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"I
depend on Saint La Salle. The twelve virtues of a teacher are also the
twelve virtues of a dean, especially vigilance and patience. You have
to listen carefully and quietly, to develop a real knowledge of the students,
so that you can do the most important part of the job, which is finding
solutions rather than giving punishments. Often you have to involve parents,
teachers, and students, sit down for a conference, and listen to all concerns.
It involves nurturing, really. I'm clear and firm, but I'm flexible, too.
I really want the kids to find their way through whatever the trouble
is, so that they can succeed."
– Mike Trafecanty, in his fifth year as Dean of Students at Cathedral
High School in Los Angeles
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"There are real rescues needed sometimes,"
says Joe Aliotti, Dean of Students at De La Salle High School in
Concord. "Kids can easily get into situations that they can't
handle. It's a great feeling when a student comes to you, even much
later maybe, and says, 'You know, I was really on the edge back
there, and you really helped me out; you made a difference.'"
Encountering students at their most vulnerable times, and responding
to the crises and emergencies inevitable in the daily life of a
school can be challenging, but also rewarding.
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Success,
in a Lasallian school, means learning and growth, and these are not simple
phenomena, nor are they always easily achievable. Conflict and difficulty
are bound to occur, and on many levels. Even the strongest school communities
face challenges, simply by virtue of the fact that hundreds of individuals
come together on a school campus for eight or more hours every day, and
at Lasallian high schools, the majority of those individuals are between
the wonderful but complex ages of 14 and 18. Look closely, however, and
at the very center of the high school community one can find the Dean
of Students, providing support to many different people with many different
needs, but with one goal in mind – the good of the student.
"The
role of Dean of Students is very misunderstood," says Bill George, now
in his fourth year as Principal of La Salle High School in Milwaukie,
Oregon. George was Dean of Students at La Salle for seven years, and in
his 25 years at the school has also been a counselor, social studies teacher,
baseball coach and athletic director. "Most folks look at the Dean as
the 'tough guy' or a strict disciplinarian. In reality, it is much more.
The purpose of the Dean's work is to help students grow. That's a larger
goal than just enforcing school rules."
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"Developing
solid relationships with others is at the core of a Lasallian school,
and the Dean of Students is in a great spot to nurture those relationships.
Respecting students means treating them like adults – but expecting
them to act like kids. Young people will remember how we treat them
longer than they may remember the algebra or history we teach them."
– Bill George, seven years as Dean of Students
at La Salle Milwaukie, now Principal
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Setting
Up Students to Succeed
Deans
in Lasallian schools work from the principle that discipline and order
in the community – which are necessary and beneficial to everyone – are
largely about prevention. For Deans, drawing on the virtue of vigilance
is key, putting in place good systems so that small problems are handled
before they become big problems. But crises and emergencies are inevitable,
and the Dean of Students is responsible for handling these with the virtues
of patience and humility, hearing out all parties and maintaining calm,
to ensure that the crisis moment can become a moment of learning for whoever
is involved – students, teachers, or parents.
"The Dean of Students deals with more than students," points out Brother
Robb Wallace, FSC, who was Dean at Cathedral High School in Los Angeles
for three years and currently works at the LEO Center in Oakland. "The
Dean of Students is responsible for the good order of the whole school
and the relationships that make up the school." For most schools, such
relationships also go beyond the campus boundaries and out into the neighborhoods
and local communities.
The
Dean monitors attendance, makes sure that expectations about behavior
are clear and well-publicized, assigns and trains prefects in the school,
gives orientations and refreshers on classroom management to teachers,
and meets with parents when needed. Security measures, crisis plans, emergency
procedures, legal issues of responsibility and liability, and the thousand
natural shocks that a high school is heir to – from managing proms
to dealing with threats of bombs – are all in a day's work for the
Dean of Students. Sensitivity, creativity, and importantly, confidentiality,
come with the job description. John Scudder, now Principal of Sacred Heart
Cathedral Preparatory in San Francisco, but for eight years its Dean of
Students, says, ". . . planning and attention to detail are a big
part of the job of Dean of Students. His job is to set up students to
succeed."
A
Healthy Balance
Veterans
of the position insist that the Dean as Dean is neither parent nor teacher
nor counselor, and must be careful to keep a certain distance, not stepping
into those roles, even when it might be the simplest approach to take.
The Dean does everything possible to respect the Lasallian principles
that parents are the primary educators of their children and that teachers
are the primary managers of their classrooms. John Scudder reflects, "The
Dean of Students has a fine line to walk; he's really a sort of broker,
getting kids in touch with the adults who can help them – sometimes that
means their own parents. The Dean is responsible for boundary-setting
and for holding students accountable, which aren't the most popular topics
with students. But as they mature, they get it and appreciate what you
did for them. Years later they may tell you, 'Now I understand what you
were doing back then.'"
Mike
Trafecanty, now in his fifth year as Dean at Cathedral High School says,
"You're trying to empower people – students, teachers, parents – to make
their relationships work." Adds Mario Sazo, third-year Dean of Students
at Sacred Heart Cathedral, "An important part of my job is figuring out
how to intervene in a way that helps people to improve their relationships.
To that end, I work closely with the counseling department."
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"The image of the Dean of Students as a tree is a good one
– a solid support with branches connecting all aspects of the
school. It really gets at the complex nature of the job." Kathy
Ryan McGuire, Principal of Saint Mary's College High School in Berkeley,
affirms that the Dean plays a central and supportive role for all
of a school's constituent groups, providing a place where students,
teachers, and parents can connect in order to resolve problems,
and ultimately, to grow.
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Founding
Principles Provide Grounding and Guidance
"To
perfect those who are committed to our care, we must act toward them in
a manner at the same time both gentle and firm. Many, however . . . do
not see how these two things can easily be joined in practice." The
Conduct of the Christian Schools (1720) It has been said often and
truly that John Baptist de La Salle was extraordinary in his principle
of respect for students. Why, then, is nearly half of The Conduct devoted
to "order" in the schools, with frequent use of words such as "correction"
and "discipline"? Bill George understands why: "Respecting students means
treating them like adults – but expecting them to act like kids."
Formation
programs for Brothers and Partners involved in every aspect of school
life are key components of the efforts of the San Francisco District to
strengthen understanding and practice of the Lasallian educational tradition.
Such programs combine traditional materials and the latest information.
Workshops for Deans explore Lasallian philosophy, provide experts who
speak on pertinent issues, and give Deans an opportunity to discuss challenges
and work on solving problems together. "If you think you're failing because
you've been in the job two years and can't solve a certain problem," says
Jay Lawson, for 11 years the Dean of Students at Berkeley's Saint Mary's
High, "it's good to have somebody who has been doing it for six years
let you know that, hey, you're not failing, it's all part of the job."
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"When you get to know the inner workings of students' lives,
sometimes you're amazed at the stresses and difficulties they are
coping with. So if discipline is needed, you do it with respect,
and you communicate that the purpose is to help them grow. Some
can hear that right away, others need time to be able to hear it.
But if I'm fair and consistent, I'm showing them that I care."
– Jay Lawson, 11 years as Dean of Students at
Saint Mary's College High School in Berkeley, now Athletic Director
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The
Heart of the Matter
Given
its nature, the job can be stressful. "The Dean of Students' job differs
from other administrative jobs in that you're not very often able to plan
and carry out a normal workday," offers Jay Lawson. "You're always responding
to suddenly emerging problems, dealing with the unexpected. It can make
for a tough workday." But it's not just the barrage of external events
that can challenge a Dean of Students. Beneath every attendance problem,
every fistfight, and every crisis or emergency lie human feelings. Says
Brother Robb, "The Dean of Students is, in a special way, at the heart
of the school, because what he has to deal with puts him right in the
midst of people's emotions, their turmoil, and their vulnerability and
confusion. That's a very demanding spot in which to be day after day."
Making
Lasting Connections
As
those old advertisements for the army used to say: It's the toughest job
you'll ever love.
Mario
Sazo puts it succinctly: "The Dean of Students does the dirty work." And
he smiles. "I love my job." It's a refrain heard again and again.
In
most schools, the job title used to be "Dean of Discipline." The new and
improved job title, however, is perhaps a bit truncated, because in the
last analysis, the Dean of Students is a dean for everybody – parents,
teachers, coaches, and administrators; a central resource connecting the
whole educational community. "Helping teachers with classroom management,
dealing with parents' concerns, trying to get to the root of problems
brought up by students, making sure the school functions well day by day
– these are all aspects of the job," says Jay Lawson.
And
for a Dean of Students, as for every Lasallian educator, the very deepest
principle of the job is the one stated many times and in many ways by
the Founder – for the Lasallian educator, the encounter with a student
is always an encounter with God. Mike Trafecanty affirms: "I feel
the truth of that particular principle very strongly. That's why the job
of Dean of Students is so great but so challenging – I see God in
my office every day. And some days, I have to phone his parents."
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"The school has to be a place of positive growth, a place where
it's safe to do new things, and to explore a new part of yourself.
The Dean of Students can help to make it that kind of school,"
shares Jay Lawson, former Dean at Saint Mary's High in Berkeley.
The Dean is in charge of a school's discipline – and "discipline"
by definition means basically the following of a way, particularly
a way that promotes good order. The way of order traditional to
Lasallian schools is the way to learning and growth.
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