Survive

The following message was shared with all district staff by Superintendent Dr. Jim Wipke at the 2020-21 back-to-school kickoff...

                                                            _______________________

Seventeen years ago, when my eldest daughter was roughly eight years old, I started coaching her soccer team. As I began to put the team together, I quickly realized I needed an assistant coach to help me. Little did I know that this assistant coach would become much more than an extra set of hands on the field. He would become one of my primary mentors and a significant influence in my life.  

Ron Boschert grew up on a farm in St. Peters, Mo. He was one of six children and credited his dad for giving him his greatest attribute — a positive attitude. This drew people to him like a magnet, and it was the same for me. Over the years, Ron and I got to know each other better, and we became more like co-coaches. He was consistently building the kids up and getting them ready to play mentally and physically, while I was focused on the X’s and O’s of the game. It was a great combination of our talents.

Back then, no one would have imagined that this team — coached by a teacher and a farmer — would go on to win six state championships, a regional title, and our highest achievement of all — third in the national tournament.

These “kids” are now 25 years old, and when Ron and I reflect on where they are now, there are a few key takeaways:

1. Their capacity for doing quality, efficient work is unbelievable.
2. Every one of them went on to successful soccer careers in college, receiving more than a million dollars total in scholarships, and some even went on to play professionally.
3. They all seem to have acquired Ron’s positive attitude.

One of Ron’s and my traditions before each game was to go for a run and discuss the teams we were playing, the lineup, our formation approach, and other game strategies. Our run quickly became a habit we both enjoyed and also began a friendly competition. So, as the girls have grown older, we kept running. As we kept running, I continued to learn from Ron.

On our runs, I would often ask Ron questions ... about life, being a good father, being a good husband, and addressing tough work situations. Without fail, Ron gave me sound advice I could use at that time, as well as at future points in my life. Lately, I find myself using Ron’s guidance simply to survive in this strange world in which we currently live. 

At the risk of dating myself … Do you remember the TV show “Cheers”? If so, you will remember Norm, the character who was always greeted with NOOOORRRRRM!” as he walks into the bar. In one episode his response is: “It is a dog-eat-dog world out there, and I am wearing Milk-Bone underwear!” 

Lately, I sure can relate to that quote. 

Anyway, I digress, but you will soon see my point...  

One day I was going to meet Ron at the track for one of our runs, as I drove, I thought, “This time I am going to beat him to the punch. I’m going to ask him how he and his family are doing before he asks me.” I arrived a few minutes early and soon Ron pulled up in his Mazda manual stick shift. I practically jumped out of my car and said, “Hey Ron! How are you doing? How is the family?” He looked at me, making hand gestures like crazy, as he always does when he talks, and he said, “Well I have been better, but everything will be alright. Let’s go down to the track and I will tell you about it.”  

My heart sunk, and my mind raced. I kept thinking the worst…  Is his daughter, Lexi, okay? Is she sick? My mind was going to the worst possible scenarios. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. As we began to run, I said, “Come on Ron, what is it?” He started with, “Well, I went into work today ...” (For Ron, work is apparel inventory forecasting.) His boss had told him that the company was going through some setbacks and Ron needed to fire his entire team, something they called “downsizing.” 

Ron was granted a few days to get this done, and he used these days to set up interviews with other companies for his team members. By Friday, he had secured an interview for each team member and began calling them in one by one to tell them they no longer had a job. Ron was crushed, as he truly liked and admired each person on his team. 

That afternoon, Ron went into his boss’s office to tell him he had let his entire team go. His boss thanked him and then calmly said, “Ron, I have some bad news. Since you no longer have a team under you, we no longer need you either.” And with that, Ron was immediately relieved of his duties. 

As we circled the track, I was so angered by what he had just recounted and kept voicing how unfair all of this was. But Ron just kept replying, “It is all going to be okay, Jim. It is all going to be okay.” I finally stopped running to stare at him and asked, “Ron, how can you say that?” His response, “Well, I treat people right, I work hard and I care about what I do. I have already called over 100 people who are awesome contacts, and I know I am going to land on my feet.”

Two weeks later, I met Ron on that same track. He was grinning ear to ear, so I asked, “What is that look for Ron?” He said, “Well, in my old position, I used this software to help me forecast shoe inventory.” He explained that this software helped him so much that he would always call his sales rep at Logility Software and tell him how amazing his product is and how his company would be lost without it. Ron told me, “Once Logility found out I was out of a job, they called me and offered me a job on the spot.”  

Ron went on to say, “Here is the cool part … Lexi will be starting college soon and I got a severance package from my old company that will cover a major portion of her college expenses, and the offer from Logility is more than I was making before.” 

Clearly, he was absolutely right when he said, “Jim, everything is going to be alright.”  

_______________________

Being a Superintendent of a school district during a pandemic is interesting, to say the least. As we work to get our school year up and running, I can’t help but think of my mentor, Ron Boschert, and particularly about the time he lost his job. We have all struggled with new and unexpected situations in the past six months, and, as a Superintendent, I have certainly felt the weight of the many important decisions that had to be made. With no roadmap to reference, I have leaned on my mentors, my colleagues and my own experiences more than ever before to guide me both personally and professionally.

We all have stories to share about how COVID-19 has impacted our personal lives, and I am no exception.

My wife, Jennifer, worked at a preschool that had to close its doors. My son, Jacob will have to navigate 100% virtual learning with dyslexia. My daughter, Jill, has lost her fall season of soccer at Lindenwood University and my daughter, Jordan, has put off going to nursing school for a semester. Finally, my eldest daughter, Jamison, is a first-grade teacher in another St. Louis County school district trying to figure out 100% virtual instruction for first-graders. To top it all off, I have not had an opportunity to speak to my mom, other than over the phone or through a window, in the last six months.  

But here is where the Ron Boschert influence comes in. It is all about a positive attitude and it will be okay. Looking at this through another lens …

• My mom is healthy and has not been affected by COVID-19 like so many others. 
• My eldest is going to become a better teacher and will use her situation to improve her skills. 
• My middle daughter has more time to save money for nursing school. 
• My son will thrive because he has two parents who love him and will help him at every turn. And my wife, Jennifer, will have more time to spend with him. If my son can learn Language Arts virtually, he will be able to do anything.  

On the professional side of things…

• Time and time again, our district has carefully planned and then thrown those plans away and started over. 
• We have staff members desperately wanting to come back to the classroom in person, staff thinking our only option is to go 100% virtual, and those who firmly believe a hybrid solution is best. This is made more complicated by the fact that our staff understandably change which category they are in on a regular basis based on data and trends of COVID 19.
• We waited as long as possible to make decisions so we could use the most up-to-date information available, only to have the factors impacting the situation shift once again. 
• My team and I have answered hundreds of phone calls and emails from staff and parents who are anxious and sometimes also angry about the situation in which we find ourselves.
• Lastly, we are all experiencing the emotional ride of living in a community with diverse points of view — not only about COVID-19 and reentry plans, but on many other important levels, as well.

Clearly, the “Ron” philosophy is challenged with this situation but I keep thinking to myself ... treat people right, love what I do, work hard and focus on the right things, the things I can control.  

Hmmm, focus on the right things … Okay … 

• I have also been showered with encouraging thank you notes from parents and teachers and was even called a “gladiator” by one of our parents. (This is a huge compliment since Gladiator is my favorite movie!) 
• The Ladue community is amazing because of its differences. 
• Our Ladue Educators’Association has continued to show tremendous, consistent and balanced leadership during this time. Our teachers are second to none! 
• Teachers have truly learned how much they love being with their students. Many have been profoundly reminded of why they entered this profession and now simply cannot wait to get back into their classrooms to see those smiling faces. 
• Our support staff have come to work all summer to assist in every way possible, putting our students’ interests ahead of all else.
• Our administrators are amazing, supportive and have not stopped working to find the best solutions for students since we all left for break last spring.
• While much of their work is behind the scenes, we should all be incredibly grateful for our Board of Education. They are, by far, the best Board with whom I have ever had the privilege to work.
• Finally, I get to work with each one of YOU! 

We will continue to meet these and other challenges through our See. Serve. Connect! philosophy.

See: We know the Coronavirus is not equitable and we have families who will need us beyond just education. The needs for social and emotional support are at an all time high right now.

Serve: We will rely on each other to work together to accomplish our goals and serve our students and community incredibly well. 

Connect: We will implement virtual learning while maintaining the relationships with our students and families.

The school year is quickly upon us and I could not be more excited.  As we begin, I plan to carry the Ron Boschert attitude with me in both my personal and professional life and encourage you to join me as we navigate through the 2020-21 school year together.

Be well. Thank you!