From Server Room to Boiler Room: Unifying IT and Facilities with Rafael Cordero
Presented by:
Presented by Claro
Rafael Cordero, Director of IT and Facilities at The Riviera Ridge School, joins the podcast to discuss his unique dual role. He shares how a background in project management and cybersecurity prepared him to manage everything from network infrastructure to campus operations, and how he aligns these efforts to create a future-ready learning environment.
- Riviera Ridge School
- Rafael’s LinkedIn profile
- NYSAIS Education, Information, and Technology (NEIT), conference produced by New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS)
- JAMF, enterprise Apple product management and security
- ATLIS Leadership Institute (ALI), education and networking program designed to prepare and support technology leaders in independent schools
- Photos of Christina’s daughter’s “new teacher supplies haul”, Photo 1 | Photo 2
Transcript
Narrator:
Nick, welcome to Talking technology with Atlas,
Narrator:
the show that plugs you into the important topics and trends for
Narrator:
technology leaders all through a unique Independent School lens.
Narrator:
We'll hear stories from technology directors and other
Narrator:
special guests from the Independent School community,
Narrator:
and provide you with focused learning and deep dive topics.
Narrator:
And now please welcome your host. Kristina llewellen,
Christina Lewellen:
hello everyone, and welcome back to
Christina Lewellen:
talking technology with Atlas. I'm Kristina llewellen, the CEO
Christina Lewellen:
and President of the Association of technology leaders in
Christina Lewellen:
independent schools.
Bill Stites:
And I am Bill Stites, the Director of
Bill Stites:
Technology at Montclair Kimberly Academy in Montclair, New
Bill Stites:
Jersey. Hello, Bill. It's you and me today, friend and we are
Bill Stites:
better for it. Oh, I'm just kidding. I miss Hiram. Of
Bill Stites:
course, I miss Hiram. I jest.
Christina Lewellen:
Actually, I was kind of looking forward to
Christina Lewellen:
seeing Hiram today, because I was going to ask how you guys
Christina Lewellen:
are doing. You are in these frantic final moments of summer
Christina Lewellen:
at the time of our recording. Oh, 100% so I think that maybe
Christina Lewellen:
it's even better for me that there's just one of you, plus
Christina Lewellen:
our guest, because I don't know that I can manage all of the
Christina Lewellen:
stress and anxiety all at once. You know, I think I can just
Christina Lewellen:
handle you, and then maybe next time, I'll have a therapy
Christina Lewellen:
session with him. How about that?
Bill Stites:
This is like the calm before the wake that
Bill Stites:
introduces the storm. Because right now, as we're recording,
Bill Stites:
it's on a Friday, on Tuesday, we have all of our new employees
Bill Stites:
coming, so we do like a what we call New Teacher Institute. It's
Bill Stites:
actually new employee Institute, nice, but it's a Tuesday,
Bill Stites:
Wednesday, Thursday, where all the new employees come in. They
Bill Stites:
get oriented to the school, they get their legs under them in the
Bill Stites:
building, particularly here at our middle school, which is
Bill Stites:
where my office is. It's a maze, so people get to figure out the
Bill Stites:
maze that is the building. And then the following week, Monday
Bill Stites:
through Thursday, that's when we have everyone's back full blown
Bill Stites:
in service before we welcome the kids back, just after Labor Day.
Christina Lewellen:
So you are ramping up. And what's crazy,
Christina Lewellen:
Bill is I feel like we just had this conversation for the 2425
Christina Lewellen:
school year. Yep, and now we're having it for the 2526 school
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year. Like, What is even happening
Bill Stites:
summer goes by in a blink of an eye, and I think
Bill Stites:
September is just as bad. You know, when September hits the
Bill Stites:
doors open and the next thing I notice people are putting out
Bill Stites:
stuff for Halloween, and I'm like, where did September go?
Christina Lewellen:
Yep, it goes fast. So I really wish that
Christina Lewellen:
Hiram was here for this story. I'll have to just text him in
Christina Lewellen:
our group chat, but I have something real quick to tell
Christina Lewellen:
you. So this past week, I was out in LA on the west coast for
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ASAE, which is the American Society of Association
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Executives, and it's like the conference for all the
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association people like me. And as it turns out, my sister in
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law, the lovely Liz Lewellen, she retired from teaching after,
Christina Lewellen:
I think, 38 years from a California School District.
Christina Lewellen:
That's awesome. So what happened was we had dinner in LA she
Christina Lewellen:
drove up through crazy traffic, and we had some lovely sushi,
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and as we sat there, we realized that in just one year's time,
Christina Lewellen:
daughter Caitlin will be setting up her classroom for the very
Christina Lewellen:
first time. So Liz went home and made it her mission to send me
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home with every allowable pound via United Airlines of teacher
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supplies. So I flew out with a simple little garment bag full
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of stuff to wear to my conference, and I flew home with
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approximately 150 pounds worth of teacher supplies.
Bill Stites:
That's awesome.
Christina Lewellen:
And I got home a little bit late, a few
Christina Lewellen:
delays. I walk into my house. It had to be almost 10 o'clock. My
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daughter was waiting for me, stalking me on life 360 and as
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soon as I walked in the door, she was pulling those things
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apart. There was borders, there were magnets, there were timers,
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there were pouches. There's so much stuff, bulletin board
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things and notes and celebrations for the kids. And I
Christina Lewellen:
was a little overwhelmed, I just gotta say,
Bill Stites:
Oh, I'm sure my father used to bribe my wife to
Bill Stites:
come help set up the room. Just given because my father was a
Bill Stites:
classroom teacher as well, just given the amount of stuff,
Bill Stites:
particularly over that amount of time, it's amazing what you hold
Bill Stites:
on to and what you carry with you.
Christina Lewellen:
Yeah, I mean, she basically said, I have
Christina Lewellen:
sent you with 115 of the pile that I walked out of that school
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with, and I said, Well, I'm just gonna have to come back out to
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California and see you more often. Take use of my free bags
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on the way home with my status. So anyways, I thought that was
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super fun. And I'll have to send pictures in the group chat.
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We'll also see if we can put them in the show notes. She was
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pretty excited, my daughter, that's awesome. Well, let's get
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on to today's show. I'm super excited. We are welcoming today
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Rafael Cordero. Rafael is from the Riviera Ridge school in
Christina Lewellen:
Santa Barbara, California. So joining us from the West Coast,
Christina Lewellen:
Rafael, if I come see you, I'm not taking home 150 pounds worth
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of stuff.
Rafael Cordero:
I'm just saying, well, thanks for having me.
Christina Lewellen:
Yeah, we're so. Grateful you joined us. You
Christina Lewellen:
are the director of IT and facilities at the Riviera Ridge
Christina Lewellen:
school. We'll dive into that a little bit, but we know you at
Christina Lewellen:
Atlas for a couple different reasons. You've been involved
Christina Lewellen:
with some of our programming here at Atlas, and you come
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highly recommended as somebody to chat with, because there's a
Christina Lewellen:
lot of ground to cover. But one of the things I want to start
Christina Lewellen:
with, we always ask everybody a little bit about their
Christina Lewellen:
background, and we'll do that with you, too. But what's really
Christina Lewellen:
cool to me is that you have a master's degree in it, and that
Christina Lewellen:
focus is on cybersecurity, so you really come from more of the
Christina Lewellen:
IT and safety side of the house. So we're gonna definitely dig
Christina Lewellen:
into that. But why don't we start by having you tell us a
Christina Lewellen:
little bit about your journey and how it is that you found
Christina Lewellen:
yourself in a California Independent School?
Rafael Cordero:
Well, like you said, I was in at least a couple
Rafael Cordero:
of years ago, in the at least Leadership Institute. We were in
Rafael Cordero:
Fourth Ward in Texas, and I had a blast. It was one of the
Rafael Cordero:
things that you do that helped you understand how school works
Rafael Cordero:
and how things are pretty much in place for school. The teams,
Rafael Cordero:
everybody was so helpful. It helped me just deepen my
Rafael Cordero:
understanding of strategic, it planning and how to Align
Rafael Cordero:
Technology Initiatives with the school brother mission. My
Rafael Cordero:
background, I have a very interesting background. It's not
Rafael Cordero:
exactly traditional. I'm from Venezuela. I used to be a
Rafael Cordero:
project manager, and I really appreciate the fact that, in my
Rafael Cordero:
background, being a project manager, I was able to bring
Rafael Cordero:
that into my experience into it working in schools, and
Rafael Cordero:
definitely have the ability to understand and to apply those
Rafael Cordero:
skills into my daily work. For me, it's more important to
Rafael Cordero:
understand what we do and the value that we bring to the work
Rafael Cordero:
that we do every day.
Christina Lewellen:
So Raphael, you came into this mix with this
Christina Lewellen:
strong cyber IT background, but then, as you mentioned, you went
Christina Lewellen:
through the Atlas Leadership Institute. Can you tell me a
Christina Lewellen:
little bit about how that rounded things out, and did that
Christina Lewellen:
help on the education, ed tech side of things?
Rafael Cordero:
Absolutely, I did my master's degree in
Rafael Cordero:
California, Lutheran University. I learned a lot about
Rafael Cordero:
cybersecurity, which is my specialty, and when I applied to
Rafael Cordero:
the director of IT position at Riviera rich school, one of the
Rafael Cordero:
things that came up in the interview was Tell me about that
Rafael Cordero:
cybersecurity experience. And I was like, Well, this is a new
Rafael Cordero:
thing, not a new thing, but like we schools were experiencing a
Rafael Cordero:
lot of cybersecurity attacks, and I'm here to help set that
Rafael Cordero:
up. I think that's the part of the cybersecurity that we bring
Rafael Cordero:
into the table when it comes to help schools navigate through
Rafael Cordero:
those challenges in the everyday operations.
Bill Stites:
One of the things I was actually really curious
Bill Stites:
about was your experience with project management. I remember,
Bill Stites:
for me, at least going back to one of my other favorite
Bill Stites:
conferences outside of the Atlas conference is the New York
Bill Stites:
Association runs this neat conference. It's any IT
Bill Stites:
conference and talking to a colleague there, Cole and
Bill Stites:
Samuel, about the work that he did to get his project
Bill Stites:
management certificate. And one of the things I've always been
Bill Stites:
envious of, actually, one of my colleagues has his degree in
Bill Stites:
project management. How has that background in project management
Bill Stites:
and the skills that you've been able to bring over from that
Bill Stites:
helped you in your current job?
Rafael Cordero:
When I started working at Rivia rich school,
Rafael Cordero:
they were in a process of rebuilding the whole
Rafael Cordero:
infrastructure, so I started putting all my ideas and my
Rafael Cordero:
effort pretty much into the IT infrastructure, which has to do
Rafael Cordero:
with all the cybersecurity protocols, like all the building
Rafael Cordero:
infrastructure, all the network infrastructure, which was a lot
Rafael Cordero:
of work to put into it, I was able to actually change the
Rafael Cordero:
whole infrastructure in about eight months, I was lucky to
Rafael Cordero:
bring fiber optic to school, which our school is located in a
Rafael Cordero:
beautiful hill in Santa Barbara, and as a 11 and a half acres
Rafael Cordero:
campus is really hard with different buildings, all
Rafael Cordero:
buildings, it's really, really hard to just transform that into
Rafael Cordero:
a space, in terms of technology, into a space where internet
Rafael Cordero:
works and everybody's able to use internet as well as every
Rafael Cordero:
other school my expertise helped a lot. And. Regard. So my
Rafael Cordero:
project management seals. A year after that, it's so funny
Rafael Cordero:
because my boss, one day sent me down and asked me, I need help
Rafael Cordero:
with the facilities team, and I need you to help me manage that.
Rafael Cordero:
And so we're going to combine those two, because you've done
Rafael Cordero:
an amazing job building up the infrastructure. So I want you to
Rafael Cordero:
help me with that management part. And that's how I started
Rafael Cordero:
managing all the facilities team in conjunction to all the IT
Rafael Cordero:
infrastructure as well.
Christina Lewellen:
That can happen a lot at independent
Christina Lewellen:
schools. In fact, as we were jumping on this pod, I'm
Christina Lewellen:
confirming your title, and you were like, Oh, wait, that's
Christina Lewellen:
changed. So you've evolved, right to now be director of IT
Christina Lewellen:
and facilities. So that's interesting, and we're seeing
Christina Lewellen:
some more of that weirdly. Or maybe not, maybe that's not
Christina Lewellen:
weird. I don't know, Bill, do you think that's weird that
Christina Lewellen:
we're seeing that combination? Or is it just like these things
Christina Lewellen:
kind of go in ebbs and flows, or in waves of like sometimes we
Christina Lewellen:
move away from being either in the facility space or responding
Christina Lewellen:
to reporting to the facility space. Now it looks like we're
Christina Lewellen:
going back that way, because it seems to make sense in a lot of
Christina Lewellen:
ways with the Internet of Things.
Bill Stites:
To me, it's very interesting because, you know, I
Bill Stites:
work very closely here at MKA with our director of buildings,
Bill Stites:
grounds and security. That's the title here. It's the same thing.
Bill Stites:
But, you know, work very closely with him, and I think a lot of
Bill Stites:
what we do on what I'll call the IT infrastructure pieces really
Bill Stites:
align with a lot of the work that your facilities department
Bill Stites:
deal with, because we're both involved in one way or another
Bill Stites:
with the security aspects of things we're both involved with,
Bill Stites:
the running, or what I'll call the plumbing of the school. From
Bill Stites:
a facility side, it's actually the plumbing and the
Bill Stites:
electricity, where that all runs. We're all in it from the
Bill Stites:
wireless, from getting all those connection points. So there's a
Bill Stites:
good deal of alignment between the two areas that really does
Bill Stites:
interest me. We both need help desk systems. We both need to
Bill Stites:
respond to the same sort of problems and requests that come
Bill Stites:
in and out. And I think while I haven't seen a lot of people
Bill Stites:
that have your exact title with that oversight of that
Bill Stites:
department as a whole, I definitely see as we start
Bill Stites:
talking about a lot of these things, phone systems, all these
Bill Stites:
things that at one point I think back to, like before, our
Bill Stites:
phones, our doors, all of those things lived with the facilities
Bill Stites:
department. But now, because they plugged in as soon as they
Bill Stites:
required a network connection, it was like, all right. It now
Bill Stites:
needs to be involved. So it brings you in. And the one thing
Bill Stites:
I'm curious about in what you're doing because, for instance,
Bill Stites:
we're going through a construction project right now,
Bill Stites:
which is another area of alignment between the two, is I
Bill Stites:
sit in those meetings, and I feel the same way people
Bill Stites:
probably feel when they sit in an IT meeting with all the
Bill Stites:
acronyms and all the names I'm sitting there half the time
Bill Stites:
googling what the different things are that they're talking
Bill Stites:
about, because I don't know what show beams are. I don't know
Bill Stites:
what these different flanges or whatever they're talking about
Bill Stites:
from a building perspective goes. So what I'm really curious
Bill Stites:
about from your perspective in this I can see it from the
Bill Stites:
project management standpoint. I can see it from the
Bill Stites:
organizational standpoint in terms of the alignment of those
Bill Stites:
pieces. But when you get into the specifics of, how does this
Bill Stites:
boiler work, how do these cooling systems work, are you
Bill Stites:
overseeing to that level, or do you then have your people that
Bill Stites:
have the expertise in that level, and you're really guiding
Bill Stites:
it at 1000 foot level, and then you are, from a project
Bill Stites:
management standpoint, are you then empowering and enabling
Bill Stites:
people to then take those pieces on and move with those because I
Bill Stites:
can't imagine you've got that background skill set and all
Bill Stites:
those different areas?
Christina Lewellen:
Yeah, yeah, that'd be crazy.
Rafael Cordero:
Yes, I'm totally agree with you. I mean, from an
Rafael Cordero:
infrastructure perspective, like you say, because everything is
Rafael Cordero:
plugged into it now and then, so you have to be involved in all
Rafael Cordero:
the meetings. And then the lingo is one of the things that are
Rafael Cordero:
more challenging when it comes to like you said, Oh, what is
Rafael Cordero:
this? What is it? Coiling? What is that? So we have a director
Rafael Cordero:
of Campus operations, but what I do is I guide the facilities
Rafael Cordero:
team and to what their daily tasks are. We use a ticketing
Rafael Cordero:
system, which is called FMX. I don't know if you're familiar
Rafael Cordero:
with it, and so my job in the beginning was to train them how
Rafael Cordero:
to use it. And because I, you know, my boss, feel really
Rafael Cordero:
comfortable about the way I deliver all the training and all
Rafael Cordero:
that. So she thought that it was a good idea to just like, Okay,
Rafael Cordero:
well, it makes more sense for you to manage the team. And
Rafael Cordero:
because. And be lingual, then the communication was more
Rafael Cordero:
aligned into that. But I support the campus operation manager
Rafael Cordero:
into all the things that had to do with that, because she's also
Rafael Cordero:
new in the role, so she doesn't manage all that lingo as well.
Rafael Cordero:
And it's interesting, when you said everything is connected to
Rafael Cordero:
the it nowadays. Yes, I cannot be more agree with you when you
Rafael Cordero:
said that, because when you build a secure and scalable
Rafael Cordero:
network that supports the need of campus, everything ties to
Rafael Cordero:
it, like the phone system, like the camera system, so nobody in
Rafael Cordero:
my team knows exactly how to do like, we have a very good
Rafael Cordero:
security system in my team people rather not to just like,
Rafael Cordero:
Okay, well, I'm gonna check in the cameras, because it's, you
Rafael Cordero:
know, it's a complex. You have to know it to really know how to
Rafael Cordero:
find a video a certain time in, like, faster way, like it's they
Rafael Cordero:
don't want to add to their plates. And in any other
Rafael Cordero:
schools, we wear different hats, and I think that's a culture in
Rafael Cordero:
in our school.
Bill Stites:
It's interesting too, because I think when you
Bill Stites:
think about all the building systems, whether it's the
Bill Stites:
cameras, whether it's the access control, whether it's the
Bill Stites:
building management systems that manage the HVAC, the heating,
Bill Stites:
cooling, the probes that are out there on all of those things, I
Bill Stites:
subscribe probably to an unhealthy amount, but a number
Bill Stites:
of different list serves, you know, the Cecil list serve, the
Bill Stites:
K 12, six or, you know, there's a New Jersey version of these
Bill Stites:
things, and I can tell you that at least a third of the warnings
Bill Stites:
that come out vis a vis those channels are related to
Bill Stites:
operational pieces that will impact schools, whether it's
Bill Stites:
like alerts about Honeywell Siemens, whether it's alerts
Bill Stites:
about X and Y, different systems. So for us, where we
Bill Stites:
used to be concerned about cyber threats related to the
Bill Stites:
information systems that we use, the tools that are used in the
Bill Stites:
classroom, a lot of these penetration points now seem to
Bill Stites:
be focused on a lot of these operational systems that are put
Bill Stites:
into school to manage all these things. So as we talk through
Bill Stites:
this, as you mentioned, all these things, it's just
Bill Stites:
reinforcing a lot of what I see, and I believe to be true, that
Bill Stites:
the threat landscape for what schools have to deal with has
Bill Stites:
broadened significantly since where we were 1015, years ago,
Bill Stites:
speaking as the old gray beard in the room, so to speak, that
Bill Stites:
focus has changed and our jobs have changed so drastically.
Bill Stites:
Yeah, the scope 100% and I'm thinking about my job
Bill Stites:
description. I'm like, I haven't looked at my job description in
Bill Stites:
20 years, and I need to really look at it and rewrite it,
Christina Lewellen:
you know, chat GPT can do that for you,
Christina Lewellen:
bud, I know,
Bill Stites:
but to redo this, to try to figure it out, because
Bill Stites:
the scope of all the visitor management, I mean, just all of
Bill Stites:
these things that tie into not just physical security, but like
Bill Stites:
on campus security, all of these things, I'm tail spinning here
Bill Stites:
as I think about where I am at everything you know,
Rafael Cordero:
right, Right, right. I agree with you in that
Rafael Cordero:
position, because, I mean, for me, my passion is technology,
Rafael Cordero:
right? That's what I went to school for, and my philosophy is
Rafael Cordero:
that technology always needs to be seamless and secure, and if
Rafael Cordero:
you have that as to be visible when it's working, has to be
Rafael Cordero:
robust behind the scenes. So if you have that in place, I think
Rafael Cordero:
the job that we have as IT directors is to learn, because
Rafael Cordero:
my boss is always going to come to me when it comes to, oh,
Rafael Cordero:
integration, right? Same thing with all the LMS Sis, you have a
Rafael Cordero:
way to say, Okay, well, how about the subscriptions? How
Rafael Cordero:
about like Blackbaud and how about like we use different
Rafael Cordero:
systems across the school that always need my input, and as a
Rafael Cordero:
directors, you know it directors, you have to be
Rafael Cordero:
involved in all that.
Christina Lewellen:
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a late
Christina Lewellen:
addition to the pod. Oh, wow, Hiram, you're here.
Hiram Cuevas:
Hello, I made it. Ah, when you're spending a
Hiram Cuevas:
couple $100 per hour for support, you have to be on those
Hiram Cuevas:
calls.
Christina Lewellen:
You know what? That's actually a
Christina Lewellen:
brilliant segue, Hiram. We were just talking about all sorts of
Christina Lewellen:
Internet of Things, type issues at schools today and how much is
Christina Lewellen:
on the infrastructure. Because Raphael, our guest today, has a
Christina Lewellen:
new title, which is director of IT and facilities.
Rafael Cordero:
Ooh. Is that a new thing?
Hiram Cuevas:
Yeah, I was gonna say you were doing it by proxy.
Hiram Cuevas:
Anyway. Yeah.
Christina Lewellen:
Yeah, I'm so glad you were able to join us.
Christina Lewellen:
You'll hear when this pod drops that we were lamenting you being
Christina Lewellen:
gone. And now I don't need to drop the whole story in the
Christina Lewellen:
chat, our group chat. So welcome Hiram. One of us was lamenting.
Christina Lewellen:
I was lamenting.
Hiram Cuevas:
He'll be quiet.
Christina Lewellen:
Well, Raphael, thank you for rolling
Christina Lewellen:
with our interruption, our happy interruption. Here, I want to
Christina Lewellen:
take a moment to just ask about your school. So we kind of
Christina Lewellen:
jumped right in to all of the stuff that you oversee, because
Christina Lewellen:
that's the interesting part, for sure. But can you tell us a
Christina Lewellen:
little bit about your school? You've been on the west coast
Christina Lewellen:
for a while, and at your previous school, you also did
Christina Lewellen:
some teaching, but let us know a little bit about your school in
Christina Lewellen:
those beautiful hills of Santa Barbara. What is it like at the
Christina Lewellen:
Riviera Ridge school?
Rafael Cordero:
Oh, my God. Okay, so imagine coming into a
Rafael Cordero:
beautiful town, which is Santa Barbara. That's the first thing
Rafael Cordero:
that you see. And then Riviera Ridge School is in a really,
Rafael Cordero:
really good part of town, which is at the top of the Riviera.
Rafael Cordero:
You have views everywhere around you. From a visual perspective,
Rafael Cordero:
every parent that comes to school always stops and say, Oh,
Rafael Cordero:
wow. This is a beautiful view. Oh, wow. This is a beautiful
Rafael Cordero:
campus for us, it's headache in the background, but I'm sure,
Rafael Cordero:
I'm sure, not a headache. I mean in terms of infrastructure,
Rafael Cordero:
that's what I mean, right? Because when you have different
Rafael Cordero:
buildings, like I said before, you have old buildings that they
Rafael Cordero:
didn't have technology back then, they didn't have cables
Rafael Cordero:
running all the way through back in the day.
Christina Lewellen:
So, so you're retrofitting a lot,
Rafael Cordero:
yes. So when you start a project, you have to
Rafael Cordero:
really start where things are, because some of the buildings in
Rafael Cordero:
my school are also protected because they're part of the
Rafael Cordero:
historic things of Santa Barbara. So when it comes to
Rafael Cordero:
projects that are big projects. Do you sometimes have to go
Rafael Cordero:
through the city ask for permission and all
Christina Lewellen:
that? What kind of student population do
Christina Lewellen:
you guys have?
Rafael Cordero:
We currently are around 250 students. We go from
Rafael Cordero:
JK all the way through eighth grade, awesome.
Christina Lewellen:
So you are a feeder school to probably some
Christina Lewellen:
other options. Do you find that most of your students end up
Christina Lewellen:
going to other independent schools for their high school
Christina Lewellen:
career, or do they integrate with public what's generally the
Christina Lewellen:
pathway?
Rafael Cordero:
It's a very interesting question. Most
Rafael Cordero:
students yes, they merge into we have a few private school, high
Rafael Cordero:
schools in Santa Barbara. There's one really close to us,
Rafael Cordero:
and yeah, they merge. They do both. There's good public
Rafael Cordero:
education in Santa Barbara. So usually schools go, like, to two
Rafael Cordero:
or three after they graduate. We have, like, probably three or
Rafael Cordero:
four that usually parents go to cool.
Christina Lewellen:
I have one more question, actually,
Christina Lewellen:
speaking of parents, and that is, it seems as though most
Christina Lewellen:
schools in California often have a notable parent population,
Christina Lewellen:
maybe not every school, certainly, but in certain
Christina Lewellen:
pockets of California, there's going to be some, either
Christina Lewellen:
celebrity or high ranking officials or business people
Christina Lewellen:
whose children go to that school. Is that partially why
Christina Lewellen:
you seem to be especially for a k8 you seem to be very security
Christina Lewellen:
forward compared to some of your peers in other areas of the
Christina Lewellen:
country. Is safety a parent driven thing? Is it an
Christina Lewellen:
administration driven thing. Kind of curious why you guys are
Christina Lewellen:
so good at that.
Rafael Cordero:
Thank you. Thank you. And yes, 100% parents. It
Rafael Cordero:
doesn't matter. We have high profile parents too within our
Rafael Cordero:
community, but most parents, when they come to tours, two
Rafael Cordero:
questions that they ask, one is security, because it's really
Rafael Cordero:
important for them, especially because we're in a location that
Rafael Cordero:
is pretty much an open campus, but at the same time, it's a
Rafael Cordero:
very secure area in Santa Barbara, but internally for us,
Rafael Cordero:
we get a lot of questions about security, for sure, and the
Rafael Cordero:
second question that people ask is technology, especially for
Rafael Cordero:
the little ones. How do you deliver technology to these
Rafael Cordero:
little children? Because it seems like, right now, there is
Rafael Cordero:
a whole topic about no screens for kids, and how do we manage
Rafael Cordero:
both side of the stories, I am a huge advocate for technology, of
Rafael Cordero:
course, in the classroom, and how teachers use it. But my
Rafael Cordero:
administration, they really take a good eye on how we split that.
Rafael Cordero:
Because we have a open campus. We have a lot of green areas.
Rafael Cordero:
Where people can go gardens and stuff. So I think the philosophy
Rafael Cordero:
of my school is like, Okay, well, let's see how we can
Rafael Cordero:
deliver education without technology in some ways, and so
Rafael Cordero:
kids can experience both. So yeah, security, for sure, is a
Rafael Cordero:
big question when parents come to campus. And what do
Christina Lewellen:
you think of your overall technology
Christina Lewellen:
philosophy? Do you say that you guys are sort of tech forward?
Christina Lewellen:
Are you a little more reserved? Does it really vary by, I'm
Christina Lewellen:
sure, grade level in the Lower School? But as you do have these
Christina Lewellen:
kids matriculating into other schools in the area, do they
Christina Lewellen:
have to be a little bit AI literate, or have that digital
Christina Lewellen:
citizenship to sort of make sure they're ready to head off to
Christina Lewellen:
their high schools elsewhere.
Rafael Cordero:
Let me dive in a little bit into the academic
Rafael Cordero:
side, right in my role, for example, I partnered with
Rafael Cordero:
faculty just to make sure that, you know, the technologies truly
Rafael Cordero:
supports the teaching and learning. I, for example, I
Rafael Cordero:
aside of my facilities and IT direction, I teach a class,
Rafael Cordero:
actually, I teach an honor class for middle schoolers. And at
Rafael Cordero:
first I was like, wow, this is very interesting, but I think
Rafael Cordero:
this is one of the parts that I enjoy a little bit, because my
Rafael Cordero:
middle schools, they don't have a strong background in
Rafael Cordero:
programming skills. I teach an honor class. It's a Python
Rafael Cordero:
class, for example. It's a coding class that's kind of like
Rafael Cordero:
my hobby, too. They work in Python and then explore game
Rafael Cordero:
design and develop computational skills, thinking skills, pretty
Rafael Cordero:
much, but we build projects that go beyond just code. Students
Rafael Cordero:
learn how to approach problems like engineers, designers and
Rafael Cordero:
also innovators. So in that part, specifically, my intention
Rafael Cordero:
is to just be like, Okay, well, teachers need technology to
Rafael Cordero:
implement in the classroom. They need computers. They love the
Rafael Cordero:
visuals, and technology is not going to go away. And now with
Rafael Cordero:
AI
Christina Lewellen:
and they, 100% need some of that. I'm sure
Christina Lewellen:
the kids have a good time playing in Python and all the
Christina Lewellen:
gaming aspects of that. You know, it's interesting when you
Christina Lewellen:
can get their attention with things that resonate with them
Christina Lewellen:
in order to teach critical thinking and some of these
Christina Lewellen:
skills. So grabbing them at the middle school level, I'm sure
Christina Lewellen:
that that's a pretty popular thing.
Rafael Cordero:
Yeah, it's very popular. And I teach two
Rafael Cordero:
trimesters. I start in the second term. Because, you know,
Rafael Cordero:
the first term is always like working on my projects, and kind
Rafael Cordero:
of crazy for it, so
Christina Lewellen:
kind of crazy for it, yep, and I know
Christina Lewellen:
that you've also looked at creating some initiatives
Christina Lewellen:
around, like a VR program, augmented reality sandbox. Tell
Christina Lewellen:
us a little bit about that before we get off of some of the
Christina Lewellen:
said tech stuff
Rafael Cordero:
that was in my other school. I used to work in
Rafael Cordero:
Pacific Palisades, before I worked at River rich. I had more
Rafael Cordero:
time back then because my role allows me to be more creative in
Rafael Cordero:
my other school. So one example of that is the augmented reality
Rafael Cordero:
sandbox, which started with a fun project that I, you know, I
Rafael Cordero:
started grabbing different equipment that they were not
Rafael Cordero:
using anymore, and I was like, What can I do with this? And so
Rafael Cordero:
I came with that idea to just do an augmented reality sandbox,
Rafael Cordero:
which became, like a huge success. What I did was I used
Rafael Cordero:
materials from around the school that were not using. And I use
Rafael Cordero:
an open source software that took me a while to build, but it
Rafael Cordero:
was a really, really Success Project. Kids were very
Rafael Cordero:
involved. It was kind of like a therapeutic thing for kids to
Rafael Cordero:
do. It was in the MATLAB. I used to work in the MATLAB there, and
Rafael Cordero:
I also was able to bring the VR program back, and I partnered
Rafael Cordero:
with a few people, and then we brought that program back. They
Rafael Cordero:
were very interested in that. So I had those two and I think kids
Rafael Cordero:
are very into technology, like if you can give them a robe, and
Rafael Cordero:
they can go all the way, and that's the part I love. And when
Rafael Cordero:
it comes to teaching, if you're really creative with technology,
Rafael Cordero:
you can deliver a really good program for kids
Bill Stites:
listening to all that you do, between
Bill Stites:
cybersecurity, between facilities, between the IT
Bill Stites:
infrastructure, teaching. It's kind of a two part question,
Bill Stites:
what is your organizational structure like? So who do you
Bill Stites:
report to? Who is your boss? And then who do you have within your
Bill Stites:
oversight that is helping you do all these things at the school?
Bill Stites:
Because titles and organization. Structures are two of the things
Bill Stites:
that I think differ greatly from school to school, and
Bill Stites:
understanding what that looks like for you there, I think
Bill Stites:
helps our listeners figure out how you're actually getting all
Bill Stites:
this stuff done, because it's
Rafael Cordero:
impressive. I report directly to head of
Rafael Cordero:
school. I am part of the admin team, which allows me to know
Rafael Cordero:
what's going on. I have firsthand part of the meeting
Rafael Cordero:
and the information that comes from school and the decisions
Rafael Cordero:
that are made, so that gives me advantage when it comes to make
Rafael Cordero:
decisions around that now, I do have the whole facility scene
Rafael Cordero:
that reports directly to me, and I do have two it interns right
Rafael Cordero:
now. One is just for the summer, and the other one is being with
Rafael Cordero:
us for a year. So that's my team.
Bill Stites:
So from network support, from break, fix
Bill Stites:
support, from the Ed Tech Support, it's you, it's
Bill Stites:
facilities, and these two interns, and that's it. That's
Bill Stites:
it.
Rafael Cordero:
And we outsource a lot of, well, not a lot of
Rafael Cordero:
things. I have my MSP, which I rely a lot on them when it comes
Rafael Cordero:
to, you know, if there is something to do with cabling, if
Rafael Cordero:
I can do it, like often, because I'm on campus, I can do it. But
Rafael Cordero:
I mean, sometimes the ticketed system explode with work orders,
Rafael Cordero:
so I have to attend to those. And is give and take. If I see
Rafael Cordero:
that I'm really busy like that, I cannot handle things. I go to
Rafael Cordero:
my MSB so I can get the support that I need. Most of the work
Rafael Cordero:
that they do is remote. They have access to my systems, my my
Rafael Cordero:
unified console, my Jamf console, with all the devices.
Rafael Cordero:
So if I really need help, I reach out, but oftentimes I stay
Rafael Cordero:
late, and then I get to do all the things that I'm pending from
Rafael Cordero:
that facility side of things, you know, I'm thinking about
Rafael Cordero:
printers, copiers, cameras. I'm thinking about all those pieces
Rafael Cordero:
that we were talking about, where there is overlap in those
Rafael Cordero:
areas. Are the facilities members of the school assisting
Rafael Cordero:
in those pieces? Or is that more of you and the facilities people
Rafael Cordero:
are really focused on, like, making sure the doors open and
Rafael Cordero:
there's lights on in the rooms. Now that you say it, it's pretty
Rafael Cordero:
interesting. They do a lot of campus operations. They take
Rafael Cordero:
care of campus, which is my main thing for them. Like, you need
Rafael Cordero:
to take care of all the needs that are on campus, cleaning,
Rafael Cordero:
you know, moving things around or whatever. I rely a lot on my
Rafael Cordero:
interns, because they help me with a bunch of things, and I do
Rafael Cordero:
that too. So it's kind of like you ask yourself, do you have
Rafael Cordero:
time during the day? You have time for lunch? So sometimes I
Rafael Cordero:
don't, but that's part of the job. I have also an admin team
Rafael Cordero:
that is amazing, and they're very supportive with me, not
Rafael Cordero:
that they know how to do my job, but they're very supportive in
Rafael Cordero:
that regard, my boss too. She's like, whatever you want, go
Rafael Cordero:
ahead.
Hiram Cuevas:
Yeah, that's so much of what is needed in our
Hiram Cuevas:
roles is an empathy for what we do? Yeah, and this time of year
Hiram Cuevas:
in particular, Raphael, I'd love to take a slightly different
Hiram Cuevas:
tact here, and I'm curious about the you have, like a service
Hiram Cuevas:
project where you're repurposing older iPads. Can you talk about
Hiram Cuevas:
that and how that's going?
Rafael Cordero:
Yes. So I started this program when I was
Rafael Cordero:
in my previous school, you weren't here. At the beginning
Rafael Cordero:
of the podcast, I was talking about my background, where I'm
Rafael Cordero:
coming from. I'm from Venezuela. And back in 2016 2017 there was
Rafael Cordero:
a really bad time in my country, my home country, and people were
Rafael Cordero:
struggling. And education, of course, gets impacted by it, and
Rafael Cordero:
I have the opportunity to start small donations of tech
Rafael Cordero:
equipment and send it to Venezuela. Now, one of my
Rafael Cordero:
friends, my all time friends, he works at a foundation, and he's
Rafael Cordero:
one of the creators of this foundation that started years
Rafael Cordero:
ago. So I talked to him and said, like, Hey, how can I help
Rafael Cordero:
you? And he's like, Well, you know, we're struggling with this
Rafael Cordero:
and that. So I was able the first time to donate around 50
Rafael Cordero:
to 60 iPads, I believe. And oh my God, when you do those
Rafael Cordero:
things, you never imagine the impact that that's gonna have,
Rafael Cordero:
and when he sent me back all the videos and pictures and where
Rafael Cordero:
they distribute all these because they really took good
Rafael Cordero:
care of how we're gonna distribute, we're gonna make
Rafael Cordero:
each one of these iPads the best of it. And they were all iPads
Rafael Cordero:
that. The school, my school wearing is anymore, but they for
Rafael Cordero:
them, was the best thing that ever happened. So I started that
Rafael Cordero:
process, doing that. And this year, being at Riviera Rich, I
Rafael Cordero:
started collecting some of those equipment. And unfortunately,
Rafael Cordero:
the body size fire happened, and my previous school where I used
Rafael Cordero:
to work burned down to
Christina Lewellen:
the ground. Oh, no, that's so terrible. I
Christina Lewellen:
have a
Rafael Cordero:
friend who works in the technology department
Rafael Cordero:
there, and I was like, Hey, I have a few devices that I was
Rafael Cordero:
planning on sending back to Venezuela. And then she said,
Rafael Cordero:
Well, we don't have anything. We need something, so I donate that
Rafael Cordero:
to that school. I really want to keep doing that. I think is a
Rafael Cordero:
very important thing to do, not just for organizations, but for
Rafael Cordero:
us as human you know, to keep fostering that idea, to keep
Rafael Cordero:
helping people in need.
Christina Lewellen:
Yeah. I mean, it's incredible, but like,
Christina Lewellen:
I volunteer with an organization that has to sometimes manage
Christina Lewellen:
virtual board meetings, and this organization is volunteer run,
Christina Lewellen:
not a huge budget. And I remember putting a call out to
Christina Lewellen:
some of my good friends here in the tech community once I was
Christina Lewellen:
hearing that if their teachers ever saw an owl again, there
Christina Lewellen:
might be a revolt. And I said, Well, hey, if you have any of
Christina Lewellen:
those, and it's incredible, the difference that makes where, you
Christina Lewellen:
know, there's a woman who was going through cancer treatment
Christina Lewellen:
way up in Canada and couldn't make it to a board meeting, but
Christina Lewellen:
having the owl in the room made the experience so much more
Christina Lewellen:
memorable, so much better. Yeah, and you know, you guys are like,
Christina Lewellen:
Oh Lord, if I ever see another owl, but it made a huge
Christina Lewellen:
difference. So I can imagine that amplified by 50 or 60 kids
Christina Lewellen:
in Venezuela, or even kids affected by those devastating
Christina Lewellen:
fires, it makes a big difference. Something that's
Christina Lewellen:
gathering dust in your closet is actually a treasure to somebody
Christina Lewellen:
down the street. It's incredible, correct?
Rafael Cordero:
Yep, and those programs come to you and you're
Rafael Cordero:
so busy that you never see the impact of what that does with
Christina Lewellen:
your project management skills. I want to go
Christina Lewellen:
back to that, because we talk so often, and I feel like only in
Christina Lewellen:
the last couple of years we've been better and more intentional
Christina Lewellen:
here in the Atlas community talking about project management
Christina Lewellen:
as like a very finite, definitive skill that we in this
Christina Lewellen:
space need to have. In particular, you get involved in
Christina Lewellen:
capital projects, budgeting, the compliance with what's going on
Christina Lewellen:
in the classroom. Tell us a little bit about that, because I
Christina Lewellen:
do feel like sometimes there are peers of yours in this space who
Christina Lewellen:
are getting a little overwhelmed, like what Bill
Christina Lewellen:
said? It's getting intense. There's so much to juggle. So if
Christina Lewellen:
they don't have a project management background, maybe
Christina Lewellen:
either where they can kind of practice building that muscle.
Christina Lewellen:
But let's first start by talking about how you deploy that skill
Christina Lewellen:
set in the work that you do.
Rafael Cordero:
Great question. So, yes, in addition to the
Rafael Cordero:
classroom and infrastructure work facilities too, I also work
Rafael Cordero:
hand in hand with the CFO, and we talked a lot about capital
Rafael Cordero:
projects, budgeting, compliance. I was actually recently feature
Rafael Cordero:
in the Ed Tech magazine for how we approach security budgeting
Rafael Cordero:
in a way that balance large scale infrastructures in all the
Rafael Cordero:
improvements with classroom innovation. So that means that,
Rafael Cordero:
okay, well, I see it a lot with the CFO. And we talked about
Rafael Cordero:
like, what does that mean? How we look at life cycles, cost and
Rafael Cordero:
how we look. Roi, just making sure that every investment
Rafael Cordero:
aligns with both security and educational priorities.
Christina Lewellen:
Do you have a chance to sit at the
Christina Lewellen:
administrative level at your school to work through some of
Christina Lewellen:
these issues? I mean, these are big topics that you're talking
Christina Lewellen:
about. So like, Do you often find yourself sitting among the
Christina Lewellen:
administration at your school? Do they bring you into those big
Christina Lewellen:
conversations early and often?
Rafael Cordero:
Absolutely, we have weekly meetings the head of
Rafael Cordero:
the school directs the course of the school where we're going.
Rafael Cordero:
There are often meetings where we talked about Master projects
Rafael Cordero:
that are happening in school, and then from there I go, and
Rafael Cordero:
okay, well, let's just talk to the CFO. Let's see where we are.
Rafael Cordero:
Where's the three year, five year goals? What do I have right
Rafael Cordero:
now in inventory? When is that life cycle is going to end? So
Rafael Cordero:
we align all those projects. And the most important thing here is
Rafael Cordero:
when you talk about budget, because money doesn't grow in
Rafael Cordero:
trees, as we know, and you have to be strategic about how to use
Rafael Cordero:
that money that you get every year in your budget, because
Rafael Cordero:
every year is different, and things get allocated in a
Rafael Cordero:
different asset. So. Yeah, part of the job that I do is to sit
Rafael Cordero:
down and they get my input in what it means to Okay, well,
Rafael Cordero:
we're taking that direction, and this is the best thing that we
Rafael Cordero:
can do for school. When I started, the first time I
Rafael Cordero:
started at regret reach school, we transitioned to be a school
Rafael Cordero:
with just a computer lab, to be a Mac 101, meaning that every
Rafael Cordero:
single student has a device that they use for their learning
Rafael Cordero:
experience. That's a huge thing, because you have to manage each
Rafael Cordero:
one of them. You have to use, you know, I use Jamf School,
Rafael Cordero:
which is great to manage all the devices. And also, I use Jamf
Rafael Cordero:
protect, which is endpoint protection for all the schools,
Rafael Cordero:
along with other endpoint protection tools that I use
Rafael Cordero:
during the school year. So all of that costs money.
Hiram Cuevas:
So Rafael, you were part of the ALI program and
Hiram Cuevas:
experienced a great deal of value with that program. Who
Hiram Cuevas:
would you recommend continues with that program, given the
Hiram Cuevas:
experiences you've just had, and also, I'm fascinated to see how
Hiram Cuevas:
you compare yourself to your peers in the alley program.
Hiram Cuevas:
Given, I don't know what kind of bag of pixie dust you have to
Hiram Cuevas:
do, all the different things that you are doing,
Rafael Cordero:
it's a lot. I know
Hiram Cuevas:
it is a lot that you are responsible for on top
Hiram Cuevas:
of teaching. You teach one class. You almost can teach four
Hiram Cuevas:
at that point, give it the amount of preparation, but you
Hiram Cuevas:
have this really neat relationship now between what
Hiram Cuevas:
you've been through with the alley program, your cohort
Hiram Cuevas:
group, and the communication and the contact that you maintain
Hiram Cuevas:
with that group, and how does that compare to what you're
Hiram Cuevas:
going through right now? And please tell us that you actually
Hiram Cuevas:
have pixie dust, and then you're not this superhero.
Rafael Cordero:
No, no. It always comes to Yes, I do, and
Rafael Cordero:
you learn from it. So one of the things that I really, really
Rafael Cordero:
appreciate being at, at least at the Leadership Institute, was
Rafael Cordero:
the collaboration that you have with your peers. It's like
Rafael Cordero:
having a lead server with you in it, with all the people in front
Rafael Cordero:
of you, and you actually have the time to respond to those
Rafael Cordero:
questions. Because that's the other thing. When you're in this
Rafael Cordero:
position and you're responsible for a lot of things, you often
Rafael Cordero:
don't even have time to ask a question. You have to just do
Rafael Cordero:
it. And so being at at least helped me a lot to answer all
Rafael Cordero:
those questions and just to establish that relationship with
Rafael Cordero:
people, which I really to this day I went to at least two years
Rafael Cordero:
ago. To this day, I still talk to people that I met there. We
Rafael Cordero:
hear that a lot, yeah, sometimes we chat, sometimes we
Rafael Cordero:
collaborate in some ideas. And what are you doing in your
Rafael Cordero:
school? Like, I have this issue, how do you solve it or like, how
Rafael Cordero:
do you approach this problem? Because we do you think about
Rafael Cordero:
the positive things, but you also encounter roadblocks, and
Rafael Cordero:
that's when you learn that's when you really take advantage
Rafael Cordero:
of the tools that you have. And one of the things that athletes
Rafael Cordero:
helped me with is the connection that you establish with all
Rafael Cordero:
these people, and all the learning that you get from you
Rafael Cordero:
guys, from the leaders of it, I remember Kristina. We met that
Rafael Cordero:
there, and just even the conversations that you have that
Rafael Cordero:
dinner, those things stick to my mind to this day. So I will
Rafael Cordero:
highly recommend the at least Leadership Institute to anybody,
Rafael Cordero:
because it's just a really good way to learn how to be a better
Rafael Cordero:
leader.
Christina Lewellen:
I don't think I've ever thought of the
Christina Lewellen:
ALI program as a live listserv, but Raphael, I'm never gonna let
Christina Lewellen:
that go. I'm gonna credit you with it, but I'm gonna call it
Christina Lewellen:
that from now on, it's gonna be your listserv brought to life.
Christina Lewellen:
So thank you for that visual, because I think that that's a
Christina Lewellen:
pretty good way of capturing what the Atlas Leadership
Christina Lewellen:
Institute is all about,
Hiram Cuevas:
especially with the way that cohorts are staying
Hiram Cuevas:
in contact with one another.
Rafael Cordero:
Yeah, no, 100%
Bill Stites:
Yeah, you mentioned dinner. And I think so much of
Bill Stites:
what happens when we all get together are those conversations
Bill Stites:
that happen at breakfast, at lunch, at dinner, in the
Bill Stites:
evenings, when everyone's kind of gathered together and just
Bill Stites:
sitting around and just kind of like unwinding from the day.
Bill Stites:
That's where all those connections really come in and
Bill Stites:
play
Rafael Cordero:
out. I was at dinner at some point. I was
Rafael Cordero:
like, we're just talking normal. Someone came up with a good
Rafael Cordero:
idea. I was like, Hold on, let me take note.
Bill Stites:
So here's the question. You just said, talking
Bill Stites:
normal. One of the things that I think the three of us have been
Bill Stites:
kind of wondering about is, what is normal for you when you are
Bill Stites:
not at work? What do you do when you've got your off time? Like,
Bill Stites:
what is it that you're focused on? What. Keeps you saying
Bill Stites:
there's
Rafael Cordero:
a lot of breathing happening,
Christina Lewellen:
deep cleansing breaths. Is that what
Christina Lewellen:
we're talking about,
Rafael Cordero:
deep breathing. And I have my husband, which is
Rafael Cordero:
an amazing support, my dog too, and like the flexibility that I
Rafael Cordero:
have that's important, going back to the leadership at your
Rafael Cordero:
school, another advice that I have for everybody, like, look
Rafael Cordero:
for leadership that is going to support you and the things that
Rafael Cordero:
you do, because that's really important, that gives you that
Rafael Cordero:
work life balance that you sometimes need. Right now, I'm
Rafael Cordero:
in this podcast because I was able to stay home, because
Rafael Cordero:
you're in the East Coast, right? And then I'm in the west coast.
Rafael Cordero:
So it was super early for me. This is the in service week, and
Rafael Cordero:
I talked to my boss yesterday. I was like, listen, I really want
Rafael Cordero:
to do this podcast, and we haven't had a time to sit
Rafael Cordero:
together and have a meeting with her. And she was like, go ahead,
Rafael Cordero:
Rafa, do what you need to do? Yeah, you don't need to be here.
Rafael Cordero:
Just take your time. So those are things that also allows me
Rafael Cordero:
to have a life outside my
Christina Lewellen:
work. Absolutely. What's your boss's
Christina Lewellen:
name? Let's give her a shout out. Chris.
Rafael Cordero:
Chris, Broderick, if you're hearing me,
Rafael Cordero:
Chris, I'm talking really good about you.
Christina Lewellen:
Chris, thank you for the flexibility, because
Christina Lewellen:
he did great, and we are in love with both him and your school.
Christina Lewellen:
So thank you for creating a space where he could have a
Christina Lewellen:
quiet moment to join us on this podcast. It was awesome. Yeah,
Christina Lewellen:
more leadership. I mean, I think that obviously every tech leader
Christina Lewellen:
has a different situation, but I will say that when they have
Christina Lewellen:
supportive leadership, I can see it in their shoulders. I meet a
Christina Lewellen:
lot of you guys through the community, and I can just tell
Christina Lewellen:
how much weight a tech leader is carrying, and also how much they
Christina Lewellen:
share with their leadership sometimes. So it doesn't usually
Christina Lewellen:
surprise me when I talk with someone like you and you say, my
Christina Lewellen:
leadership is great, and when I talk to some other peers who
Christina Lewellen:
say, Yeah, I'm struggling, we're going through a transition. So I
Christina Lewellen:
think it makes a huge difference in just your overall view of the
Christina Lewellen:
world and whether you can handle all of the weight that you're
Christina Lewellen:
carrying.
Rafael Cordero:
Yep, at the end of the day, listen, my role is
Rafael Cordero:
about creating an ecosystem for all the people involved, the
Rafael Cordero:
students and faculty, where innovation happens. Security is
Rafael Cordero:
super important for me and the human connection all work
Rafael Cordero:
together. When I was talking to you, you asked me questions
Rafael Cordero:
like, then, not just you. I have a lot of people ask me the same
Rafael Cordero:
questions, like, how you do it all? Yep, well, it's simple,
Rafael Cordero:
whether I'm in the server room configuring network switches or
Rafael Cordero:
in a classroom, guiding students or asking questions when they
Rafael Cordero:
come to my office, or even out of campus, ensuring the
Rafael Cordero:
facilities are safe, or if they're missing the trash can.
Rafael Cordero:
It's all part of the same mission, and it's making sure
Rafael Cordero:
our school is future ready and centering on student growth.
Rafael Cordero:
That's my take
Christina Lewellen:
that is beautiful and simple and pretty
Christina Lewellen:
clear. I love that. That's the sound bite for the ages. Rafael,
Christina Lewellen:
thank you so much for being with us today, for giving all this
Christina Lewellen:
time and for just sharing that beautifully simple mission. I
Christina Lewellen:
think we're all trying to reach for that, aren't we, guys,
Hiram Cuevas:
indeed, little bit of Nirvana there, exactly.
Rafael Cordero:
Thank you so much.
Narrator:
This has been talking technology with Atlas, produced
Narrator:
by the Association of technology leaders in independent schools.
Narrator:
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Narrator:
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