Nancy Muñoz is on her second act — this time, in a college — and she or he feels she’s lastly the place she belongs.
After an extended profession working in well being care, the pandemic led her to hunt a brand new alternative. She discovered it within the type of an operations coordinator position inside a center college in Camden, New Jersey.
In that place, Muñoz sits on the entrance desk — what she calls “the face of the home” — answering telephone calls, sending emails, receiving guests. However the actual energy of her work, she says, goes effectively past the normal duties related to the position.
Muñoz is laser-focused on decreasing the college’s continual absenteeism price — a problem that many colleges nationwide are grappling with within the wake of the pandemic. She is dedicated to seeing as many college students as attainable present up day-after-day, on time, able to study. She’s even constructed her morning espresso routine round it.
In our Position Name collection, we function unsung college employees members — folks whose jobs are little-known or misunderstood however who’re integral to their college communities. For this installment, we spoke with Muñoz about how her work is about greater than answering telephone calls and greeting college guests.
The next interview has been evenly edited and condensed for readability.
Identify: Nancy Muñoz
Age: 43
Location: Camden, New Jersey
Title: Operations coordinator
Present age group: Grades 5-8
Years within the subject: Three
EdSurge: How did you get right here? What introduced you to your present position?
Nancy Muñoz: For 16 years, I labored in a hospital setting. The final job that I held was as a cardiac tech. The pandemic hit, and I began scrambling. I had three youngsters at residence that I used to be homeschooling. I needed to reduce my work as a result of I needed to keep residence with my kids. After which the chance on Certainly happened. Any person pitched it. They had been like, ‘Hey, attempt one thing totally different.’ My husband was like, ‘Step out in your religion. You have been sitting there in well being care for thus lengthy. Do this. See the way you prefer it.’
They cherished me from the time I stepped within the college constructing all up till as we speak. So I’m like, ‘Wow, what would’ve occurred if I might’ve performed this earlier in my life?’ It might’ve been a distinct state of affairs for me. However the pandemic actually formed me up. I used to be beat down. I used to be worn out. Well being care was similar to … [a lot]. And this was like a breath of contemporary air, simply to assist my group that I nonetheless stay in to today. In order that’s how I received right here.
When folks exterior of college ask you what you do, how do you describe your work?
Principally how I describe my work and my job is that I’m ‘the face of the home.’ If you come to my home, I’m the individual that solutions the door. I am the individual that greets you. I take all of your questions, considerations, something below the umbrella of being just like the intermediary to my college. I am on the entrance desk, fielding messages, answering telephone calls, sending emails.
If there’s, as an example, those that come and go to, I take the guests, I test them in, I make it possible for all their credentials are good, then I ship them to wherever they should go.
I inventory my workrooms for my employees. I do the busing within the morning. I get the children on the bus within the afternoon. I do all of it.
As a result of I am bilingual, if there is a language barrier, there are specific instances the place if a employees member cannot talk with a scholar that speaks Spanish, they do come and lean on me.
An enormous, necessary piece in my work is ensuring that we all know the place our youngsters are — both we all know they’re within the constructing secure, and if they don’t seem to be within the constructing, what is going on on? The place are you? Why aren’t you right here? Can we get you in? Is there something that we will help you with?
What does a very exhausting day seem like in your position?
A very exhausting day in my position is after I do not actually know the place my youngsters are — and I name all of them my youngsters as a result of through the day their dad and mom belief me with them. And I say this as a result of I used to be born and raised right here; I grew up with a variety of their dad and mom. In order that they really feel that comfortability.
We haven’t gotten a variety of snow right here these previous couple years, so now, once they’re calling for a dusting, it is just like the buses run loopy, there is a two-hour delay. One week we had bitter chilly. So it is like, all proper, let me breathe in, as a result of our attendance isn’t going to be nice, and I have to know the place my youngsters are. If they don’t seem to be right here at 8 a.m., I am like, OK, what’s my subsequent [move]? So then I simply game-plan from there. However that is a tough day for me — after I do not see my youngsters that I see frequently.
What would you do to try to monitor down the scholars and get them to highschool?
Like I stated, I usually do busing within the morning. We’ve got about 472 college students for the center college. So I get a few good 73 college students off of the bus. There’s all the time this one child who misses the bus. So after I name him and his mother, I am like, ‘Hey, what is going on on? Why are you not right here? You realize you’ll be able to’t have a specific amount of absences. What’s it that I will help you with?’
I grew up together with his mother. I used to work at McDonald’s along with her — that is how far we return, all the best way to highschool. Properly, they don’t have a automotive. So I’m like, ‘OK, I will come and get you.’ So I might take a break, inform work that I will be again in quarter-hour, get in my automotive, and go choose him up. I am like, ‘Hey, we’re not going to make this a behavior, an on a regular basis factor, however please attempt to get to your bus cease.’ I stated, ‘Use me as a resort, however not day-after-day. I received you, although. I will get you there.’ And that is only one instance.
Is that this a school-wide precedence due to rising continual absenteeism nationwide, or is it a private objective?
On the operations workforce, our largest factor is to have a low proportion of continual absenteeism and to make it possible for the children are ready to study, which implies exhibiting up on time and being there day-after-day. Now, after all, folks get sick. There was a foul case of flu going round within the college. That was the toughest factor, apart from the climate — simply the truth that all the children had been sick. Though the pandemic is effectively over, we do not need these habits that we had earlier than with, like, ‘Hey, I believe my mother goes to be OK with me not coming to highschool.’ No, you need to go to highschool.
We’ve got a variety of incentives for the children — not solely with lecturers, but in addition there’s quarterly journeys that we give to our youngsters, and the children know which you could’t be absent greater than 4 days in 1 / 4 so as to get these forms of incentives. So we provide quite a bit, however our foremost concern day-after-day is to make it possible for the children are within the constructing, they’re accounted for, and once they’re not within the constructing, that we additionally make it possible for our absence logs are pristine.
What does a very good day seem like in your position?
After having not-so-great attendance with the climate in the beginning of February, we got here again the final Monday of the month, and our attendance was 94 %. After we got here in that Tuesday, our attendance was 96.7 %. In order that’s like a median of not more than 15 folks out — of the entire complete 472 youngsters that we’ve got. In order that’s a very good day to me: We all know that the children are there.
Within the morning, [at home], I’ve to get my youngsters collectively for college, after all, however I am all the time simply on my Ps and Qs. So I brew Bustelo espresso within the Keurig and blast a message out — a textual content message — to my entire complete college, and I say, like, ‘Hey, attendance is a prime precedence at our faculty, and should you’re not going to be in, please name or textual content me at my quantity. Thanks. Have an excellent day.’
Usually, I get about 5 to seven folks that really textual content me and might be like, ‘Hey, we’ve got an appointment. We’ll be there afterwards,’ or, ‘Oh, I took my child to pressing care yesterday. He is very sick, needs to be fever-free for twenty-four hours. He isn’t going to be again till tomorrow.’ So simply that proper there, an excellent day is figuring out that I did half the battle earlier than I even received to highschool, in order that after I get to highschool I can think about the extra advanced circumstances of the children that didn’t present up.
What does it seem like once you get to highschool and begin tackling the remaining absences?
We’ve got three rounds of communication that exit. Our workplace supervisor will do the three rounds in an hour. We begin pulling attendance at 9 a.m. on the telephone. By 9:05, she’s blasting her message. She sends an extra textual content message as a result of on Dean’s Record, [the communication service we use], you’ll be able to truly make a listing only for that day’s absences. So it will checklist all the students that haven’t been [marked as present].
So the workplace supervisor will ship an electronic mail to staffers, we’ll replace via employees, then she’ll ship out a robocall textual content message first to the absent checklist. We’ll get a pair extra telephone calls, ‘Hey, my child’s there. Test once more.’ Then she’ll ship out a voice communication — that is a normal message that is already there — after which she’ll ship out an electronic mail. So we’ll get them 3 ways inside an hour, after which she’ll ship the ultimate spherical of attendance to employees, and that ought to have our concrete quantity [of absent students].
What’s a method that your position shapes the day for youths?
I have been doing busing ever since I began right here, and typically you simply do not know what the children are going via. So once they get off the bus they usually see me, I am all the time blissful and I do know them by identify. Typically it is so not possible to start with to know everyone, however I attempt to study everyone’s identify. I would like them to know, like, I wish to be private with you, you convey me pleasure since you’re right here and also you wish to study and the whole lot’s going proper. If I see that they don’t seem to be having an important day once they get off the bus, perhaps they’re crying, I am giving out hugs, telling them, ‘Hey, come discuss to me should you want me.’
You by no means know what the children undergo. As of late are totally different than after we had been younger. We did not have telephones. We did not have social media. We did not have a variety of the issues [they are dealing with]. So I all the time inform them, ‘Hey, should you want me, I am proper right here.’
Your position provides you distinctive entry and perception into as we speak’s youth. What’s one factor you have discovered about younger folks via your job?
Simply attempt to sustain with them, and all the time have an open ear. I’ve youngsters of my very own — ages 19, 11 and seven. It’s necessary to only be an individual that they are in a position to talk with proper now. … I would like them to know that I pay attention, and I like TikTok. I like to bounce after I can. My knees are unhealthy, however I like to bounce. I like to entertain the children and like I stated, simply to be an ear. They won’t have that at residence, so I would like them to really feel comfy for them to come back discuss to me.
That is the most important factor that I’ve discovered. You may’t all the time be authoritative on a regular basis. Simply pay attention, hear them out. After which I would like them to listen to me out as effectively.
