Career Dreams Educational Foundation

FEEDBACK REPORT

3-DAY FACILITATOR TRAINING

Sidney Gutierrez Middle School

New Mexico School District

Roswell, New Mexico

July 30 - August 1, 2001

August 7, 2001

Bob Carroll
Sidney Gutierrez Middle School
712 N. Lea Ave
Roswell, New Mexico 88201

Dear Bob,

I believe the training of your staff and volunteers went exceptionally well. These are some of the thoughts and recommendations I have regarding the progress I experienced during the training and what I believe can be done with the Career Dreams programs to achieve your dreams and ultimate success for your school. The CDEF training always starts off with each person going through an in-depth thought provoking personal experience and then sharing what they learned with each other on the first morning of training. This creates an immediate bonding and understanding for each of the participants and establishes the direction in which the program is to take them for the next three days. In the beginning there is always some confusion by most everybody and in the end they find they are all going for their dreams for their team, together, with great understanding of themselves and each other.

The Training:

1. Steve Muhr was on top of what was happening and was excited with the results after the first morning. He saw the tremendous potential he had with his team. He was always enthusiastic and exhibited great leadership throughout the training. I could see he was constantly assessing the process and realizing how it can be applied to the students and the school overall.

2. Teri Muhr was very motivated from the beginning realizing how dynamic the group was. She was a bit confused about the direction we were going, like most people are in the beginning and openly worked through it with tremendous results in the end. Teri is a very important asset to Steve and the school. She is a person who takes responsibility and will make this school work. She is the "lead" volunteer and will definitely make things happen. Her talents work extremely well with the rest of the team.

3. Yash Kundomal was at first quiet but very much present throughout the entire time. He listened and, as the time went on, became more and more relaxed. He has tremendous passion for the students, especially the one's at risk. He has great insight and is a part of the team who will take action when needed. He will be working with Peggy helping the Hoover Institution assess and document the success throughout this year with your school.

4. Peggy Elwell was the one who was most confused in the beginning as to where this was going. I believe she is the one who made the biggest transition during this training. She will be very effective in helping Teri with the volunteers as well as helping you and Yash and the rest of your board create a dynamic school for the students and their parents. She should be depended on for leadership and working through any problems that may come up.

5. Cindy Gazdik was also a bit confused in the beginning as well as very quiet. She is extremely talented working with young people who need special attention. She has a very special compassion for those in need. It took Cindy more time than the others to understand what was happening with the group as a whole. It was the last day that she really got it. She is one of your best assets when it comes to working with the students, especially the ones who will need special attention.

6. Delia Hernandez exhibits a constant positive energy with a smile that won't come off. She is a great asset to this school for her positive attitude as well as for the ability to respond to the needs and dreams of the staff, students and parents. She brings a great deal of experience and wisdom with her. I believe the most important thing is that you can depend on her to help the school in any way that is needed. She approached the training with tremendous commitment. This was very different for her and she embraced it with excitement and loved what it did for the team. She has an enormous energy that is there and ready to be tapped.

7. Steven Hernandez spent two of the three days with us. He was truly missed the last day as he brought a lot of fun into the group. Steve has probably the most experience with education being a teacher through a Principal as well as many other occupations; Police Officer etc. Steve seemed to get this right from the beginning. He understood the dynamics of what was happening and could relate to how this will work in education. I believe he will be willing to help on a limited bases. He brings a great deal of experience and knowledge with him.

8. Kerri Bell was at first a bit confused as to what was happening and is one who doesn't like training workshops as a whole. She told us that the first day. She was one of the teachers that I feel the training had the most profound effect on. She really got what was happening and how she could use this in working with her students and the staff and the school as a whole. As each day went on she became more and more excited about what she is going to do with her students and her program for the school. She is a great asset and will help bring attention to the school within the community.

9. Ralph ? came in from the Roswell School District. He is a counselor from one of your middle schools. He is a very dedicated and talented counselor and has tremendous compassion for at risk students. He was the one who made the most dramatic turn-around through this training. He went from "contempt" for your new school to wanting to be on your board! He was the one who exhibited the most profound changes in his attitude and was able to listen and actually change the way he will now work with his students in the future. I was extremely impressed with his willingness to change what I believe was long term ideas he has had while working as a counselor. He will be a great asset to you and your project.

Recommendations:

Career Dreams is based on the fact that everyone is BRILLIANT at something and our brilliance is made up of our natural talents. It is extremely important to continue with this idea thoughout the entire time while school is in session. This includes the "NO NEGATIVES &
NO LIMITS" policy and the understanding of each student's passions and dreams. This policy and understanding of our passions and dreams as been established within each of the staff during the training. All the students will go through this and understand their talents, passions and dreams for themselves. All new staff and volunteer personnel must go through the Art of Management program when they first start working with your school. The workbooks are $15.00 each for this. This guarantees "buy-in" for each person working with the students and your staff and in how you school works.

During each class there should be a session with the students for them to understand how the subject they are studying applies to their own favorite subject. They should all have dreams for what they want to get out of the subject they are studying and set goals each week for success. This takes very little time to do and will create tremendous rewards for everyone. It also promotes students helping each other for the success for all.

All the parents will go through the Art of Management and a workshop so that they become part of the school and understand their talents and dreams. This will create a significant change in the way they will work and play and encourage their kids. It will also create a real bond between the parents and the school. They will become an integral part of your school team.

The training has created a team of your staff and volunteers to apply the Career Dreams concept into the day-to-day workings that they have with their students. This creates efficiency and real productivity within the school. Therefore, this training has just only started a process that will continue to develop and build over time. We will be involved though out the year as needed. I will be visiting several times during the year to observe how things are going and will always be available by phone.

Basically what has been established is that you are all in business with the students, the parents and the community being your customers. We have created a process that works with the students and parents. The next step is to get the buy-in form your last customer, the community. This is where marketing comes in. Remember that you are a business so your marketing is extremely important for your success.

There should be an Action Marketing Team established to bring the community into your dreams and share your success. This was brought up and this concept of marketing actually started the last day of training. I believe Steve Hernandez would be the perfect person to head this team if he will do it. He has the clout and respect in the educational community to get their attention and to get things done. You should start with the school district to get them to understand that you are apart of them and that you want to work with them for the success for all students. As you go through this rather difficult process with the district, there needs to be marketing programs in place for the community at large. This means educating and selling what you are doing in a very positive way.

These are some of the ideas and recommendations I have at this time. There will be more as we go along. I am looking forward to my return trip next week. You won't believe what you will hear and what will be developed from the seminar with the students and the workshop with the parents. We are all in for a really productive and fun time.

If you have any questions, please call me. We have only completed the first part of this process. The seminars and workshops bring everything and everyone together.

Sincerely,

Greg Braendel
Executive Director
Career Dreams Educational Foundation