During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us retreated to our offices and opted for Zoom meetings. Gone were the collaborative face-to-face meetings that sparked ideas among our colleagues. We found ourselves on the Island of the District Office, the organizational lily pads keeping us separated from our buildings and our students, and ultimately our mission.
Remembering the Why
Education has never been more challenging! Reigniting our passion, knowing and remembering the “why” behind what we do has never been more important! These tough times will change the face of education forever. It’s never been more important to create little moments in time in a student’s life.
What do you think!?!?
Feel a sense of renewal and reignite your passion for education by taking time to visit classrooms and interact with staff and students.
One of those moments in time that ignited my passion and reflects one of my biggest “whys” happened at the beginning of the 2019–2020 school year, before everything changed. It started out with a goal of clarity. You see, if you have clarity at home, in life, and in the organization, you can be the best you can be for yourself and the others around you. In an effort to clarify and attain my goals, I wrote down my goals and looked at them frequently. One of my goals was to get into the school buildings more often and to deepen my relationships with our staff and students.
But first, a little background about me. I spent the first years of my career overseeing operational finance with companies such as General Electric and Enterprise Rent-A-Car, trying to drive profitability throughout the organization. I was good at what I did, but the monotony and lack of connection with real people began to wear on me.
I realized that I wanted and needed more. I wanted to help others and to feel as though I was doing a job that was truly impactful and made a difference on a more personal level. I needed to work somewhere where I could see the people I was helping. I needed to rediscover my purpose and my passion. To do that, I needed to make some big changes in my life, and I did.
Little moments in time shape a person’s life, and in education, we have an opportunity to create those moments ever single day!
In 2009, I began my new career as a chief financial officer at Huntley Community School District 158, located in northern Illinois. The district serves 9,600 students in K–12 and has been one of the fastest-growing school districts in the state for the past decade.
I had an inkling that perhaps by being involved in the education system, I could redefine my purpose. Maybe I would make an impact on the people around me and really see the benefit of the work I was doing. Little did I know at the time, but I had undervalued the way that this new job and the connections I forged would affect not only my career, but also my life!
As I began the work, I immersed myself in the process, learning from those around me. My first superintendent was influential and encouraging. He visited the schools in our district and made a point of knowing everyone we were serving.
Following his lead and guidance, I made my rounds of the buildings as well. I found my own way to connect with staff and students by reading to elementary school students, serving lunch to students, dressing up as the school mascot, and performing as Buddy the Elf once a year. I knew that doing so would make me better at my job because if I knew the people I was helping as a school business official, I would have better insight into what needed to be done. That alone was a change from my previous career path, and I loved it! I was finally able to see the tangible fruits of my labor.
The other benefits of getting into the buildings, the classrooms, and the lunchrooms were the people I met who truly ignited my passion for this work. They are the reason I love what I do.
And Now . . . the Story
As part of my goal of clarity and getting into buildings more often, I began the 2019–2020 school year by helping out with materials pickup at the high school. Huntley High School has approximately 3,100 students. If you haven’t been to a materials pickup before, it’s incredibly energizing.
Two weeks before school starts, students arrive to pick up their textbooks, Chromebooks, and gym uniforms and drop off their health paperwork. Freshmen are there with their parents, finding and opening their lockers, amazed by and looking overwhelmed by the size of the building. Students, in general, are super excited for school to begin and, for many of them, to see their classmates for the first time since school let out for the summer.
During the day, I assisted in all of these areas, talking with students and parents and becoming just as excited as they were about the start of the school year. Full of school spirit, I ventured over to the Booster Club area to buy spirit wear, because that’s what you do when you are all jacked up on energy! As I was looking at a few things, I felt a tap on my shoulder.
When I turned around, a very tall young man (well over six feet) with his mother standing by his side, said, “Are you Mr. Altmayer?” I acknowledged that I was. Then he said, “You don’t know me, and you probably don’t remember me, but about 9 or 10 years ago, when I was eight years old, you sat next to me at a White Sox baseball game!” I responded, “I absolutely do remember that!”
My mind immediately went back to the game and the little boy sitting next to me, wearing a Conley Elementary shirt. When I noticed he was from one of my elementary schools, I asked him how the Battle of the Books was coming along. Battle of the Books is one of our third-grade reading programs that encourage students to read as many books as they can from a list of approximately 30 books. The students then join their classmates to form teams and participate in various game show battles to find out which team read more books and remembered the most details. In fact, I was one of the final game show hosts, officiating the championship battle.
I told the young man that I remembered him and our conversation and that he had read all 30 books for the Battle of the Books.
Then, standing there at material pickup, he said: “And then you told me something I have never forgotten, you told me to go back to my teacher and ask for more books, and to never ever stop reading, and I have never forgotten that, Mr. Altmayer. And to this day, I am a huge reader, and I just wanted to say thank you!”
I was absolutely blown away. I think about that moment almost every day!
Little moments in time can change a student’s life . . . and if I have that opportunity, if we have that opportunity, imagine the incredible opportunity our teachers, bus drivers, cooks, support staff, and administrators have each and every day!
I’ve been lucky enough to experience many amazing moments that have enriched my life simply because I decided to be more involved in the schools. Whether I was serving lunches in the cafeteria or stepping into a classroom to offer a lesson, I’ve been forever changed by the students and staff members I’ve met throughout the past 13 years.
These experiences and people are what inspire me every day to be the best I can be in this career and life, and they drive me to find better ways to serve the community in which I work. Yet I would never be able to experience this fulfillment unless I had stepped outside the comfort zone of the district office and gone into the buildings and classrooms.
Get off the island, get into your buildings and classrooms, reignite your passion, and find your “why.” Furthermore, make sure your team members know their why. Allow and encourage them to also visit buildings, read books to students, and discover why education is the best business in town.