From Her Perch on the Entrance Desk, This Faculty Staffer Helps Youngsters Present Up Every Day

Nancy Muñoz is on her second act — this time, in a college — and she or he feels she’s lastly the place she belongs.

After a protracted profession working in well being care, the pandemic led her to hunt a brand new alternative. She discovered it within the type of an operations coordinator function inside a center faculty in Camden, New Jersey.

In that place, Muñoz sits on the entrance desk — what she calls “the face of the home” — answering cellphone calls, sending emails, receiving guests. However the actual energy of her work, she says, goes properly past the standard duties related to the function.

Muñoz is laser-focused on decreasing the college’s power absenteeism price — a problem that many colleges nationwide are grappling with within the wake of the pandemic. She is dedicated to seeing as many college students as attainable present up on daily basis, on time, able to study. She’s even constructed her morning espresso routine round it.

In our Position Name sequence, we function unsung faculty employees members — individuals whose jobs are little-known or misunderstood however who’re integral to their faculty communities. For this installment, we spoke with Muñoz about how her work is about greater than answering cellphone calls and greeting faculty guests.

The next interview has been flippantly edited and condensed for readability.

EdSurge: How did you get right here? What introduced you to your present function?

Nancy Muñoz: For 16 years, I labored in a hospital setting. The final job that I held was as a cardiac tech. The pandemic hit, and I began scrambling. I had three youngsters at dwelling that I used to be homeschooling. I needed to reduce my work as a result of I needed to keep dwelling with my youngsters. After which the chance on Certainly happened. Any person pitched it. They have been like, ‘Hey, strive one thing totally different.’ My husband was like, ‘Step out in your religion. You’ve got been sitting there in well being care for therefore lengthy. Do that. See the way you prefer it.’

They cherished me from the time I stepped within the faculty constructing all up till immediately. So I’m like, ‘Wow, what would’ve occurred if I might’ve completed this earlier in my life?’ It could’ve been a unique situation for me. However the pandemic actually formed me up. I used to be beat down. I used to be worn out. Well being care was identical to … [a lot]. And this was like a breath of recent air, simply to assist my group that I nonetheless reside in to at the present time. In order that’s how I acquired right here.

When individuals outdoors of faculty ask you what you do, how do you describe your work?

Mainly how I describe my work and my job is that I’m ‘the face of the home.’ While you come to my home, I’m the person who solutions the door. I am the person who greets you. I take all of your questions, considerations, something below the umbrella of being just like the intermediary to my faculty. I am on the entrance desk, fielding messages, answering cellphone calls, sending emails.

If there’s, for example, those who come and go to, I take the guests, I verify them in, I make it possible for all their credentials are good, then I ship them to wherever they should go.

I inventory my workrooms for my employees. I do the busing within the morning. I get the youngsters on the bus within the afternoon. I do all of it.

As a result of I am bilingual, if there is a language barrier, there are particular occasions the place if a employees member cannot talk with a pupil that speaks Spanish, they do come and lean on me.

An enormous, essential piece in my work is ensuring that we all know the place our youngsters are — both we all know they’re within the constructing protected, and if they don’t seem to be within the constructing, what is going on on? The place are you? Why aren’t you right here? Can we get you in? Is there something that we can assist you with?

What does a very onerous day appear like in your function?

A extremely onerous day in my function is after I do not actually know the place my youngsters are — and I name all of them my youngsters as a result of in the course of the day their dad and mom belief me with them. And I say this as a result of I used to be born and raised right here; I grew up with a variety of their dad and mom. In order that they really feel that comfortability.

We haven’t gotten a variety of snow right here these previous couple years, so now, once they’re calling for a dusting, it is just like the buses run loopy, there is a two-hour delay. One week we had bitter chilly. So it is like, all proper, let me breathe in, as a result of our attendance will not be going to be nice, and I have to know the place my youngsters are. If they don’t seem to be right here at 8 a.m., I am like, OK, what’s my subsequent [move]? So then I simply game-plan from there. However that is a tough day for me — after I do not see my youngsters that I see regularly.

What would you do to try to monitor down the scholars and get them to highschool?

Like I mentioned, I usually do busing within the morning. We now have about 472 college students for the center faculty. So I get a couple of good 73 college students off of the bus. There’s all the time this one child who misses the bus. So after I name him and his mother, I am like, ‘Hey, what is going on on? Why are you not right here? You recognize you may’t have a specific amount of absences. What’s it that I can assist you with?’

I grew up along with his mother. I used to work at McDonald’s together with her — that is how far we return, all the way in which to highschool. Properly, they don’t have a automobile. So I’m like, ‘OK, I’ll come and get you.’ So I might take a break, inform work that I will be again in quarter-hour, get in my automobile, and go choose him up. I am like, ‘Hey, we’re not going to make this a behavior, an on a regular basis factor, however please attempt to get to your bus cease.’ I mentioned, ‘Use me as a resort, however not on daily basis. I acquired you, although. I’ll get you there.’ And that is only one instance.

Is that this a school-wide precedence due to rising power absenteeism nationwide, or is it a private aim?

On the operations workforce, our largest factor is to have a low share of power absenteeism and to make it possible for the youngsters are ready to study, which suggests displaying up on time and being there on daily basis. Now, in fact, individuals get sick. There was a nasty case of flu going round within the faculty. That was the toughest factor, aside from the climate — simply the truth that all the youngsters have been sick. Although the pandemic is properly over, we do not need these habits that we had earlier than with, like, ‘Hey, I feel my mother goes to be OK with me not coming to highschool.’ No, it’s a must to go to highschool.

We now have a variety of incentives for the youngsters — not solely with teachers, but in addition there’s quarterly journeys that we give to our youngsters, and the youngsters know which you can’t be absent greater than 4 days in 1 / 4 with a purpose to get these sorts of incentives. So we provide lots, however our major concern on daily basis is to make it possible for the youngsters are within the constructing, they’re accounted for, and once they’re not within the constructing, that we additionally make it possible for our absence logs are pristine.

What does a very good day appear like in your function?

After having not-so-great attendance with the climate initially of February, we got here again the final Monday of the month, and our attendance was 94 %. After we got here in that Tuesday, our attendance was 96.7 %. In order that’s like a mean of not more than 15 individuals out — of the entire complete 472 youngsters that now we have. In order that’s a very good day to me: We all know that the youngsters are there.

Within the morning, [at home], I’ve to get my youngsters collectively for varsity, in fact, however I am all the time simply on my Ps and Qs. So I brew Bustelo espresso within the Keurig and blast a message out — a textual content message — to my complete complete faculty, and I say, like, ‘Hey, attendance is a prime precedence at our faculty, and in the event you’re not going to be in, please name or textual content me at my quantity. Thanks. Have a great day.’

Usually, I get about 5 to seven individuals that really textual content me and will probably be like, ‘Hey, now we have an appointment. We’ll be there afterwards,’ or, ‘Oh, I took my child to pressing care yesterday. He is very sick, needs to be fever-free for twenty-four hours. He is not going to be again till tomorrow.’ So simply that proper there, a great day is figuring out that I did half the battle earlier than I even acquired to highschool, in order that after I get to highschool I can consider the extra complicated instances of the youngsters that didn’t present up.

What does it appear like once you get to highschool and begin tackling the remaining absences?

We now have three rounds of communication that exit. Our workplace supervisor will do the three rounds in an hour. We begin pulling attendance at 9 a.m. on the cellphone. By 9:05, she’s blasting her message. She sends a further textual content message as a result of on Dean’s Record, [the communication service we use], you may really make a listing only for that day’s absences. So it will listing all the students that haven’t been [marked as present].

So the workplace supervisor will ship an electronic mail to staffers, we’ll replace via employees, then she’ll ship out a robocall textual content message first to the absent listing. We’ll get a pair extra cellphone calls, ‘Hey, my child’s there. Verify once more.’ Then she’ll ship out a voice communication — that is a typical message that is already there — after which she’ll ship out an electronic mail. So we’ll get them 3 ways inside an hour, after which she’ll ship the ultimate spherical of attendance to employees, and that ought to have our concrete quantity [of absent students].

What’s a method that your function shapes the day for youths?

I have been doing busing ever since I began right here, and generally you simply do not know what the youngsters are going via. So once they get off the bus they usually see me, I am all the time pleased and I do know them by title. Typically it is so unattainable at first to know all people, however I attempt to study all people’s title. I need them to know, like, I need to be private with you, you carry me pleasure since you’re right here and also you need to study and all the things’s going proper. If I see that they don’t seem to be having a fantastic day once they get off the bus, possibly they’re crying, I am giving out hugs, telling them, ‘Hey, come speak to me in the event you want me.’

You by no means know what the youngsters undergo. Lately are totally different than after we have been younger. We did not have telephones. We did not have social media. We did not have a variety of the issues [they are dealing with]. So I all the time inform them, ‘Hey, in the event you want me, I am proper right here.’

Your function offers you distinctive entry and perception into immediately’s youth. What’s one factor you have realized about younger individuals via your job?

Simply attempt to sustain with them, and all the time have an open ear. I’ve youngsters of my very own — ages 19, 11 and seven. It’s essential to only be an individual that they are in a position to talk with proper now. … I need them to know that I hear, and I like TikTok. I really like to bounce after I can. My knees are dangerous, however I really like to bounce. I like to entertain the youngsters and like I mentioned, simply to be an ear. They may not have that at dwelling, so I need them to really feel comfy for them to return speak to me.

That is the most important factor that I’ve realized. You’ll be able to’t all the time be authoritative on a regular basis. Simply hear, hear them out. After which I need them to listen to me out as properly.