CC#110: Relationships, Clarity, Routines w/ Dawn Chase - Horton Elementary School - USD 430

Episode Summary

In this episode of Cool Coffee with Kansas principals, host Rick Sola speaks with Dawn Chase, principal of Horton Elementary School. They discuss Dawn's journey in education, the challenges of school consolidation, and her transition to principalship. Dawn emphasizes the importance of establishing relationships with staff, creating clear procedures and routines, and managing time effectively. She shares valuable advice for new principals, highlights the significance of self-care, and celebrates the supportive community at Horton Elementary.

Connect with the Principal Dawn Chase (email)

Connect with Cool Coffee Host Rick Sola: rfsola@olatheschools.org, kpacoolcoffee@gmail.com 

Chapters (timestamps are approximate)

00:00 Welcome and Introduction to Horton Elementary
02:39 Dawn Chase's Journey in Education
05:23 Challenges of School Consolidation
07:48 Transitioning to Principalship
10:26 Establishing Relationships with Staff
13:10 Creating Clear Procedures and Routines
15:41 Managing Time and Responsibilities
18:21 Advice for New Principals
21:21 The Importance of Self-Care
23:50 Celebrating the Community and Staff
26:26 Closing Thoughts and Fresh Starts

 

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Episode Transcript (timestamps are approximate)

Rick Sola (00:02.401)
Hello and welcome to Cool Coffee with Kansas principals. Today I'm here with principal Dawn Chase from USD 430 Horton Elementary School, home of the Chargers. Hello Dawn.

Dawn Chase (00:15.128)
Hi, how are you?

Rick Sola (00:16.541)
I am good. We are just wrapping up here where I'm at. It's our first day back with students as we get back from the holiday break. I don't know if that's the same for where you're at.

Dawn Chase (00:28.694)
Same here, this is the first day we welcomed students back and it was a great day.

Rick Sola (00:33.771)
Yeah, was the energy was high. seemed like a lot of students were glad to see each other. And I always wonder what tomorrow is going to look like because I think they'll realize how early they got up today and they weren't used to that. But it's a fun time of year as we get going with the second semester. But before we get started, I just want to remind listeners, give the show a like and a follow. And also a reminder to check the show notes. There'll be contact information for both myself but also our guest.

And so make sure you're checking those show notes for more information about the show. But Don, you are principal of Horton Elementary School. Let's start there. What can you tell us about Horton as far as where you're located and the size of your school? And we'll go from there.

Dawn Chase (01:25.816)
Okay, Horton is a wonderful little place. It's like a diamond in a rough, a perfect little small town school, but it's not small town ideas and attitudes. There's a lot of things going on here that are very exciting at all the levels. But Horton is surprisingly, I'll tell you, I'm from Meriden. So I grew up as a Jeff West USD 340 girl. So this job puts me about 50 minutes from home. And so I drive each day, 50 minutes each

way and it's a great time to get a lot of things done.

It wasn't until I actually looked at a map that I realized how close to the Nebraska border I am. I did not realize how close Brown County was and that's terrible because I've lived in Kansas most of my life. But more about 15 minutes from Hiawatha, 20 or 30 from Holton. Horton's just a little nestled place that's just, it's a diamond. So school size, we have about 220 students. I have a building that is pre-K through fourth grade.

And we have some students that are outreach. We have a special education portion of our preschool. We also have our general education and actually we're in the process of fully making those integrated. So that's exciting to see both of the sides together. But about 220 students and like I said, it's a wonderful place to work and it's very similar to the first school that I actually taught in and where I grew up as a kid. So it really feels like

Come.

Rick Sola (02:59.991)
Well, that's a great segue there to your road to the chair. And I know you are new-ish to the principal chair, but talk about that road from your start in education to where you're at today in Horton.

Dawn Chase (03:15.658)
Okay, first off, non-traditional person here. I am not the traditional got out of college, went straight to a job. I thought I wanted to be an accountant and you know, accountants made a lot of money and I like math so that's what I was going to do and that track didn't work out too well and life happened and I decided to go back to school to get my teaching degree. I had

two children, but I started in 2008 and I got a great job at a small, again, hidden gym and it was a great place. I probably would still be working there buried underneath the oak tree at some point, but that school got consolidated into a bigger one. And so that kind of forced my hand to make a change. I'm not traditionally a person who goes after change or loves change.

So I transitioned and got a job as an instructional coach and a behavior coach. And so kind of like a dean role at another elementary school that was much larger, we're talking 600 kids. And I did that for about a year.

the admin took a change and I thought it was time to maybe explore something a little bit different because I always knew I wanted to be a principal but I didn't immediately after my degree go there. It took me a while and so after that I went to middle school and I taught sixth grade math and that was an amazing experience. I'm kind of well-rounded. I've taught third grade, fifth grade, sixth grade.

And then I had applied here and there for jobs within my district. I wasn't looking super hard. I wasn't really putting my feet out far. And I got a message one day from an acquaintance and that's where networking is so important of a job that I never would have looked for. And it was, hey, come check us out. Maybe if you want to come interview. And I made the jump and got the job. It's exciting, but it was

Dawn Chase (05:23.242)
probably like I said about 16 years in the educational realm but now here for about one and a half and it's a great move I'm glad I made the jump I made the change it was scary but this has been what I have hoped and dreamed for for a long long time

Rick Sola (05:42.488)
That's really great. There's a lot there. I'm really intrigued. I can only imagine going through a consolidation and what that puts on a building, a staff, and a community. And I didn't realize that as part of your history going into this show. Is there, I guess, of a 30-second kind of synopsis of what that was like going through such a challenge?

Dawn Chase (06:08.238)
So it was difficult when I first, I had two job options and there were two schools and the person in HR said, man, I can't tell you what to do, but if you go here, I think you'll want to stay. This is where you want to go. And like I said, the people there, the friendships that I've formed still today, they're some of my greatest friends. It was just a family, kind of what you dream a school situation is going to be. And there was rumors for a long time that the school might close.

our enrollment might be down. We're talking under 200 kids and you know things get out. So every year you're kind of worried pins and needles and then when it finally came out that it was going to happen, they did the customary, you know, community meetings and and all the things that they needed to do, but it was difficult. And it was hard for me. So the year before they actually closed is when I took my leap and went to be the Dean and instructional coach, behavior coach at the bigger school. And so

it was really hard. grieved that, but I don't think as much as if I'd stayed till the very very end. But it is hard and those people that I had worked all those years with now are spread out to different, you know, different buildings throughout the city and we still manage to stay close, but it's very difficult. It is like a family breaking up. it and it was hard on those students as well.

Rick Sola (07:34.242)
Yeah, schools are such a big part of a community. And I can imagine the challenge that would, and toll that would have on that community. You mentioned you went from there to being an instructional behavior coach. And I would imagine that that sets you up really nicely in almost a training for you to become then a principal. And you said that you always knew you wanted to be a principal. What was it about being a principal that you always knew? Because I've talked to a lot of principals on this platform and

I've seen it go both ways. I think there's some that set out in education to hit that track. Others never saw it coming and they get tapped on the shoulder next thing they know they're knee deep into pursuing a principalship. But what was it about being a principal that intrigued you?

Dawn Chase (08:18.252)
I think.

The biggest thing that I can tell you is the opportunity to affect a lot more students on a bigger scale. Don't get me wrong, I miss my classroom. There's days when I, that's what I want to do is just go get in there and be with the kids because that bond and everything that you do that year, you keep those kids so close to you. But now to be able to work with teachers, mentor them, help make decisions with them that really drive

of how our students are gonna learn and grow and to affect the students that way. It's such on a bigger scale. just, really thought I wanted to learn the most that I could about the students, the community, all of that. And I just feel like this is the best way that I can give back.

Rick Sola (09:11.169)
That's awesome. So you are a year and a half in to your principalship. when we were talking, leading up to this recording, you had shared that, you know, being a year and a half in, you know, what, what, can I offer that sort of thing? And in my mind, I'm thinking, my gosh, there's, there's so much as part of just the mindset of a first and early years principal. As you're, you are a year and a half in and you receive news that you are going to be named the principal of

Horton Elementary, what did you take as your first order of business at that point that you received that news? Where was your mind on your next steps immediately?

Dawn Chase (09:51.523)
Personally, I called everybody. That's probably not the answer you're looking for, but it was so exciting. I shared it with all the important people, my close group of people that I had grown with teaching with, and a couple of former administrators that had been in my corner the whole time. I shared it like crazy. I was so happy. Then the reality set in of, man, I have a school. need to think what I'm

going to do and you have all these ideas and you think you know what you're going to do but really your mind, your brain, everything you know says you need to go watch, you need to go learn, you need to go get the lay of the land. So what I did was I came and visited the school and of course there were a couple of people on the interview team from the school. It was made up of various people so I had a couple of connections and people that I knew and I got really good feelings because

Because let's be real, it has to go two ways. I had to know that this is deep down what I wanted to do and I got really good feelings. I got that family sense from the district and I was looking for that. And so I thought what I want to do is I'm going to do staff one on ones. And so I created my first all school email and I put it out about two weeks before school started.

I was going to schedule one-on-ones and send a list out and said anybody who wanted to come in to talk about anything from introducing themselves to telling me about problems or things they were concerned about, here was their time. And I nervously waited and soon it started getting filled up and that was not everyone, but I soon learned that there weren't enough spaces. So I went ahead and kept it open through the first week and a half of school to make sure everybody got an opportunity.

that really helped get to know people on a personal level and hear what they loved about the school, what they loved about the community. And some of them did bring concerns or problems or things they were worried about because when you get a new administrator sometimes you think, man I need to say this so she knows XYZ. And so it was a really mixed bag but it helped me I think get a good jump start on the gear ahead.

Rick Sola (12:20.448)
So when you set that up, you have set questions you wanted to ask them, or was it truly open-ended to say, hey, I'm here. You come in, and you speak and talk about what's on your mind. How did you frame that for your staff?

Dawn Chase (12:35.766)
It was completely open. I didn't want to lead it at all. And in the email, I said, you can come in and you can just simply say, hey, I teach third grade. My name is blah, blah, blah. And that'd it. You can tell me about your family. You can tell me about you professionally. I just wanted it to be a conversation because that's one of the things that I think I'm good at is being a people person and forming relationships. And I knew some of the best administrators, one in particular, still

It's been 20 years probably since I've worked for this particular guy and I can see him at Home Depot. He'll address me by name. He'll ask about my husband. He'll ask about my kids. He still knows little things they do and to me that means a lot that he took interest in me not just as a teacher but as a person and he cared about my family. So that's the kind of person I strive to be.

Rick Sola (13:30.775)
I think that's a really good decision to set and create that time for staff early on and I'm just thinking if anybody listening I don't think it has to be in your first year even I think that could be something you do every so often and Yes, you promote. It's a good way to establish an open open door policy But I would imagine too that you probably receive some information That's really important for you to know as a principal, but you never would have gotten otherwise without

setting a platform for staff to share that.

Dawn Chase (14:04.448)
It was really great to hear what they had been through. Basically, the school had a principal for a long, long time that retired and she was very beloved. mean, amazing. And they had a principal that came in the next year and for whatever reason, it wasn't a good fit. And so I was following someone who was following, I don't know if I'd say a legend, but you know, when you come in after a principal that's been there for a long, long time, you have big shoes to fill, but you can't focus really on

the shoes because you have a different set of shoes on your feet so you're never really gonna fill somebody else's shoes so once I kind of cleared my head of being myself and and establishing myself for my own you know journey it helped clear a lot of things in my head

Rick Sola (14:54.634)
Yeah, that can be really challenging. It can be great to go into a really established building. But like you said, when you're replacing someone who has been a legend or been a really strong pillar, you don't want to try to emulate someone totally. And you've got to be yourself, just like you said. But that could be really tough. of course, you coming in once removed from that might

Be a positive because sometimes those could be challenging situations. What was your welcome to the chair moment? You said that you I love that you highlighted first that you called everybody you knew and I think that's really a very real answer It is exciting when you get a job that you've been in pursuit of to be able to Share that so I love that that very real authentic answer of yeah, called everybody and that's really a celebration But what was that moment? Like you said reality sets in that you realize

I am in the chair now. Did you have a moment where it kind of hit you?

Dawn Chase (15:59.363)
You know, I learned really, really quickly that there is no principle manual and people may laugh at that, but.

I kept thinking, gosh, there's got to be a source. Like, I would miss a deadline on something or something would come up and I'd feel like I was unprepared and I would think, gosh, was there a book on this? Was there something? And you know, I joined a new principal organization and did that in the first year and they sent out reminders of monthly things to think about and do. And that was immense. That was just invaluable.

to me. So I think really the first time it hit me like this is this is your your game is someone came in with an issue and I wasn't quite for sure how I was going to address it and I thought naturally I'm just gonna go talk to my principal about it and I was thinking that's me now so what do I what do I do and so I'm blessed with a great admin team I have a fabulous superintendent she is Dr. Kramer is amazing.

She has lots of experience, but she's real and What I love about her is she doesn't always give me all the answers Which of course sometimes can be frustrating, but she makes me think and I'm better for that So when I go with to her with a problem, I may not get the answer that I think I need it's okay How are you gonna solve that? What are you gonna do? And that's helping me grow and Growth is uncomfortable, but it's not supposed to be comfortable growth is supposed to be uncomfortable

And so I think that that was the big lesson is man. This is your decision. What are you going to do? How are you going to use your resources now to cope with the right answer?

Rick Sola (17:47.575)
Yeah, uncomfortable is a really good word, especially early on in a principalship. And like you said, that's where the growth comes in. And there's times you probably feel like, I know I did, where it's like, oh, I must be growing a lot because I'm extremely uncomfortable right now. You're going through something for the first time. You mentioned there's no principal manual. And we say that facetiously, but there truly is not any principal manual. And there's also never a repeated situation. Like even things that are similar have their own nuances to it.

One thing that intrigued me as we were leading up to recording is you shared how you really appreciate, but I guess reinforce operating on clear procedures and routines and talk about that. What does that mean exactly? What does that look like at Horton Elementary as far as their principle operating on clear procedures and routines?

Dawn Chase (18:41.26)
So knowing not every situation is the same, it's hard to have a very...

like this happens, this is what I'm going to do. So I'm very clear with knowing that sometimes you need to think about things in a different, look at things from a different lens, like how you discipline. But as far as the clear procedures and routines, I like the students to know what I expect. I'll use lunch for an example. I'm in the lunchroom every day and

that's a great time for me to interact with the kids and see them at a different time and to hear the jokes. Do want to hear a joke? And you know all that stuff. But they know what it looks like and what it's supposed to sound like as they enter the lunchroom. They know what's expected. We practiced it at the beginning of the school year. We did expectation like routine stations. We did the bathroom, recess, the lunchroom, different places where we needed to reinforce or teach

for the first time, what does it look like to be responsible and to be in this area? And we practiced it. And that was from kindergarten all the way up to fourth grade. And it really, I think, comes down to kids like consistency. That's why they love school or they think maybe they don't love school, but really it's a safe place for them because they know what to expect. They should know what the procedure is. If I need to sharpen a

pencil and I'm a classroom teacher what is that rule can I just get up do I have to give you a signal the same with being a principal is I want all of my people to operate the same way so that if I'm absent in the lunchroom one day it's going to be handled the same way as if I was there I don't have outlandish things going on or people disciplining or saying different things everybody was a part of that what does it what does it look like to be in the lunchroom how do we do this where do

Dawn Chase (20:47.936)
line up when we're done? What kind of voice level do we have? It just, I think it's a well-oiled machine and really it takes away confusion. I mean it is just supporting those kids so they know exactly what to expect and they know how things are going to be because most people do not like change and so if you can keep things clear and consistent then you can hold them to high expectations and when something's not right

you can call it out and talk about that and then reinforce, okay, where did it go wrong? What did you not do? What did you not do in your time in the lunchroom? So I think it's powerful.

Rick Sola (21:31.255)
There's so much comfort for kids with routine and that predictability and you kind of you mentioned that alluded to that. What did you need to do, especially as a new principal? What did you need to be intentional with with your staff? Like you said, you can't be everywhere all at once, but there are expectations. Was there anything that you did very, very specifically with them to kind of help lay that out or set out a communication piece that then gets into classrooms? How did that look?

Dawn Chase (22:00.781)
So.

professional development at the beginning of my first year was a lot about them learning me and me learning the school and I didn't change too much at the beginning. I knew how I was as a teacher. I had a quiet straight line in the hall. It was just a thing for me. I don't know, you know, some people they're a little lax about lines. I needed that quiet and straight and we weren't going to go until that happened. And so I had very clear visions.

of what I wanted but also I now have a whole group of people I need to make sure that's the collective message so they don't think okay this is Mrs. Chase's way and it's the only way so I had to get buy-in and we have a really great system for social emotional we use leader in me and it talks about the seven habits and we can weave those everywhere it's not just a 30-minute lesson it's it's everywhere and so if you can use those things and they

already were very

I wouldn't say concrete or cemented, but they have strong belief in this building, in that system. They've had it for a while. I've had to learn that. I knew nothing about it. So it's been a learning curve for me. But building off of that naturally led to, okay, how are we going to use this to refine and define behaviors and what it's going to look like across the building? And then in your classroom, how are you going to carry that as well into your room? So you make sure you do more teaching than disciplining.

Rick Sola (23:35.553)
Yeah, I love that you mentioned the you wanted to spend time at the very first professional development of them getting to know you, but you getting to know the school. And I think that's so it's such a good a good lesson, important lesson. And I'm sure we've all been in positions where maybe we moved a little too quickly on something. And that's probably a trait, a natural trait of principals is to you want to move forward. That's that's part of our makeup. We're in positions of leadership and we see things.

but how important it is to really kind of pause and assess a situation, especially being new to the building and building that trust and that buy-in, like you said, I think that's really, really important. Was there anything along the way, maybe early on that was just unexpected and it was a challenge and you didn't expect it big or small, but that came up that really kind of, like you said, it was a reality check of like, I don't have a principal to go talk to, I am the principal.

Dawn Chase (24:31.694)
I think for me one thing that's been an unexpected challenge is how we deal with the students who ride the bus. For us, our middle school is about 10 minutes away, so we have an element of we have buses that come from the middle school, they go to the high school, they end up here. So we've got time where the kids have to be somewhere and have to be supervised. I've always been in a place where either

the bus cave it was there people came and picked up and you didn't have that lag time and I thought okay what are we gonna do how are we going to define what it's gonna look like in this space because before it had just been a dropping ground so to speak of of kids and not in a bad way but they didn't they didn't have procedures I guess before and

That's been a big thing is trying to make sure that they're not all wound up before they get on the bus so that they don't, you know, get on the bus and then have incidents there. That's one thing. And then also just managing the different aspects of the pickup and how do I manage my time? I'm supposed to be and I want to be out front. I want to see parents. I want to, you know, dismiss kids. I want to greet kids. But what do I do when this comes up?

this comes up. So time management still is not like the best I guess because it's impossible. I can make the best plan for my day and within 30 minutes it can go out the window because other things have taken precedence. So I think that's kind of what I'd say more than even the busing and how to handle that is just how do I handle all the things and feel like I get to them and I don't neglect being in the classroom.

doing those walkthroughs or just going in to spend 10 minutes with kindergarten because it makes me smile or go to preschool and watch them do the silly art things that they do. Like that's what makes me happy and that's I think why most educators do what they do. It's for the kids and so the time management piece I think was the biggest slap in the face of how do I feel like I can get everything done and I've just had to realize I'm not ever gonna have a clear to-do list. It's okay. I'm not.

Rick Sola (26:55.595)
Yeah, I think that grace you just alluded to there at the end is so important. We're not going to get it all done, and there's a lot of plates spinning at any given time. I think back, I've got kids that are newly driving, and I think about when we're driving in a parking lot, and it's that first time they're behind the wheel, and they're going 15 miles an hour, and in their mind, it feels like they're going 85 miles an hour, and everything is...

is happening quickly because it's all brand new to them even though they're just in a parking lot. I think that of that analogy as it relates to being a new principal, everything feels so much faster. Things are coming at you and then we gradually get pick up speed. We gradually get on the open roads and things like that. Sometimes the hard part is we don't start in a parking lot. We start right off hitting the ground running. I think things start to, like you mentioned, the management piece.

And sometimes we learn by getting burned a little bit, things start to slow down just a little bit. Never clearing the to-do list, but that management piece starts to build upon itself. And that's kind of what I want to ask you as a principal year and a half in. And I know there are listeners who are in the same similar boat as you or they're aspiring administrators or whatever the case may be. What advice would you give to a person who

may be finding out this semester that they're going to take over a building in August.

Dawn Chase (28:26.862)
I think number one, you need to realize that not every problem needs to be fixed and it's not gonna be fixed immediately. I think that took me a bit is I'm a people pleaser. I like to fix things. like to help and when people would bring me something, I would think, okay, now's my time. I've got to figure this out. And I found myself with a lot of things that maybe weren't as high on the priority list

Maybe they should have been or I mean, I cannot fix everything I guess is what you need to realize is just because you're the principal it doesn't mean it's your responsibility to fix everything. You have a team and that's the beautiful thing is you have a lot of people that have specialized roles in your building. You know, your counselor, your custodians, your, you everybody has a place and you've got to be able to lean and rely on your team and I am blessed to have a great team.

When I don't know something I go looking for someone else out there to say hey help me with this and You can't pretend you have all the answers because you don't and I just because you're the boss now doesn't mean You have to have all the answers. It's okay to say man I don't know but I will look at that or I will I'll check on that. It's okay and I Just feel like people need to realize, you know principle doesn't mean

you're the ultimate. You are the decision maker, so to speak, but if you're a good principal, you lean on your team and the decisions you make are a result of a collaborative, reflective process with your people so that it doesn't seem like it's coming from the top down. It's actually just coming from everywhere because hopefully the people that have needed to have a hand in it have helped you along the way create the decision you're going to make or the policy or the procedure because really that's what

you need, you need people to trust you and trust doesn't come immediate. I think that's the other thing I'd say is my husband told me when I very first took this, says, I'm going to tell you this, you're going to have to be okay with people not liking you. Not everyone is going to like you. And that goes back to the people pleaser in me. And I've had to realize, you know what? It's okay. As long as I'm operating in the best interest of the kids and I'm making sound.

Dawn Chase (30:56.282)
educational decisions and As my superintendent said when I lay my head down on the pillow at night I can say I did everything I could in the betterment of the school and for the kids then it's okay It's it's okay to do that. And if some people are not happy along the way we'll figure that out and so that's a lot of advice I'm sorry, that's kind of blurry but

Rick Sola (31:18.191)
No, that's perfect. Making decisions based on what's best for kids is one of the oldest bits of advice and cliches even in education. And I have only found it to be more and more true the longer I've been a principal. And exactly to your point of, you your head down at night and go to sleep? Well, if you're making decisions based on what's best for the school, what's best for kids,

you know, that's really where it all hinges. And that's why we're in the position that we're in is to make those hard decisions sometimes. And it can be uncomfortable to know you're really frustrated somebody or someone who does not like you, but that is part of that leadership. And yeah, you mentioned as well that it's okay to say, I don't know. And I think there's so much value in that. And that's a hard thing to say sometimes, because it almost feels like, well, you don't know.

almost like it could be twisted in the wrong way. That can be a really positive thing. It shows a real moment for you as a leader to be able to say, I need more information on this. A lot of the decisions that are being made are not just unilateral. They're based on information that was brought forward through other conversations. So I really like all that you mentioned there.

I hope there are people that are aspiring or new to it that hear that because you hit on a lot there. I've got to ask before, I'm going have you brag on your people here, but right over your shoulder there's a picture of a, like, it looks like a yellow lab. I love dogs. Is that, who's the lab there?

Dawn Chase (32:54.35)
Yeah.

Dawn Chase (32:57.824)
Okay, I'll tell you.

in my school that I love that I worked at for so long. Our school secretary had an oops of a litter and said, I know I had papillons before this and they had all aged out and we were looking to possibly get a dog to kind of ease the very last one's transition and have a buddy. And she said, I just had a litter that is they call them the reindeers because there nine of them. So they named them after all of the reindeer. And she said, I have the perfect one. She's the ranch.

She's gonna be great. So Prancer is my dog. And as I took my daughter who, I don't know, probably just a couple of, we've had them, are four now. To the other side, I don't know if you can see, there's another one, I don't know. Anyway, Cupid is the other one. My daughter came home with Cupid because she was gonna move out on her own and she wanted a buddy. So we have the sisters and then the rest is history. But yeah, they are amazing.

I kind of have kids that are 23 and 28. They're my new children and they're my babies and that was a very hard thing for me to do was come back to work because I miss my dogs. But you know.

Rick Sola (34:09.239)
I am a big dog. I hand out little treats of the car line for our dog riders that come through and yeah, big, dog fan. Anyway, totally. That was totally off, off topic and aside, but you know, I think, I think a lot of us principals are dog people. So anyway, but you've spoken very highly about Horton and the diamond that you are currently working, but this is your chance to brag on your people for all those who are listening across Kansas.

Dawn Chase (34:39.734)
So we have a fantastic elementary school. It's we're a family and that's the way we operate is all of us are a tight-knit little family and that's that's just how we treat all of this all the students and just to let them know hey I care about you so you know what's going on if something goes wrong it's not about what you did and and I'm not about the consequence you're

to get it's why, what do need from us? And so we have a fabulous group of classroom teachers. We have a student success liaison who, you know, works with kids. We have a newly formed, this is the second year, what I need, a win room. So that person works for kids that have sensory needs or needs a place for a time out and works on strategies. I'm telling you.

This building runs, it runs very well together and that's from, like I said, the top down. We couldn't do it without our custodial staff and all of the people, our fabulous cooks. You can't think of all the people that make the school run until you sit and look at your staff list and you're like, yeah, that's why it runs this way. We have just a really phenomenal set of people that come here every day.

You know, have a teacher who had twins a couple months ago and her first day back to work was yesterday And it was a hard day right leaving. I can't imagine leaving two babies but seeing the support of everyone here as we lifted her up and you know, I'm talking from our Superintendent to other principals too because we had all district professional development yesterday Just lifting her up. That's that's the type of place I want to be at I I want to be at a place

where it sounds like cheers everybody knows your name but I know pretty much all of these kids and I'm learning parents and I just feel like this we're going to accomplish so much because of the attitude of my educators and everybody else that it takes everybody to make this work it takes everybody and so I I feel blessed to be here and even though I don't live in this community because I mean I just

Dawn Chase (37:09.284)
don't, but this they have made me feel as if I'm a part of this place. And this is just a phenomenal little place. And to be a charger is a great thing. So it's just I can't say enough great things about the things going on here and the changes and and everything that they're trying to do at all the levels. And I can't speak eloquently about high school and all of those things. But they're they're really trying to do initiatives that help kids get ready for life beyond school, because we're trying to really

get our kids career ready in a sense that they can go out and do big things right when they're out of high school, if it's not college, because for a lot of kids it may not be.

Rick Sola (37:50.168)
Sure. Well, a lot of really good words about the people you work with and around, and you highlighted several. And I would just say, don't undersell your role in that. And it sounds like a lot of great things going on out in Horton. And like you said, being a charger is a great thing. That could be like a t-shirt or something out there.

Dawn Chase (38:07.15)
I also want to say not to I I really want to be sure that I did I tell you and I think this is something that you spoke about in your last podcast is The weight that a principal carries

It's not describable to anybody else that's not a principal and even when you're off you're not off you Your mind continues to think about things and really that's that's been a big thing for me is trying to figure out how to Disconnect even for just a little while like the dogs They're a big cup filler for me because you can't you can't lead anyone with an empty cup So i've got to find ways to build that back up and so when i'm at home, it's family. It's

it's my pets and it's all the things that make me happy. love to go fishing but you know right now it's not that and I love football but that's not even going on very well either right?

being around these kids fills your cup and I think that everybody needs to just realize that self-care is important and if that means you take some time, you shut your door for five minutes, I've told my teachers if you just need five, ten minutes, whatever, call me. I'll come in, just take a breath, go breathe some different air. Whatever it is, we've got to be here for each other.

Rick Sola (39:29.567)
That's a really good, I think, awareness of what we deal with in the position and the role. And it's hard to turn our mind off sometimes, but it is really, really critical that we do and that we find ways to make that happen. And whether it's a hobby, a walk, a book, or a dog, you know, and that is really, really important. And there is a tremendous amount of responsibility. And that's a really good awareness, like I said, as far as

if you're not in the chair, it's hard to describe potentially and something worth considering for those who might be aspiring for that role. And I also follow that up with it's the most rewarding position, the most rewarding job ever. And I love so much about it. It's not without its challenges, but so many great things with it.

Well, Dawn, thank you so much for taking the time today at the end of our first day back with kids. And I hope the break we just got off of, I hope you were able to unplug and take some time away and really recharge because we've got a semester ahead of us. It's going to be great, but it's going to take some work. So thank you for being on.

Dawn Chase (40:42.04)
That's right. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. And it's a great time to tell all those listeners out there and it's a brand new fresh start. That's what I told all the students today is 2025 it's a new year guys. Let's come in. Let's make it a fresh start. And that goes for principals, educators, whatever it is. If you've got a resolution or whatever you're working on, it's a fresh new beginning. So that's exciting.

Rick Sola (41:08.491)
That's awesome. Well, happy 2026 to you, Dawn, and thanks for joining us today.

Dawn Chase (41:13.431)
Alright, thanks Rick.