with it. And then he can share that with some other principals. Maybe we'll expand that out. I know a lot of the kids that have been in the program and other CTE programs are now working at the schools and other positions like noon aids and things like that. I have a lot of work-based learning students who are working as noon aids and the kids really love them. I, I get calls from the principals at the beginning of every school year of, you have co-op students ready to be noon aid this year. So I think getting our kids this experience and those kids showing that they're going to succeed and do well is going to open up the doors a little bit.

- Right, right. Yeah, I agree with all of that. I would like to expand the sites that we are using, which would allow us to bring more students into the program. We're a little smaller this year, but not for lack of demand. Like you have to be able to fit it in your schedule. So that's one thing. But last year we had a student from MOT next year. I understand there are some students from Mott who are interested as well. So I'd like to bring in more of those, more of our kids, just as many kids that can have the experience, you know, bring them in to that as well.

- So, Adam, listening to all of this from a district perspective, what does this program bring for Waterford and for these students here?

- Well, I think selfishly it provides a, a stream of candidates who already have training, right. Who hopefully we can hire and plug in to some of the needs that we have across the district, whether that's noon hours or paraprofessionals or down the road teachers. But I think broadly and more globally, right? Our, our job is to help prepare all of our students to be successful in whatever chair they're in afterward. And I feel really strongly about providing all of our students career experiences, right? Ensuring that they have those soft skills. And this program, the ECE program does that directly. And I know Tony over the other career tech ed programs, you know, the charges doing that. So really making sure that we are maximizing the time that we have with students, giving them those career experiences, hopefully walking them into what the next chapter would be. And selfishly maybe returning some of our Waterford students to Waterford employees, which has a tremendous impact on the community being from the community and in the community and returning to the community. There's a dedication, devotion that that can't be you, you, you can't put your a value on it. So I appreciate it and I'm, I'm looking forward to watching the, the program grow. And then some of our other programs, Tony, like how do we keep building and, and use this as a model for that. Yeah.

- Well thank you Lauren and Tony for being here today. And thank you to our three students, Casidee, Javon, and Sophia, who let us visit them in the classroom. It was really great to see them out, see them with the students, hear the things they had to say. Yeah, it's really important for us to show their, their piece in all of this too. So thank you for setting all of that up, Lauren.

- Thank you. It was

- Our pleasure.

- They were excited and nervous. Yeah, they did a great job. They did great.

- They were, they were fantastic and I appreciated that they were able to tangibly talk about the impact that the experience has had as them on them as humans. Not necessarily on the student side, but just, Hey, I'm better for this experience. So,

- Yep.

- Awesome stuff.

- Yep. Thank you.

- Thanks for having us. Yeah.

- This podcast is brought to you by Waterford School District's Department of School and Community Services, and is produced by Video Production Coordinator Jane Tekiele. I am the host of this podcast, Sarah Davis, and you can find all episodes of WSD Voice on our website@wsdmi.org or any Waterford community cable channel. We also invite you to subscribe to the podcast, which is available on Apple Podcast, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Amazon Music, and if you want to watch the recording on our WSD YouTube channel, we so appreciate you listening today and encourage you to tune in to future episodes of WSD Voice as we discuss topics geared toward inspiring, educating, and empowering our students, staff, alumni, and community to thrive.

In an effort to get to know our district's new leader, students ask both personal and professional questions to our new Superintendent Adam Martin. 

Hosts: Sarah Davis, Director of Communications and Community Relations

Producer: Jane Tekiele, Video Production Coordinator

- Hello, welcome to "WSD Voice," a podcast focused on positive and informative news in Waterford School District. I am your host, Sarah Davis, the director of Communications and Community Relations. I am here for Season 5, and I cannot believe it is Season 5 of this award-winning podcast with my new co-host, Waterford School District Superintendent Adam Martin. Adam, welcome to the show.

- Thank you, Sarah. It's great to be here. I appreciate it. Looking forward to adding to the award-winning show.

- Yeah, that would be good. So, we have been working hard to kinda get you and your name out there, you know, have people get to know you, but it's kind of hard to do through only social media posts or letters that we, you know, that we send out. So, we thought having you on the podcast would be a good idea.

- That's great. That's great.

- So, what we did was we reached out to our students at the elementary, middle, and high school level and asked them what they wanted to know about you both personally and professionally. So, we'll have one of our Durant students ask a question to start us off.

- Hi, my name is Wyatt Baty. I'm a senior at Durant Alternative High School, and I was just curious on your journey to becoming a superintendent.

- Yeah, so my journey to superintendent actually started a long time ago when I got an opportunity to coach basketball. I had played basketball. And you'll hear a little bit about that probably through these questions, but I was in college, got a chance to play basketball. Loved the interaction with young people. Immediately switched my major from Architecture into teaching. And then, I was a teacher for seven years, then assistant principal, then principal, then an executive director. And at every stop, I was really just trying to figure out how do I best serve students in whatever opportunity I had. And I have had incredible opportunities to advance, I guess, and am really looking forward to learning, serving, and leading here in Waterford.

- Okay, and kind of adding onto Wyatt's question, what inspired you to become a superintendent and more specifically, why come to Waterford?

- So, the inspiration behind superintendency is impact, impact of the seat that you're in, and really being able to collaboratively work with the different leaders in the school district as well as the families, to try to best position the school district to support the students. Waterford specifically, as I got to learn more about it, there was just a real comfort and familiarity there from the students to the parents, to the team that I'm working with. And there's also an opportunity for creation and innovation, which is something that fills my bucket and really inspires me.

- Okay. So, we got a little bit of your professional background there. We're gonna start with with some basics now.

- [Adam Martin] Yeah.

- My name Kye King, second grader from Knudsen Elementary School. My question says what do you do for Waterford schools?

- Yeah, so as a superintendent, ultimately I'm responsible for everything, which is a great blessing that the district would choose me to serve in that role. I hope that'll help improve teaching and learning, arts, athletics, really be the lead communicator, reputation builder, and hold myself to trying to best position the school district to support all of our students in the wide variety of ways that we should be doing it.

- Okay, let's do one more warmup question.

- Hi, my name is Brynn. I'm in fourth grade at Cooley Elementary, and my question is what is your favorite book to read and why?

- This was a tough one. So, I have a few. One of my favorite books was "Fab Five," Mitch Albom, who's a local author here. I'm a big Michigan fan, basketball especially. So, that book I really enjoyed in my middle school years. And then, I enjoyed "Fountainhead," which is a giant book if you know it. I was actually impressed that I was able to make it all the way through. I have a little bit of attention-deficit disorder when it comes to reading books and getting all the way through. So, it was one of the ones that I really enjoyed reading, and it was about architecture too, which I have an interest in.

- Okay, great answer. So we're gonna get to some more hard hitting stuff, but after this commercial break.

- Okay. Hello. Waterford School District Superintendent Adam Martin. Since I'm brand new to Waterford School District and this community, I've been visiting different locations embarking on a journey to discover the people and places that make Waterford unique. If you're interested in seeing my adventures or just wanna learn more about this community, tune in to the "Discovering Waterford with Superintendent Adam Martin," video series on our district's WSD News YouTube channel. See you soon.

- Okay, and we are back to our "WSD Voice," podcast listening to our students who have questions for our new superintendent, Adam Martin. Let's play our next query.

- Hi, my name is Nina Yates and I'm a senior at Waterford Kettering. How do you plan to help grow the music program?

- I think for my first year here and first couple years really just assessing where things currently are, trying to evaluate where we're having successes and where there's opportunities to improve. And then working through our assistant superintendents, both at the elementary and secondary level, to find ways to increase access, increase availability along with innovation, where there are opportunities for us to bring and put musical instruments and music into the daily experience of as many students as possible. And at the same time, looking for opportunities to increase our reputation and ensure that our music programs are well covered and publicized.

- Okay, now, we have a hot button topic.

- Hi, my name's Haylie Chang. I'm a senior at Waterford Mott High School. And what is your opinion on technology in social media and our schools?

- This is another difficult question, but a good one. So, I really think there needs to be a balance within our schools for technology and social media. Many of our students are technology native. You know, you're on your devices probably when you wake up, and then once you leave our school. So being really thoughtful about the amount of time that technology and social media finds its way into our schools. Hopefully teaching appropriate ways to use them within the school, but really just trying to strike the right balance given the amount of tech and social media that I know is happening in all of your lives.

- All right, thank you, Haylie. That is a very important topic right now. And we have another good question.

- Hi, my name is Wesley Karsen. I'm a senior at Waterford Kettering High School. And my question is, how are you gonna help better mental health programs for students and staff?

- Yeah, so I think this one really comes down to, again, looking at the needs of the students. One thing that I'm excited that the school district is doing and excited me about coming to Waterford was the SAEBRS Screener for our secondary students to be able to identify needs of our students. And then using our trails curriculum to help with some of that, but alongside that, really identify needs in a quantifiable way, so that way we can build supports for all of our students. And at the same time, bringing awareness to it . That mental health is an important portion of all of our existence and making sure that we're being attentive to it.

- Yeah, absolutely. Again, another really important topic there. Well, let's get a middle schoolers question in here and this is a good one.

- Hi, my name's Taylor Brewer. I'm in eighth grade at Pierce Middle School. My question is what would you have to say to your middle school self?

- I would tell myself don't take myself so seriously. I would also say don't be in such a hurry to grow up. We plow through our or I plowed through my younger years without really taking the time to smell the roses and do all the fun things, right. And I would also say be adventurous and courageous. Take chances and do things. I was an athlete, didn't spend time in drama. If I had to go back, I would do that. Wasn't really involved in as many student groups as I wish I would have been. So, our schools offer a lot of different offerings. I would say get involved in as much of that as possible. Spread your wings, find out what you really like, and be comfortable learning in the uncomfortable.

- Really good advice. Thank you very much. So, Taylor represented Pierce. Let's have a Mason student.

- Hello, my name is Brandon Todd. I'm in grade eight, and I am from Mason Middle School. My question for you is what are your top priorities for this school year?

- Yeah, so within my first year, really getting to know Waterford School District and the Waterford community as a whole. So, trying to press in and learn from the different people that are here about things that have been going on in the past, but also ideas and thoughts on where should we go in the future. I'm excited that this winter, we are gonna begin our strategic planning process, which is really going to help cast a five-year vision for Waterford School District and my leadership. And then, really looking at how do we incrementally change or make some changes and improvements over time. So hopefully really just learning a lot about the community, and then trying to work with the community to help move us forward.

- Okay, and our next question probably piggybacks a little bit off of how you just answered the question from Brandon, but let's play it.

- My name is Alexa. I'm a fifth grader at Knudsen Elementary School, and my question is what are you gonna do to improve our Waterford School District?

- I think one thing that I bring with me is my ability to galvanize or cohesively bring people together. The other thing is having been in multiple districts, I've had a lot of different experiences that I hope as I'm assessing Waterford, I'll be able to bring to the table and to consider, especially as we're looking to continually innovate and try to do new things. Also, we won't be giving snow days. I'm kidding. Just kidding. But really, just try to bring our best energy for students every day and try to be as thoughtful as we can about all of our decisions to, again, make Waterford School District the best place it can possibly be.

- I don't know if this is a place to make the no snow announcement.

- Well, I did it just to see if people were still paying it.

- Yeah, that's good. That's good. So the next question is geared to a more specific audience, and it's asked by one of our Durant students, so let's listen to her.

- Hi, my name Elle Repco. I'm a senior and leadership student at Durant Alternative High School. And my question for you is how do you plan on supporting us and our students specifically?

- Yeah, so I'm gonna answer this question specific to Durant and what I know about it, but also jump a little bit to the high school. So for the Durant students specifically, I think there's a lot of opportunity within the Michigan Department of Education guidance and flexibility on accelerating students and trying to individualize as best as we can learning progressions and learning opportunities over the course of your high school career. So for Durant specifically, how can we accelerate, how can we ensure that you're graduating within four years and having experiences that you're gonna be able to take with you post-high school? And I'll extrapolate that onto all of our high schools, right? Like, how do we build those programs and those systems in a scalable way to provide really impactful experiences for you during your high school and accelerate at the same time.

- Okay. So Adam, I think we're gonna move on to questions, personal questions.

- [Adam Martin] Okay.

- But we're gonna take a quick commercial break first.

- [Adam Martin] Waterford School District Superintendent Adam Martin here. The Waterford Pool and Fitness Center is your recreation and health community center. We offer a welcoming, supportive environment for people who are interested in recreation, fitness, and enjoyment. We have both land and water classes for all levels and offer annual and three month memberships. Find out more about our pool and fitness center programming on our website at wsdmi.org. That's wsdmi.org.

- And we are back for the last round of our questions from students looking to get to know our new superintendent, Adam Martin. Let's play our next question.

- Hi, my name is Emery Holmes and I'm from Mason as a eighth grade senior. And my question for Mr. Martin is what would your dream job be if you weren't a school superintendent?

- So if I was not a superintendent, I would love to be a professional basketball player. I grew up playing basketball. Basketball for me was, it always filled my bucket. It was a place of comfort, a place of peace, a place that I found success. And if I wasn't able to be a pro basketball player, I'm a little bit older now, either a coach coaching basketball or maybe like a team manager. I love athletics. It's meant a lot to me. And what I really love about it is the teamwork. And you can't hide. You're judged on your merit and your performance, and I appreciate that.

- What about dog grooming? You had brought that up to me.

- So I do clip my dog, but I do not wanna be a professional groomer, no.

- Okay. All right.

- Seems like it could be a cool job though.

- But your answer is a very nice segue into the next question.

- [Adam Martin] Yep.

- Hi, my name is Bruce Poindexter and I'm an eighth grader at Pierce Middle School. And my question is, did you play sports in high school, and if so, where did you play?

- Yeah, Bruce, I played basketball and soccer, and actually I played a little bit of baseball too. We went to a small, I went to a small school, so it wasn't super competitive. I was able to play a lot of different things, but basketball was my primary sport. I was a point guard. And then in soccer, I was a center midfielder. And not surprisingly or surprisingly, even looking back on both of those positions, really enjoyed kind of being the connection and kind of being in charge of flow of things. And professionally, I've kind of fallen into some of those similar characteristics. So, it's kind of funny how you look back and can see, hey, even back when I was a kid, these are some of the things that I enjoyed about different positions, and then how it has played itself forward.

- Right, it's developed you into the person that you are today, right now.

- Yeah, for sure, for sure.

- All right, so those middle schoolers had a lot of great questions.

- Yeah.

- But let's try out some more high schoolers.

- Hi, my name's Landon Smith and I'm from Mott High School. What are your hobbies outside of school?

- Ah, so outside of school, so I'm a father of four, which takes up a good amount of my time, which I'm blessed to have. But I really enjoy cooking. I wouldn't say I'm a great cook, but I do like to eat and enjoy the process of cooking for my family and seeing them have some positive affirmation for my cooking. I coach basketball. I started my career, as I said before, coaching basketball. So, I still coach, blessed to coach my seventh grader's basketball team right now. Heavy in fantasy football. My team got destroyed last week, so trying to package some trades and see how I can improve my team. I enjoy movies and I also enjoy tinkering and fixing things, whether that be replacing a shower head or fixing a lamp that went out. So, I wouldn't say I have any one main hobby, but I kind of tinker and do a lot of different things.

- All right, we're almost done. There's one more question.

- Yeah.

- Hi, my name is Penelope. I go to Cooley Elementary. I'm in fourth grade. And my question is what's a fun fact you don't tell most people?

- So I have a rich history as a paper boy and then as a paper man. So as a fifth grader, so my mom and dad didn't have a lot of money. Well, I was a paper boy, so I would get newspapers. I would deliver them in our neighborhood and collect. And then when I was in college, had an opportunity, there was a paper route that was handed down to me that allowed me to put myself through college. I would drive around, deliver newspapers into tubes. And actually had that job for 10 years. Had that until I became an assistant principal and would deliver on the weekends. Was driving late at night two nights ago and I thought to myself, "I would be driving to go pick up newspapers right now if I was 19 years old." So, I was a paper boy, paper man, if that's a thing.

- Yeah. All right, well, that's a wrap on the questions. I think you did pretty darn good answering all of those.

- Thank you.

- Is there anything else you wanna say to our students or families as a way of an introduction about yourself that maybe we didn't cover with any of these questions?

- No, I just would like to say how excited I am to be here. I really serve the Waterford School District community. You guys have been super welcoming. As you see me out and about, please come introduce yourself to me. Tell me your story. As I said earlier, the more I know about you, the better I can serve you. So, I'm looking forward to the community, learning about the community. And without learning about you, I can't serve you. So, please come find me. I'm the tall, bald guy with a beard that's wandering around.

- Well, thanks for being a good sport today.

- Of course, thank you for having me.

- We look forward to you continuing to have you on here on "WSD Voice."

- Thank you so much.

- And thank you to all of our students who participated in this episode of "WSD Voice," as we all got to better know our district's new superintendent, Adam Martin. This podcast is brought to you by Waterford School District's Department of School and Community Services, and is produced by video production coordinator Jane Tekiele. I am the host of this podcast, Sarah Davis, and you can find all episodes of "WSD Voice," on our website at wsdmi.org or any Waterford Community cable channel. We also invite you to subscribe to the podcast, which is available on Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Amazon Music. And if you wanna watch the recording, on our WSD YouTube channel, We so appreciate you listening today and encourage you to tune in to future episodes of "WSD Voice," as we discuss topics geared toward inspiring, educating, and empowering our students, staff, alumni, and community to thrive.