VCPS builds culture, camaraderie during American Education Week
This week was American Education Week and at Valley City Public Schools it has served as an opportunity to build culture and cement close bonds between the passionate staff of the district.
“It sets aside a week that as a school district we can appreciate all the people who work for the school district,” Bryan Kriewald, technology director for VCPS and a member of its culture committee, said. “Just give them the warm fuzzies … they don’t always get appreciated, a lot of the people who appreciate and love our teachers don’t always show it, it’s always the squeaky wheels. So this is kind of a pick-me-up. If we don’t set aside a week like this … we just sort of forget about it, and soon Veterans D ay turns into Thanksgiving turns into Christmas turns into Spring Break and then we’re done with school. Then we never really set any time aside to give them a little card, or give them a treat or give the people, not just the educators, not just the teachers but all of our staff something a little bit extra.”
American Education Week has a long history in the U.S. Sarah Lerud, librarian at the high school and member of the culture committee as well, looked into its origins.
“It was started after WW1, the National Education Association and the American Legion got together and realized that a lot of people were not educated, so they wanted to create this week to get the public aware of how important education is,” Lerud said.
Not simply public awareness, but reminding staff – both teachers and support staff – of the importance of their role within the district has become a big part of American Education Week, and this is a relatively recent shift in focus.
“I’ve always thought the most important people, the people we can’t do without, are the people who are in the trenches, so to speak, the cooks, the janitors, the support staff people that get everything ready for teachers and students to do their jobs at school,” Kriewald said. “I think those people historically, especially before Mr. Johnson came, were unappreciated.”
North Dakota can be an unforgiving place to live and work, and there’s increased temptation to lure good employees to other parts of the state or beyond. The deciding factor, Kriewald said, is not so much pay as it is a culture that entices people to want to stay.
“To retain staff in today’s work environment, they need a little bit more,” Kriewald said. “Teacher retention – every district in our state can pay a competitive salary. It’s culture that we really try to build and rely on. (We) try to be one family. So if a teacher, say if a spouse is trying to get a teacher to move, that spouse may say ‘no, I don’t think I’m moving … I really love my job, I’ll never find a better fit here. This is a family.”
Family bonds most of all over food, and so this week’s employee appreciation has certainly aimed for the stomach as much as the heart. On Monday there was a lunch for all the teachers, on Wednesday they had caramel rolls and on Friday they’ll bring treats to everyone, chosen from a menu.
“Food goes a long way, it makes people happy,” Lerud said.
Beyond the gastronomic, posters are festooned about all the school buildings that express gratitude to specific members of the staff for what they do. All of this, Kriewald says, builds culture, culture which has kept him in Valley City for much of his life.
“I’m a Hi-liner … my kids are HiLiners, I’m not going anywhere until my kids are done being Hi-Liners,” Kriewald said. “I’ll always be a HiLiner, but I think what’s kept me working here is that I have skin in the game. My kids go here and I want to make things great for the school district. That’s what keeps me going.”
For Sarah, it’s the positive benefits of what she does that keep her loving her job.
“I love my job. Every day’s a little bit different, I’m a problem solver … every day if a student or staff member has a problem, they come to me, I fix it and they walk out smiling. That’s my favorite part,” she said.