Kalim is a School Principal with the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. With a doctorate degree in Education Administration, Kalim walks us through a busy day at school and explains how her responsibilities extend far beyond just education.
Transcript
>> My name is Kalim Rayburn and I'm an elementary school principal in Costa Mesa, California. Everything goes with the day, it's like running a small city. I'm responsible for the safety of students, for faculty, and I'm a welcoming person for families and I'm also a member of the community at large, working with partners in our community. It's about being an instructional leader, it's about being a motivator, someone who inspires. I cheer-lead all day long, I celebrate wins, I embrace everything that comes my way with a smile [laughs] and I ensure the success of academic achievement of all my students. The day is about welcoming students to school. And parents. You're out there, you're greeting. I could be out in the parking lot when parents are dropping off, you know, making sure that every student, when they walk in that door, has a smile on their face. Then there's the bell that rings. And when the bell rings, you know if I have students who are running late I'm there to encourage them to run a little bit faster and to get into the classroom. I go through every single classroom every day, just so I can see students and make sure that whether the teachers are doing their morning check-ins and their routines, I can be the other adult in the room. I then have the expectations of what the district and the state require of me. So I'll do a check in to my desk once in a while, check an email here or there, but thanks to technology I can have my cell phone in my hand and I can actually as I'm walking, you know, check whatever communication I need to get back to right away. Then there's the recesses and the lunchtime. Again, it's about going out there and engaging with students, checking with teachers, how their day is going, and when the day is over, when the students have left campus, and the teachers have left campus, and the office is quiet, that's where I get time to actually do those things that have timelines and tests at large that I need to start to work towards.
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