The group I
found the hardest to leave was a group of Head Start staffers charged with
opening a new child development center. The social service workers,
cooks, teaching staff, and management had never worked together before, and
there were only a few who had worked for the agency. Fortunately, we had
a director with a great game plan. She instilled confidence, by asking
your viewpoint and allowing staff to take risks. Every year we closed the site for one day and
went to an amusement park. Once we went
to Sea World, another year Disney, and the best was Universal Studios. You have not experienced an amusement park
until you go without kids. She called
these outings Mental Health Breaks.
It was a great
team, and we did a great job. We
continue to support each other for many years to come. When someone one
moved on to another center, or moved to a new city we kept in touch. I
still have the photo album they put together for me of my time at the site.
Unfortunately, our communication did dwindle to only holidays, until two years
ago when our original janitor “Big Joe” died of a heart attack. There were calls and e-mails made to and from
the original group. We all vowed to stay and contact, and we have done a
great job of that too.
Adjournment
signifies the end of something, but also gives permission to start something
new. When I leave this program, I am
sure I will miss the input from familiar colleagues and the ritual of formal
study. What better way to adjourn from
such a momentous journey then graduation.
