Column: The Whiteboard Jungle: Permanent honors for longtime teachers, staff should be considered
When I first started working at Hoover High School in September 1989, the school was so overcrowded that there wasn’t a classroom available for me, so I became a traveling teacher: four rooms in five periods.
That meant I had to carry chalk, erasers, paper, pens, staplers, paper clips, and more in my bulging briefcase.
It wasn’t until my second year that I had my own room, but there was a catch.
It was a temporary room, a portable bungalow out near the softball field. While it was isolated next to three other portables, it had its own air-conditioning unit that I controlled, unlike the permanent buildings, where the thermostat was managed by the district office.
A couple of years later, when high schools converted to four-year institutions, a new building was erected to accommodate the additional ninth-graders. Then principal Don Duncan invited teachers to choose their own classrooms while construction was underway.
I selected a room away from a stairwell to minimize outside noise. I also wanted my windows to have a view, so I chose one that faced south, overlooking Glendale’s burgeoning skyline to my left and the Hollywood Hills to my right.
And I have remained there ever since.
This school year marks my 30th as a teacher. It also happens to be the 90th year that Hoover High has been around. That means that I have taught at Hoover for one-third of its entire existence. During my tenure, I have worked for six principals and five superintendents.
Reaching such a milestone has made me reflect on many of my former co-workers who are no longer at Hoover.
Too often these people just disappear whether through retirement or moving on without announcement or acknowledgment of their service to the school. There is no mechanism in place for their legacies to be memorialized.
Past superintendents in Glendale have their photos mounted at the district headquarters. No matter that the average tenure has been eight years, with one serving only a year, these men remain the face of the district despite working at other districts for the majority of their careers.
However, for those teachers, secretaries, custodians and cafeteria workers who have devoted their lifetime to Glendale Unified — 20, 30, 40 years’ worth — their work is not preserved. Nowhere are their photos or names displayed.
That is like having a memorial dedicated to the armed services with only the names of the generals on it.
These people have more of a connection to students than do superintendents. Preparing food, cleaning campuses, greeting visitors, and teaching students — these are the most meaningful jobs at a school. If it weren’t for these people, there wouldn’t be a place of learning.
Just last month a custodian who worked 39 years, Glen Esquivel, retired. Where is his photo? His name?
As soon as he left, the history of his stint in Glendale Unified disappeared. It’s as if he never worked in Glendale schools.
Thirty-nine years. Vanished.
Devote your entire working life to a company and never be remembered. That’s a terrible lesson to teach young people.
Never mind the clichéd certificate of recognition at a school board meeting. As the district prepares to move to a new administration building, serious consideration should be given to erect a Hall of Fame with the photos, names and years of service of all employees who have worked for Glendale Unified for at least 25 years.
It’s the right thing to do.
BRIAN CROSBY is a teacher in the Glendale Unified School District and the author of “Smart Kids, Bad Schools” and “The $100,000 Teacher.” He can be reached at www.brian-crosby.com.
