"This year OSA has not only experienced schedule changes, but also changes in the administration, because the previous Executive Director, Brian Kohn, left at the end of the last school year. Due to this change, the administration had to shift their roles to different interim positions."
--leah upton, 8th grade
This year OSA has not only experienced schedule changes, but also changes in the administration, because the previous Executive Director, Brian Kohn, left at the end of the last school year. Due to this change, the administration had to shift their roles to different interim positions.
The Executive Director role is very important to OSA, but is one that students don’t know much about. The responsibilities of the Executive Director include managing everything about the school, talking to people about the lease for the building, fundraising, and things that are beyond the classroom and teaching. Current Interim Executive Director, Ms. Smith, summarizes the position as managing the business of keeping the school going. “It’s everything about everything about everything,” Ms. Smith said.
It is very hard to fill a position like that. Because of its complexity, the OSA Board decided to have Ms. Smith take on the position until a permanent Executive Director could be hired. That left the Principal position open, which Mr. Oz filled. Ms. Zaugg took Mr. Oz’s position of Assistant Principal along with her job as Dean.
“I think it's good for students because they know the three of us really well,” says Ms. Zaugg. Mr. Oz, Ms. Smith, and Ms. Zaugg all agree that interim positions would be better for the school and the students. With all the changes and challenges, such as the charter renewal, the board thought that trying to find a new person would be too difficult and stressful at this time.
“It's a very difficult position to hire for. I’ve been here for many years and I’ve seen four or five different directors, and Ms. Smith is a great candidate for that position,” said Mr. Oz. “Ms. Smith and I have worked close together for almost 14 years now. We’re all on the same mission and following the same trajectory.”
These interim positions will be evaluated by January, and there is a possibility that the positions could return to what they previously were. Everyone agrees that right now the school is in a good place and they are hoping to continue forward, but the future is unknown. “It's a big unknown. I hope that's not the case. I think we’re rolling pretty smoothly right now and when something is working well you typically don’t want to change it,” Mr. Oz said.
Soon there will be a new Dean who will most likely have an interim position. This will take some of the work off Ms. Zaugg's shoulders because she is currently handling the responsibilities of both Dean and an Assistant Principal. “Right now it's challenging because we’re a little under staff, not having a Dean but I think once we have that Dean it's gonna create a stronger system for the whole school.” Said Ms. Zaugg.
They believe that this year will be better than previous years due to their strong connection and ability to support each other with these new positions.”I’m also able to collaborate a lot more than I was,” said Ms. Zaugg. “I think this year will be better both in terms of how our leadership team is working together but also how students are getting support in the structure,” Ms. Smith agrees, saying that, “It’s been surprisingly easy and I think a lot of it has to do with just the trust and the working together. We’re excited to step into these new roles.”
Ms. Smith, Mr. Oz, and Ms. Zaugg have all worked together in the past and are confident that this year will be great. “I think it will be great, the start to this school year, the overall morale of all the faculty. We have about 110 employees and people are in a much more positive place than we’ve been in a handful of years,” said Mr. Oz.
These positions give the staff more responsibility and work, but also bring them closer together. Nothing is certain and these positions could change, but the administrators are confident that together they can make this year stand out.
The Executive Director role is very important to OSA, but is one that students don’t know much about. The responsibilities of the Executive Director include managing everything about the school, talking to people about the lease for the building, fundraising, and things that are beyond the classroom and teaching. Current Interim Executive Director, Ms. Smith, summarizes the position as managing the business of keeping the school going. “It’s everything about everything about everything,” Ms. Smith said.
It is very hard to fill a position like that. Because of its complexity, the OSA Board decided to have Ms. Smith take on the position until a permanent Executive Director could be hired. That left the Principal position open, which Mr. Oz filled. Ms. Zaugg took Mr. Oz’s position of Assistant Principal along with her job as Dean.
“I think it's good for students because they know the three of us really well,” says Ms. Zaugg. Mr. Oz, Ms. Smith, and Ms. Zaugg all agree that interim positions would be better for the school and the students. With all the changes and challenges, such as the charter renewal, the board thought that trying to find a new person would be too difficult and stressful at this time.
“It's a very difficult position to hire for. I’ve been here for many years and I’ve seen four or five different directors, and Ms. Smith is a great candidate for that position,” said Mr. Oz. “Ms. Smith and I have worked close together for almost 14 years now. We’re all on the same mission and following the same trajectory.”
These interim positions will be evaluated by January, and there is a possibility that the positions could return to what they previously were. Everyone agrees that right now the school is in a good place and they are hoping to continue forward, but the future is unknown. “It's a big unknown. I hope that's not the case. I think we’re rolling pretty smoothly right now and when something is working well you typically don’t want to change it,” Mr. Oz said.
Soon there will be a new Dean who will most likely have an interim position. This will take some of the work off Ms. Zaugg's shoulders because she is currently handling the responsibilities of both Dean and an Assistant Principal. “Right now it's challenging because we’re a little under staff, not having a Dean but I think once we have that Dean it's gonna create a stronger system for the whole school.” Said Ms. Zaugg.
They believe that this year will be better than previous years due to their strong connection and ability to support each other with these new positions.”I’m also able to collaborate a lot more than I was,” said Ms. Zaugg. “I think this year will be better both in terms of how our leadership team is working together but also how students are getting support in the structure,” Ms. Smith agrees, saying that, “It’s been surprisingly easy and I think a lot of it has to do with just the trust and the working together. We’re excited to step into these new roles.”
Ms. Smith, Mr. Oz, and Ms. Zaugg have all worked together in the past and are confident that this year will be great. “I think it will be great, the start to this school year, the overall morale of all the faculty. We have about 110 employees and people are in a much more positive place than we’ve been in a handful of years,” said Mr. Oz.
These positions give the staff more responsibility and work, but also bring them closer together. Nothing is certain and these positions could change, but the administrators are confident that together they can make this year stand out.