Succession Planning and Legacy with Daisy Steele, TLIS; Jeff Dayton; and Larry Kahn
Presented by:
Transitioning from "first-gen" technology leadership requires more than just a handoff; it’s a strategic evolution. Retired directors Daisy Steele, Jeff Dayton, and Larry Kahn join the podcast to discuss the shift from building servers to managing complex ecosystems. They share essential insights on "brain dumps," outsourcing, and mastering "people chess" during retirement.
- Veracross (School Information System)
- Blackbaud (School Management Software)
- Asana (Project Management & Documentation)
- AARP Tax-Aide Counseling
- Meals on Wheels America
Transcript
Peter Frank:
Dan, welcome to Talking technology with ATLIS,
Peter Frank:
the show that plugs you into the important topics and trends for
Peter Frank:
technology leaders all through a unique Independent School lens.
Peter Frank:
We'll hear stories from technology directors and other
Peter Frank:
special guests from the Independent School community,
Peter Frank:
and provide you with focused learning and deep dive topics.
Peter Frank:
And now please welcome your host, Christina Lewellen,
Christina Lewellen:
Hello everyone, and welcome back to
Christina Lewellen:
talking technology with ATLIS. I'm Christina Lewellen, the
Christina Lewellen:
President and CEO of the Association of technology
Christina Lewellen:
leaders in independent schools.
Bill Stites:
And I'm Bill Stites, the Director of
Bill Stites:
Technology at Montclair Kimberly Academy in Montclair, New
Bill Stites:
Jersey,
Hiram Cuevas:
and I'm Hiram Cuevas, the Director of
Hiram Cuevas:
Information Systems and Academic Technology at St Christopher
Hiram Cuevas:
school in Richmond, Virginia.
Christina Lewellen:
Well, hello. On this very chilly day, we are
Christina Lewellen:
just after snowpocalypse 2026, or whatever this was, but
Christina Lewellen:
everyone is cold, and everyone looks cold this morning. I'm
Christina Lewellen:
having a little bit of a weird experience right now, because
Christina Lewellen:
Hiram and Bill, you guys are looking at me and you both have
Christina Lewellen:
MKA gear on. This is a little weird. Hiram, you look like
Christina Lewellen:
you're sporting some MKA swag. Can you explain to our audience
Christina Lewellen:
what's happening here?
Hiram Cuevas:
So for years, I have been asking Mr. William
Hiram Cuevas:
Stites for some MKA swag, and I actually got him a very nice st
Hiram Cuevas:
Christopher's golf shirt. And, you know, I've been waiting and
Hiram Cuevas:
waiting and waiting. This is a great picture of us at a ball
Hiram Cuevas:
game down in Texas. He's wearing the St Christopher shirt, and
Hiram Cuevas:
I'm wearing my William and Mary shirt because I did not have an
Hiram Cuevas:
MKA shirt. So after, I guess, I don't know what four years, I
Hiram Cuevas:
finally get in the mail around Christmas time, a package from
Hiram Cuevas:
MKA. And sure enough, Gulla, I finally have my MKA swag. And
Hiram Cuevas:
it's very appropriate, considering the condition of my
Hiram Cuevas:
dome.
Christina Lewellen:
Yeah, it's very cute. It's a little Ski hat
Christina Lewellen:
with a little puff on the top, and definitely in the colors
Christina Lewellen:
that I usually see Bill in. So good job. Bill, you got him
Christina Lewellen:
covered.
Hiram Cuevas:
So I'm gonna say publicly, Bill, thank you.
Bill Stites:
You're welcome, Hiram. I wasn't sure whether it
Bill Stites:
makes you look like either, what was it, Yukon Cornelius, or the
Bill Stites:
bumble nice, given the cold weather and the beard and the
Bill Stites:
hat and what the audience can't see until we put probably a
Bill Stites:
snippet up on LinkedIn, they won't know what I'm referring
Bill Stites:
to, but you definitely look like you're prepared for the winter
Bill Stites:
weather.
Hiram Cuevas:
Well, if I do this, I'm probably closer to
Hiram Cuevas:
looking like William Stites.
Bill Stites:
No Stop it. You would never look so good, Hiram.
Christina Lewellen:
You guys are crazy. And I also want to get on
Christina Lewellen:
that four year long waiting list for some MKA gear,
Bill Stites:
as I've explained to Hiram, we closed our like in
Bill Stites:
person bookstore. So it's not like I can just walk in and,
Bill Stites:
like, grab something off the shelf and be like, hey ole send
Bill Stites:
this. You know, it's like, I gotta look online. I gotta go
Bill Stites:
through the order. It's not as easy as it once was.
Hiram Cuevas:
So a tech director struggling with going online,
Hiram Cuevas:
Oh, stop.
Bill Stites:
Just enough. Enough already. Let's go.
Christina Lewellen:
All right, I'm gonna break you guys up.
Christina Lewellen:
Always tried to start with something. I love it. Well, you
Christina Lewellen:
guys look, we're welcoming some really cool guests today, and
Christina Lewellen:
this one is pretty powerful grid of people sitting here on my
Christina Lewellen:
screen today as we walk into this conversation, we are joined
Christina Lewellen:
today by three powerhouses, because we want to have a
Christina Lewellen:
conversation around the transition from the first gen
Christina Lewellen:
tech leader, as I lovingly call you guys, the ones who have
Christina Lewellen:
grown up in technology leadership and independent
Christina Lewellen:
schools alongside the technology and now we're in this moment
Christina Lewellen:
that I think is pretty critical, and ATLIS has been paying a lot
Christina Lewellen:
of attention to, and that is that we're transitioning to this
Christina Lewellen:
next gen of technology leadership at your schools. And
Christina Lewellen:
it feels to me that where you guys had, in some cases, like a
Christina Lewellen:
zero entry pool now, the next generation of tech leaders are
Christina Lewellen:
just jumping into the deep end. I've been wanting to have a
Christina Lewellen:
detailed conversation around this for some time. So today,
Christina Lewellen:
not only do I have first Jen, my normal friends and brothers,
Christina Lewellen:
Hiram and bill, but we are also welcoming to the podcast. Larry
Christina Lewellen:
Kahn, Jeff Dayton and Daisy Steele, a powerhouse of
Christina Lewellen:
technology leaders. It is so great to see all of your faces.
Christina Lewellen:
Thank you guys for joining us today. I already apologize for
Christina Lewellen:
my co hosts and their friskiness, but I'm glad you
Christina Lewellen:
guys are here. I would love to give each of you a moment to
Christina Lewellen:
just introduce yourselves. You guys are very well known in the
Christina Lewellen:
Atlas community, but our podcast goes far and wide. Tell us a
Christina Lewellen:
little bit. Bit about your journey into technology
Christina Lewellen:
leadership in schools. Let's go to Daisy first. Hi.
Daisy Steele:
This is Daisy Steele, and I was the tech
Daisy Steele:
director at Catlin Gable school in Portland, Oregon, and I was
Daisy Steele:
there 22 years, and spent about 10 years as a tech director. I
Daisy Steele:
got started in public schools, actually, and then moved into
Daisy Steele:
independent school and started as a technology support
Daisy Steele:
specialist, and then moved my way on up to deployment and
Daisy Steele:
helped with the network a little bit. So came through sort of the
Daisy Steele:
IT route, even though I had a little bit of an educational
Daisy Steele:
background teaching marketing in public schools. So then became
Daisy Steele:
the tech director, and then about 18 months ago, retired
Daisy Steele:
from that position, and am doing some consulting, and also all
Daisy Steele:
the fun things as well in retirement.
Christina Lewellen:
Awesome. How about Jeff? Let's go to you.
Jeff Dayton:
Jeff Dayton, I'm the retired tech director from
Jeff Dayton:
the Madeira school in McLean, Virginia. I'd been at the school
Jeff Dayton:
for 25 years. I was hired on as the network manager, SIS admin,
Jeff Dayton:
do it all kind of guy, and after a couple years, I was made the
Jeff Dayton:
tech director. My path was pretty quick and straight
Jeff Dayton:
forward, and have been in it ever since I retired in June. I
Jeff Dayton:
am loving retired life. I'm actually not doing any
Jeff Dayton:
consulting, which is a bit of a surprise, not because it wasn't
Jeff Dayton:
available, but I quickly fell in love with doing other things
Jeff Dayton:
that had nothing to do with technology.
Christina Lewellen:
And Jeff is still an atlas board member, and
Christina Lewellen:
so you may say you're not doing consulting, but I think you're a
Christina Lewellen:
liar.
Jeff Dayton:
I wasn't sure if I was allowed to say that out
Jeff Dayton:
loud, so yeah, I am still on the Atlas board, which I love, and
Jeff Dayton:
it's been interesting doing that as a school person and as a
Jeff Dayton:
retired person. It's actually very nice to be able to focus
Jeff Dayton:
more time on the Atlas work that we're doing, because I still
Jeff Dayton:
feel very strongly about the importance of what Atlas does
Jeff Dayton:
for the whole community.
Christina Lewellen:
And Larry Kahn, Larry, you are the
Christina Lewellen:
significant other of our darling and beloved Susan Davis, who was
Christina Lewellen:
employee number two at ATLIS, and I am employee number four. I
Christina Lewellen:
have a history of working closely with Susan, so yes,
Christina Lewellen:
we're going to talk about you. But also, can you tell your wife
Christina Lewellen:
I love her and that I got her Christmas card and I hope she's
Christina Lewellen:
doing great.
Larry Kahn:
I will, and I'll start off talking about her.
Larry Kahn:
She's doing great in retirement, in her transition as well, and
Larry Kahn:
writing lots of poetry and actually teaching a class right
Larry Kahn:
now. So she's doing great. I'm Larry Kahn. I just wrote down,
Larry Kahn:
you know, I retired in 2022 that gave me 40 years in technology,
Larry Kahn:
about half in private industry started off as a tech writer,
Larry Kahn:
became a computer programmer, ended up managing a data center
Larry Kahn:
for a wholly owned subsidiary of a fortune 500 company. But my
Larry Kahn:
beloved wife, Susan, was teaching English at a boarding
Larry Kahn:
school outside of Baltimore, and I was driving down I 95 to DC
Larry Kahn:
every day and back, and that was getting old really quick. And
Larry Kahn:
ended up running technology at Garrison Forest School outside
Larry Kahn:
of Baltimore, which cut my commute each way from 50 miles
Larry Kahn:
down to five miles. And fell in love with working in education.
Larry Kahn:
From there, went on to Kincade, where I had nine wonderful
Larry Kahn:
years. So I've worked in boarding schools, day schools.
Larry Kahn:
Last school was Trinity Valley School in Fort Worth Texas, for
Larry Kahn:
six years, been retiring, and in retirement, I enjoy hiking twice
Larry Kahn:
a week, doing music therapy. I'm on the board of choral group.
Larry Kahn:
I'm enjoying singing, and I'm doing some consulting as well. I
Larry Kahn:
love it well.
Christina Lewellen:
I'm so glad that you guys all joined us. And
Christina Lewellen:
let's start with this. Like I mentioned, I have this vision,
Christina Lewellen:
having been around for a little bit of you guys growing up with
Christina Lewellen:
the technology, that your role has slowly evolved over time
Christina Lewellen:
into what it is today. And I guess my question to start us
Christina Lewellen:
all, and Bill and Hiram, I'm love for you to jump in too.
Christina Lewellen:
What aspects of what you guys have done in your careers are
Christina Lewellen:
really hard to capture moving into this new generation. So I
Christina Lewellen:
kind of want to take the 30,000 foot view of this, because I
Christina Lewellen:
keep saying that it's going to be hard for somebody to kind of
Christina Lewellen:
jump into the deep end on the roles that you guys do. But is
Christina Lewellen:
that accurate? Do you guys also see it that way? Is it the
Christina Lewellen:
challenge that we're seeing and feeling at ATLIS? Is it
Christina Lewellen:
widespread? Do you think I'm kind of just trying to get the
Christina Lewellen:
sense of why is it just not that we could go out and hire a quote
Christina Lewellen:
new tech director to jump into your roles as you're retiring.
Christina Lewellen:
Why does this require management? So if I could ask
Christina Lewellen:
you to kind of zoom out for me and give me your thoughts on
Christina Lewellen:
that,
Jeff Dayton:
Christina, I think the difference between back then
Jeff Dayton:
and now is when we started. There wasn't a lot of technology
Jeff Dayton:
in schools. It was sort of an afterthought. It was there, and
Jeff Dayton:
it was not really integrated in the educational system at all.
Jeff Dayton:
And so that aspect of it, we grew up into this now, where
Jeff Dayton:
it's integrated into everything in the classroom. And, you know,
Jeff Dayton:
we don't have to go into the details on what that is, but
Jeff Dayton:
that's one focus, and then there the focus is the systems and the
Jeff Dayton:
software. Back in the late 90s, early 2000s we had to build our
Jeff Dayton:
own systems, and sometimes build our own software, databases,
Jeff Dayton:
write our own scripts, write our own programs, and now
Jeff Dayton:
everything's coming in off the shelf. It's highly complicated,
Jeff Dayton:
and some of our schools still have some of this old stuff
Jeff Dayton:
within their school system, and turning it over to someone who
Jeff Dayton:
didn't grow up with it is a daunting task for that new
Jeff Dayton:
person coming in. When I started, the biggest concern was
Jeff Dayton:
AOL instant messenger that was going to just ruin the world.
Jeff Dayton:
And we blocked it, we locked everything down. And now you
Jeff Dayton:
look at what what it's evolved into, it's just incredible. You
Jeff Dayton:
know, I went from running a network with a lot of servers
Jeff Dayton:
and maybe 50 workstations to now it's just 1000s and 1000s and
Jeff Dayton:
1000s of devices, and trying to keep up with all the new
Jeff Dayton:
technology all the time is just extremely difficult. And I wish
Jeff Dayton:
I had a really quick answer or really good advice for these new
Jeff Dayton:
people coming in, but just have your community, have your group,
Jeff Dayton:
have your networking back then it was the listserv. That's what
Jeff Dayton:
we just lived off of. That's how we got our help and assistance
Jeff Dayton:
with what we were doing. So yeah, it's a big challenge, and
Jeff Dayton:
then they throw AI at us, and that just sort of stirs the pot
Jeff Dayton:
one more time. It's tough
Daisy Steele:
to follow up on that. It was a lot of building
Daisy Steele:
things from the ground up, but now we have the ability and the
Daisy Steele:
resources to get things like Veracross or Blackbaud and
Daisy Steele:
several other myriad of systems to do whatever we want them to
Daisy Steele:
do. And so the trick now is to be able to manage those systems
Daisy Steele:
and the people using those systems so that things are
Daisy Steele:
cohesive rather than siloed or broken apart, and trying to
Daisy Steele:
bring all of the school together and strategically going in the
Daisy Steele:
same direction, and having those systems all sort of integrate
Daisy Steele:
smoothly and seamlessly is, I think, a challenge, and so I see
Daisy Steele:
that being a big part of it. I also see managing communication
Daisy Steele:
and managing people and managing personnel being very key to
Daisy Steele:
ensure that the right people are in the right place, doing the
Daisy Steele:
right work as needed for the technology department, as well
Daisy Steele:
as throughout the school. And then, as Jeff said, AI being
Daisy Steele:
thrown in there to make it just that much more fun.
Larry Kahn:
Yeah, I couldn't agree with you guys more the
Larry Kahn:
skills. That's really the big thing. The skills changing so
Larry Kahn:
much. You know, the importance of people. Skills were always
Larry Kahn:
there, but when they first had the leaders, remember working in
Larry Kahn:
those little closets and having to fight for a bigger space or a
Larry Kahn:
better space, having to fight for a seat at the table. And
Larry Kahn:
then the school realizing the importance of that. Sadly, not
Larry Kahn:
all schools have the whole school aspect of this, but the
Larry Kahn:
skills that we had, you know, just thinking back about how
Larry Kahn:
cyber security went from the fear of the little you know,
Larry Kahn:
like the War Games movie, the kid doing something in computer
Larry Kahn:
viruses, to eating up such a chunk of time and then having to
Larry Kahn:
hire IT engineers with those skills and those certifications
Larry Kahn:
as well, but the skills we had to develop instead of building
Larry Kahn:
these systems, the contract negotiations and what's their
Larry Kahn:
cyber security, and how are we protected, and how are we taken
Larry Kahn:
care of? And then, you know, when we were starting out, we
Larry Kahn:
weren't dealing at the board level, and now we're dealing at
Larry Kahn:
the board level, and then also making sure that our strategic
Larry Kahn:
plan, that we have a mission statement, that our strategic
Larry Kahn:
plan is in line with the school strategic plan and the rest of
Larry Kahn:
it. And, gosh, I'm glad I retired before the AI really
Larry Kahn:
kicked in, you know. So the changes are happening faster and
Larry Kahn:
faster. One of the great quotes I had was from a former head who
Larry Kahn:
said, Larry, can you make that change slow down a little bit?
Larry Kahn:
But yeah, I agree with everything you said. One of
Bill Stites:
the things I think is interesting, it piggybacks on
Bill Stites:
what all of you are saying is, I wonder, given where we were and
Bill Stites:
where each of you stepped out, the ability to replace what you
Bill Stites:
left with a singular person, maybe they're bringing in one
Bill Stites:
person to do like 80% of what you did. But where do those
Bill Stites:
other pieces land, depending on the school, the way in which
Bill Stites:
you've been able to grow the needs and those types of things,
Bill Stites:
I don't think you're going to see quite as many people, I'll
Bill Stites:
say, like all of us on the call, that had to do every aspect of
Bill Stites:
this job over the course of our tenure. In that coming in with
Bill Stites:
somebody with those skill sets, they're either coming in with a
Bill Stites:
degree in the ed tech side of things, or they're coming in
Bill Stites:
with a strong infrastructure background, or each one of these
Bill Stites:
things, you know, Christina has used the term unicorn a lot in
Bill Stites:
the past with what we've brought, and I think that horn
Bill Stites:
has grown for each of us over the years because we've been
Bill Stites:
asked to develop with that. And I don't think those people
Bill Stites:
necessarily exist in the way in which they had to as we were
Bill Stites:
coming up.
Hiram Cuevas:
I would agree with you, Bill. I think the extra
Hiram Cuevas:
piece to what everybody has been saying right now is when I think
Hiram Cuevas:
back 30 years to what technology was. It was considered to be an
Hiram Cuevas:
extra it really wasn't mission critical. It was, oh, let's
Hiram Cuevas:
throw a computer lab together, and maybe we can get a couple
Hiram Cuevas:
things going for boys or girls who are interested in this kind
Hiram Cuevas:
of stuff. And now that you look at where technology programs are
Hiram Cuevas:
today, they don't really technology programs.
Hiram Cuevas:
Everything's mission critical now it is specific to your
Hiram Cuevas:
school's mission to be a forward thinker, to prepare their
Hiram Cuevas:
students for the world that they're going into after they
Hiram Cuevas:
graduate. And I don't know of any other role other than
Hiram Cuevas:
perhaps the head of school that impacts every constituent group,
Hiram Cuevas:
the way that it directors do from as early as the inquiry,
Hiram Cuevas:
when, if your admission software is not functioning properly,
Hiram Cuevas:
that's the first interaction a constituent has with your
Hiram Cuevas:
institution. Likewise, if once you're onboarding any software
Hiram Cuevas:
that you have in place it that's not doing what it's supposed to
Hiram Cuevas:
be doing, and if that data is indeed siloed, you end up with a
Hiram Cuevas:
lot of frustration among your constituent groups, not to
Hiram Cuevas:
mention the parents and what their interactions are. And then
Hiram Cuevas:
let's add to the mix here, you know, the Internet of Things,
Hiram Cuevas:
all these devices now that have to be connected to your network
Hiram Cuevas:
that you really don't want on your network, but you have to
Hiram Cuevas:
have them, because department X would like to have a bird feeder
Hiram Cuevas:
camp so that the students can see the birds being fed or
Hiram Cuevas:
hatching, or what have you. There all sorts of things. And
Hiram Cuevas:
then when you add AI to it, once again, guess what you're talking
Hiram Cuevas:
about, every constituent group, including those that are in
Hiram Cuevas:
utero. They're not going to experience anything without AI
Hiram Cuevas:
in their immediate future. And that is something that is
Hiram Cuevas:
tantamount to what we are trying to do in terms of making our
Hiram Cuevas:
schools as successful as possible. And I think the one
Hiram Cuevas:
piece that all of you have excelled at, and my hat's off to
Hiram Cuevas:
all of you, because I've worked with each of you, is the
Hiram Cuevas:
relationship piece. We talk about this on the podcast, ad
Hiram Cuevas:
nauseum. But there is no substitute for having somebody
Hiram Cuevas:
that you can go to and talk to that recognizes the challenges
Hiram Cuevas:
associated with the people. Those of you who've known me for
Hiram Cuevas:
a while have probably heard me talk about this term called
Hiram Cuevas:
people chess. We play people chess all the time with our
Hiram Cuevas:
constituents at our schools, and sometimes you're not after a
Hiram Cuevas:
win, you're after a stalemate, because all you want to do is
Hiram Cuevas:
continue the conversation more than anything else, because
Hiram Cuevas:
there's nothing worse than going into a meeting and having to say
Hiram Cuevas:
no, and we've all been there.
Christina Lewellen:
Yeah, and actually, let's go to that for a
Christina Lewellen:
second, because Larry mentioned it too, that the people skills
Christina Lewellen:
have stayed the same. The technology has changed, the
Christina Lewellen:
scope and complexity of it has changed of the job, but the
Christina Lewellen:
people skills are still the same. Is that the only thing
Christina Lewellen:
that is the same, when you think about 2025, 3035, years ago
Christina Lewellen:
compared to now, is the people part of it, the only thing
Christina Lewellen:
that's sort of the same?
Larry Kahn:
Well, we had to do a budget 2030, years ago, but the
Larry Kahn:
nature of the budget has changed significantly. The complexity of
Larry Kahn:
the budget has changed. And I think over time, at least at the
Larry Kahn:
schools where I work, we came to a good understanding of what
Larry Kahn:
should be included in the technology budget and what
Larry Kahn:
should fall under it. That's a
Jeff Dayton:
tough question. Christina, I agree with Larry,
Jeff Dayton:
the budget process, you know, that's always been there, and
Jeff Dayton:
the relationships have grown in importance over the years. But
Jeff Dayton:
the thing that I think has increased and stayed the same as
Jeff Dayton:
the risk that you have to take as a tech director, sometimes
Jeff Dayton:
you have to make decisions on your own, by yourself in that
Jeff Dayton:
server room, in the dark at two o'clock in the morning, or make
Jeff Dayton:
choices or decisions on which way to go for your school that
Jeff Dayton:
you may get some input in, but it's still on you, and the
Jeff Dayton:
fingers will come back to you. So that risk taking element of
Jeff Dayton:
an employee, of a tech director, I still think, is very important
Jeff Dayton:
to the job.
Larry Kahn:
That's terrific. And leadership the importance of
Larry Kahn:
leadership as well.
Daisy Steele:
Yeah. I would say that the thing that stayed the
Daisy Steele:
same, including the people, is the idea that we need to be
Daisy Steele:
responsive to whatever is happening. So if you know, a
Daisy Steele:
server goes out, we have to go, jump and run and fix it. If the
Daisy Steele:
network is down, if the wireless is down, or printer is not
Daisy Steele:
working, everybody remember, printers seem to be the bane of
Daisy Steele:
our existence sometimes, like I can't print, and so I think that
Daisy Steele:
people expecting that just like electricity, it's just going to
Daisy Steele:
be on, it's going to be working. I don't feel that that has
Daisy Steele:
changed. And also just trying to help folks understand what we
Daisy Steele:
do, providing insights into sort of the background of what tech
Daisy Steele:
provides, and the complexity of that has just increased, but we
Daisy Steele:
still have the role of trying to help explain that to the rest of
Daisy Steele:
the school.
Hiram Cuevas:
I love that part Daisy, because I think of the
Hiram Cuevas:
recent outages with, say, CloudFlare, Verizon, everybody
Hiram Cuevas:
starts to complain and saying, it's your SAS provider, or it's
Hiram Cuevas:
Google that's down. I'm like, No, there's actually a major
Hiram Cuevas:
outage taking clicks on the East Coast, and I can't fix it. And
Hiram Cuevas:
they're so puzzled by the fact that outside of the bubble of
Hiram Cuevas:
the school that we have control over that something that large
Hiram Cuevas:
can impact the day to day activities. And it shows the
Hiram Cuevas:
reliance of the technology and that the community really seeks
Hiram Cuevas:
our guidance for that information.
Christina Lewellen:
Larry, let's go to what you were mentioning
Christina Lewellen:
about leadership. Piece of it that's also a piece that hasn't
Christina Lewellen:
changed over time. Your thoughts on that.
Larry Kahn:
It's servant leadership, for sure, because
Larry Kahn:
we're all serving the school to the points everyone has made
Larry Kahn:
that the buck stops with you, and that it's a 24 by seven by
Larry Kahn:
365, job that you're on call all the time. You're on vacation,
Larry Kahn:
you're on call, you can have a backup there, but you're the
Larry Kahn:
captain of the technology ship, and it's your responsibility,
Larry Kahn:
and you want to have a great team. The importance of being a
Larry Kahn:
leader, having the right people on your team, having the right
Larry Kahn:
people, to use that analogy, you know, the right people on the
Larry Kahn:
bus, and then the right people in the right seats on the bus,
Larry Kahn:
and developing the team. And that's where an organization
Larry Kahn:
like ATLIS, you know, gosh, for so many years in our careers,
Larry Kahn:
you guys weren't around, so now that you're here, just to
Larry Kahn:
leverage that as much as possible, we had relationships
Larry Kahn:
with vendors over time, and that aspect hasn't changed. But one
Larry Kahn:
thing that has changed that's a huge asset is having you guys
Larry Kahn:
around to help us and keep us mindful as we're in the weeds,
Larry Kahn:
doing things day to day, to stop back and take that time to think
Larry Kahn:
strategically, which is so important for a servant leader.
Bill Stites:
Larry, you bring up something I think is really
Bill Stites:
interesting, and I think it's the fact that, you know, I've
Bill Stites:
said it before, the only time I feel like I'm ever actually,
Bill Stites:
truly on vacation is during winter break, because it's when
Bill Stites:
almost everyone else in the building is out and getting
Bill Stites:
those calls and the expectation around those calls. But I think
Bill Stites:
the one thing I would push back just a little on is that I think
Bill Stites:
when you sit at that leadership table, when you're a division
Bill Stites:
head, when you're the CFO, when you're the headmaster, I think a
Bill Stites:
lot of those people, you're never truly off, even when
Bill Stites:
you've got your vacation time around those periods where
Bill Stites:
there's issues going on. But the question that I actually have
Bill Stites:
for each of you, whether it was your last position or positions
Bill Stites:
you've had along the way, I think, as I said, that's an
Bill Stites:
expectation if you're sitting at that leadership table, and to
Bill Stites:
that point of leadership, how many of you were at that point,
Bill Stites:
at that leadership table, during those times, and what you saw as
Bill Stites:
the differences when you were
Larry Kahn:
or weren't. I think you raised a great point about
Larry Kahn:
the winter break, because that's the one time things shut down.
Larry Kahn:
But sadly, when we have a major update to do, the window to do
Larry Kahn:
those updates has really shut down, so that one time when
Larry Kahn:
maybe you could have a break is when you got to grit your teeth
Larry Kahn:
and do that critical update and hope it all goes well, because
Larry Kahn:
those updates need to happen, or Those forklift upgrades need to
Larry Kahn:
happen, and with the increased summer programs and the rest of
Larry Kahn:
it and theater happening and sports happening, those times to
Larry Kahn:
do that have become farther and fewer between than they were
Larry Kahn:
years ago.
Jeff Dayton:
I kind of have to agree with you on that my breaks
Jeff Dayton:
were some of the busiest times of the year, and being at a
Jeff Dayton:
boarding school. We supported the campus residents as well,
Jeff Dayton:
and they were still living there with their families over break.
Jeff Dayton:
So if something went down, they were out. So, you know, we were
Jeff Dayton:
on call for that as well. But to your leadership question, Bill,
Jeff Dayton:
I was never on the leadership team the school, just sort of
Jeff Dayton:
they never had the tech director on the leadership team. Um, I
Jeff Dayton:
think the person before me was for maybe a year or two, but
Jeff Dayton:
since then, that was never a thing. However, I had access to
Jeff Dayton:
everyone on the leadership team at any time, so I never felt
Jeff Dayton:
like I was ostracized or anything like that. But that
Jeff Dayton:
goes to making sure you have really good relationships with
Jeff Dayton:
people. And you know, we've already talked about that a
Jeff Dayton:
little bit. So I never felt that it hindered me in my job, or it
Jeff Dayton:
hindered the school. And if there was something that needed
Jeff Dayton:
to be presented to the leadership team, all he had to
Jeff Dayton:
do is say, Hey, can I come to your meeting? And they were
Jeff Dayton:
like, oh, yeah, sure. Come on. Most of what they talked about,
Jeff Dayton:
you know, scheduling and all that other stuff, was like a
Jeff Dayton:
yawn or anyway, so I was happy not to be in those meetings to
Jeff Dayton:
begin with.
Daisy Steele:
So I had a similar experience as Jeff, where I was
Daisy Steele:
not on the leadership team, but I had made sure to develop
Daisy Steele:
relationships with all of the leadership members so that I
Daisy Steele:
could, as Jeff did, go and discuss whatever I wanted to
Daisy Steele:
discuss about that. And I also wanted to say to Larry's point
Daisy Steele:
that schools have expanded in activities so that it's much
Daisy Steele:
more 365, not maybe 24/7, but even then, there are overnight
Daisy Steele:
things. And you know, Robotics has their overnight activity,
Daisy Steele:
and the PSAT is happening at 6am or so. We have more to do and
Daisy Steele:
less time to do the behind the scenes work that we need to do
Daisy Steele:
summer camp starts the day after school is out, and all the
Daisy Steele:
robotics things happen during winter break. So there is a lot
Daisy Steele:
more going on that the tech department has to support
Daisy Steele:
leaving less time for getting that behind the scenes work done
Larry Kahn:
to the leadership point, I had a different
Larry Kahn:
experience in the sense that I was at a school where I wasn't
Larry Kahn:
on the team, and I had great relationships with division
Larry Kahn:
heads and regular meetings with the head of school. And still,
Larry Kahn:
sometimes when they would be working on the strategic plan or
Larry Kahn:
other things, other decisions that were taken, they take a
Larry Kahn:
certain decision, and then they'd run it by me after the
Larry Kahn:
fact, and I we might be able to tweak it some. But then at
Larry Kahn:
Kincaid and Trinity Valley, where I did serve on the
Larry Kahn:
leadership team, the experience was very different and very more
Larry Kahn:
positive in that, you know, I did have a role on the strategic
Larry Kahn:
plan. I did have roles with different board committees, you
Larry Kahn:
know, because people who don't know technology don't know to
Larry Kahn:
ask the questions that they don't know to ask. And I found
Larry Kahn:
that at that leadership level, where you could be really
Larry Kahn:
preliminary, be in the development of it, and to be
Larry Kahn:
asking those questions, and to get people to think about those
Larry Kahn:
things more proactively than reactively, it made a huge
Larry Kahn:
difference to the school. In my opinion, I'm a big fan of a C
Larry Kahn:
level technology leader sitting on the team and contributing in
Larry Kahn:
that way.
Christina Lewellen:
I want to ask you guys, especially because
Christina Lewellen:
the three of you have recently retired, was your school ready.
Christina Lewellen:
How did you get them ready?
Daisy Steele:
So when I left Catlin Gable school, but before
Daisy Steele:
that, I had given six months notice, and then we went ahead
Daisy Steele:
and did an audit to make sure that we understood all the
Daisy Steele:
different roles that were in play and who was doing, what
Daisy Steele:
role and what skill set each person had and who would be able
Daisy Steele:
to step into at least some pieces of my role. There wasn't
Daisy Steele:
a direct replacement of my role at that point. And so I did stay
Daisy Steele:
on after I left as a mentor and as a consultant to help with the
Daisy Steele:
transition and provide mentorship to the person who was
Daisy Steele:
doing as much of the pieces that they could pick up. And then we
Daisy Steele:
had consultants and some other sort of rearranging your roles
Daisy Steele:
to help fill in the different pieces in the tech department.
Daisy Steele:
And so I think making sure you do a full assessment of your
Daisy Steele:
staffing. And then also if the tech director who's leaving can
Daisy Steele:
stay on for a bit afterward, to be able to sort of guide the
Daisy Steele:
school. In addition, I did a huge brain dump, and I used
Daisy Steele:
Asana for that. I went through my entire calendar for a whole
Daisy Steele:
year, and every single month I said, Okay, what did I do that
Daisy Steele:
month? And I put that in Asana. Like on January one, I got to
Daisy Steele:
get ready to make sure re enrollment is all set to go. And
Daisy Steele:
on January 27 I've got to make sure that we're ready for the
Daisy Steele:
PSAT or the robotics competition that's happening. And so I just
Daisy Steele:
tried to dump as much as I could into that so that day by day,
Daisy Steele:
month by month, someone after me could figure out, oh, this is
Daisy Steele:
going to be happening, and be prepared,
Hiram Cuevas:
Daisy based on that response. Or for all of
Hiram Cuevas:
you, did any of your schools have to do a hiring of a plus
Hiram Cuevas:
1.5 or plus two to replace the intellectual capital that was
Hiram Cuevas:
being lost. I know Daisy in your case, they kept you on board for
Hiram Cuevas:
a while, but did they actually have to add beyond you noting
Hiram Cuevas:
that it was a substantial loss, they did not.
Daisy Steele:
Not end up adding a 1.5 they kept me on. And then
Daisy Steele:
they brought in someone who had been at the school prior, who
Daisy Steele:
was a network administrator. They brought him back, and he
Daisy Steele:
had some really good knowledge of the school. Had worked for
Daisy Steele:
the school for about eight years, so he had sort of the
Daisy Steele:
cultural knowledge and the intimate knowledge of the
Daisy Steele:
networking system and all the background IT systems, and so
Daisy Steele:
that was a huge help. But at the same time, they were hoping to
Daisy Steele:
reduce the size of the technology department at the
Daisy Steele:
time that I was leaving and try to eliminate some of the
Daisy Steele:
different pieces. The Educational Technology
Daisy Steele:
Specialist was originally in the IT department, and they moved
Daisy Steele:
that person outside the IT department and under the
Daisy Steele:
assistant head of school, and sort of in the through Dean's
Daisy Steele:
area. And so that made our team look smaller. And I think part
Daisy Steele:
of that was because of the index comparisons that they were
Daisy Steele:
doing. It made it look like our team was much larger comparative
Daisy Steele:
to other schools and say that they wanted to be more in
Daisy Steele:
alignment with that, and say we're trying to sort of manage
Daisy Steele:
budgetary concerns.
Jeff Dayton:
Yeah, Hiram, I, like Daisy, just did a huge
Jeff Dayton:
brain dump over the course of a year and put everything down
Jeff Dayton:
that I could get out of my head. And there was a couple of months
Jeff Dayton:
transition where I worked there and he worked there, and that
Jeff Dayton:
worked out just fine, but there were some hiccups afterwards,
Jeff Dayton:
but I consider them minor. There was one I think the school
Jeff Dayton:
considered major, but it was easily fixed. They forgot to
Jeff Dayton:
update the certificate on the RADIUS server, so Wi Fi went
Jeff Dayton:
down one day, but that's a quick enough fix. So I'm of the point
Jeff Dayton:
where having them make their own mistakes is how they learn and
Jeff Dayton:
how they remember to do things next year, when you have, you
Jeff Dayton:
know, 500 constituents mad at you because the Wi Fi is down,
Jeff Dayton:
you won't forget to do it over Thanksgiving break next year.
Jeff Dayton:
And I have not been back to the school, but a couple of times,
Jeff Dayton:
so if there's been anything else I don't know. So with that, and
Jeff Dayton:
in answer to your first question, I recommended that we
Jeff Dayton:
hire another half time or full time person, or we rely more on
Jeff Dayton:
outsourcing. I had already developed some really strong
Jeff Dayton:
relationships with some companies that I didn't
Jeff Dayton:
necessarily need because I could do the work, but I also needed
Jeff Dayton:
some help just because I was one person and I couldn't do it all
Jeff Dayton:
time wise. So by developing those relationships all along,
Jeff Dayton:
we had some good outsourcing companies in the box ready to
Jeff Dayton:
go. And that's the direction the school has taken. They've given
Jeff Dayton:
them more and more responsibility, especially with
Jeff Dayton:
the infrastructure, monitoring switches, monitoring servers,
Jeff Dayton:
doing all those updates that you have to do at two o'clock in the
Jeff Dayton:
morning. And that's been a I think that's going to be a real
Jeff Dayton:
positive for the school, because you get a huge knowledge base
Jeff Dayton:
with these companies. You don't have to be an expert at
Jeff Dayton:
everything, because they may have 50 experts all with their
Jeff Dayton:
specialties. And I think that was a good way to go for Madeira
Hiram Cuevas:
and Larry. I'd like to touch base on how you
Hiram Cuevas:
handled it at your last school because you had a rock star in
Hiram Cuevas:
the making in Eileen Ford, and she ended up being the tech
Hiram Cuevas:
director at your school. Yeah, to
Larry Kahn:
back up, I was at Trinity Valley School for the
Larry Kahn:
last six years of my full time career. After my first year, the
Larry Kahn:
academic technology person left in August, at the start of the
Larry Kahn:
second year. And as you know, when you're hiring an IT person,
Larry Kahn:
you can pretty much do that year round and transition them to
Larry Kahn:
working in a school through mentoring, but an educational
Larry Kahn:
technology person, the good people were gone. You know, I
Larry Kahn:
did a search. I heard from Eileen, and she said, we're
Larry Kahn:
thinking of moving to your part of the world, but I've made a
Larry Kahn:
commitment for this year. I'm not going to leave now, so I
Larry Kahn:
decided, you know, we're doing a search, but if it doesn't work
Larry Kahn:
out, we'd love to have you apply. And I did my best to fill
Larry Kahn:
that academic role, in addition to wearing my hat for one year,
Larry Kahn:
brought her in. And I'd known her from when I was at Kincaid.
Larry Kahn:
And then, of course, I knew her technology director, Janet
Larry Kahn:
thornson, when she was at duchy Academy of the Sacred Heart. And
Larry Kahn:
I knew she was a rock star in the making. Got her into the E
Larry Kahn:
cat D program the last year that it was named e cat, and she
Larry Kahn:
shined there, and over the course of my career, got her
Larry Kahn:
promoted from academic technologist to Assistant
Larry Kahn:
Director of Technology, and then just gave her more and more
Larry Kahn:
projects to lead. And then I gave my notice in the fall of my
Larry Kahn:
final year, Eileen and I sat down and we mapped out a program
Larry Kahn:
to gradually phase myself out, give her more leadership roles,
Larry Kahn:
and then just met with her regularly to answer questions
Larry Kahn:
and help her out. Having a great successor is one of the great
Larry Kahn:
accomplishments of my career, so I can't argue about that at all
Bill Stites:
one of you. I alluded to outsourcing, taking
Bill Stites:
some of the stuff where the network management piece was
Bill Stites:
pulled off because they've got the level of expertise. What are
Bill Stites:
your thoughts on that trend for supporting the schools or
Bill Stites:
replacing or backfilling when people step out of those roles?
Bill Stites:
And what do you think the pros and cons are of that when
Bill Stites:
schools take that route,
Jeff Dayton:
I'll start with that. Since I brought it up, I
Jeff Dayton:
think it's a positive things for schools. And I'm really
Jeff Dayton:
impressed with some of the companies out there and what
Jeff Dayton:
they're able to do, and with AI really taking a role in this
Jeff Dayton:
space, being able to predict when something's going to go
Jeff Dayton:
down before it goes down, I think is huge. So I think over
Jeff Dayton:
time, it will be a real benefit, as far as keeping the systems up
Jeff Dayton:
those 24/7 365, on the flip side, when you're working with a
Jeff Dayton:
company, outsource company, you may not have the same guy coming
Jeff Dayton:
out to your school all the time, or dealing with the same guy
Jeff Dayton:
every single time. So you might get different levels of service,
Jeff Dayton:
but it's also very difficult for those people to really create
Jeff Dayton:
those relationships that we talk about that are so important in
Jeff Dayton:
schools. So by having somebody on site, you do have a community
Jeff Dayton:
member, it just integrates better into the school system. I
Jeff Dayton:
think cost wise, even though outsourcing may look on paper to
Jeff Dayton:
be a little more expensive, the cost to keep an individual up to
Jeff Dayton:
speed on all the new technology, and it's just impossible for one
Jeff Dayton:
person to keep up with it all. It's just too much to ask. And
Jeff Dayton:
what I always liked about outsourcing, another big
Jeff Dayton:
positive, was that they would have access to companies like
Jeff Dayton:
Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle, whereas if I pick up the phone
Jeff Dayton:
and tried to call them today, man, that isn't going to happen.
Jeff Dayton:
And you used to be able to back in the late 90s, early 2000s but
Jeff Dayton:
today it's just impossible. And having that expertise from those
Jeff Dayton:
companies, navigating the big companies themselves and the
Jeff Dayton:
licensing models, the licensing models just baffle me anymore,
Jeff Dayton:
especially Cisco is just trying to keep track of that. So that's
Jeff Dayton:
where I think outsourcing is really, really going to pay off
Jeff Dayton:
in the long run, and ultimately, probably be less expensive than
Jeff Dayton:
a single person.
Daisy Steele:
I think another good place that outsourcing is
Daisy Steele:
beneficial is in the cybersecurity realm. They're
Daisy Steele:
trying to keep track of all the different variants and places
Daisy Steele:
where you could be infiltrated or exfiltrated. Trying to do
Daisy Steele:
that in house is near impossible, to try to keep up on
Daisy Steele:
all the things that are occurring. So outsourcing that
Daisy Steele:
and having a company who's watching that 24/7, and has the
Daisy Steele:
AI behind it as well to detect in the anomalies, I think is
Daisy Steele:
very important and worth the extra expense, versus trying to
Daisy Steele:
have someone in house who can be that expert. Certainly you need
Daisy Steele:
someone who can communicate knowledgeably with the company
Daisy Steele:
about what your school needs are. But I think that's one
Daisy Steele:
place where it's really beneficial.
Larry Kahn:
I couldn't agree more on the cyber side and
Larry Kahn:
trying to find an outside partner, whether you have a good
Larry Kahn:
person in house, on the IT side or not, it's great to have a
Larry Kahn:
partner who gets to know your school and you want to right
Larry Kahn:
size them to the extent that you know there are the local
Larry Kahn:
companies that sometimes do stuff for a doctor's office
Larry Kahn:
that's a one or two person company that might be a little
Larry Kahn:
bit too small, because you'll get the great relationships with
Larry Kahn:
them, but will they be available? You got to have that
Larry Kahn:
service level agreement. If you get a company that's too big to
Larry Kahn:
the point need earlier, you get a different person every time
Larry Kahn:
you're spending so much time getting that person up to speed.
Larry Kahn:
But if you right size, it that you have the right people and
Larry Kahn:
the right tools in place, you get that synergy. And then if
Larry Kahn:
you do have someone in house who can be at least working with
Larry Kahn:
those people to keep them honest and know what's right and not
Larry Kahn:
trying to upsell you or anything like that, you want, definitely
Larry Kahn:
want a company that's thinking long term and playing long ball
Larry Kahn:
with you to develop that relationship. But you know, one
Larry Kahn:
thing you got to watch out for as well, is if you outsource too
Larry Kahn:
much, then there could be some issues with succession planning,
Larry Kahn:
because you want to have someone in house to be able to step into
Larry Kahn:
your role, or at least part of your role. So I think just being
Larry Kahn:
really smart about it, and what fits your culture and what fits
Larry Kahn:
your school and what fits your comfort level, and what's going
Larry Kahn:
to be best for the school in the long term is really the way to
Larry Kahn:
go with that.
Hiram Cuevas:
So for schools that are going through this
Hiram Cuevas:
potential transition with their first gen folks, what superpower
Hiram Cuevas:
Do you encourage them to look for in the next IT director that
Hiram Cuevas:
is going to step into the shoes of their current person.
Jeff Dayton:
They need someone that can communicate with all
Jeff Dayton:
constituents all the time. Be able to speak to a parent, be
Jeff Dayton:
able to speak to the board, be able to speak to the teacher. Be
Jeff Dayton:
able to talk to your HVAC guy on campus and be able to
Jeff Dayton:
communicate with the vendors and the people off campus. Because
Jeff Dayton:
when I was at school, everybody, oh, Jeff's so nice. He's always
Jeff Dayton:
so sweet. But then sometimes with vendors, you have to be the
Jeff Dayton:
bad guy. You have to raise your voice and make demands. So you
Jeff Dayton:
really have to step into a lot of different communication roles
Jeff Dayton:
and styles, and I think that's the biggest superpower that a
Jeff Dayton:
new person would need.
Larry Kahn:
I couldn't agree more. I'm going to steal your
Larry Kahn:
word Hiram people chess, meet people where they are, be an
Larry Kahn:
excellent listener and be open, because you come in with your
Larry Kahn:
opinion, and they might raise something that's a valid point
Larry Kahn:
that you hadn't thought of to have those skills and to be that
Larry Kahn:
servant leader, and to always put the long term interest of
Larry Kahn:
the school and the kids first.
Daisy Steele:
Yes, I also agree with the communication skills
Daisy Steele:
being a superpower, and I would add to that, that you also need
Daisy Steele:
the ability to be absolutely flexible and able to pivot to
Daisy Steele:
expect the unexpected, and it changes the only constant. And
Daisy Steele:
if you can manage that, then I think you definitely have a
Daisy Steele:
superpower, because we all know from covid that we had to all
Daisy Steele:
pivot and expect the unexpected in your storms that you're
Daisy Steele:
having on the East Coast right now, there could be power
Daisy Steele:
outages that occur, and then domino effects from that, and
Daisy Steele:
being able to just manage those and pivot and problem solve
Daisy Steele:
quickly and easily and say, Oh, well, if this doesn't work,
Daisy Steele:
we'll just try this, and we'll just try that. Is also very
Daisy Steele:
important.
Hiram Cuevas:
We have one more question for the three of you,
Hiram Cuevas:
and Mr. Stites, you're up.
Bill Stites:
One last thing I want to ask is, Is there
Bill Stites:
anything you had wished you had done before you left your last
Bill Stites:
job before you said, See you later. Is there one other thing
Bill Stites:
you would wish you had done or been able to do before you
Bill Stites:
stepped away?
Hiram Cuevas:
Look at that, you got him. Bill, you got him.
Jeff Dayton:
That's a tough question. Bill, because I would
Jeff Dayton:
say I felt pretty good about the way I left the school. I had
Jeff Dayton:
this bucket list that, you know, I started 20 years ago, and I
Jeff Dayton:
literally finished my last thing on the bucket list the year
Jeff Dayton:
before I left, which was the SIS transition, which I've said I
Jeff Dayton:
will never go through this again. I will quit before I do
Jeff Dayton:
another sis transition. But I would say, if there's anything I
Jeff Dayton:
wish I could have gotten done before I left, I wanted another
Jeff Dayton:
FTE. I really, really felt the school needed one. They're kind
Jeff Dayton:
of running on two FTEs for a boarding school that's pretty
Jeff Dayton:
substantial size and pretty big infrastructure, and I felt they
Jeff Dayton:
needed one more. So that was the one thing I wasn't able to get
Jeff Dayton:
done before I left.
Larry Kahn:
I was going to say the same thing. One of the
Larry Kahn:
things I'd been working on during my tenure, and it made
Larry Kahn:
great strides, was not just getting the right people on the
Larry Kahn:
bus, but getting more people on the technology bus. Hiram was
Larry Kahn:
part of a team that did an audit at my school, and that helped
Larry Kahn:
out a lot with that as well. But having my fantastic successor,
Larry Kahn:
the staffing has gone up, but I would have loved to have been
Larry Kahn:
able to provide that for her before I left.
Daisy Steele:
I feel fortunate that I was planning way ahead of
Daisy Steele:
when I actually even announced that I was going to depart, and
Daisy Steele:
was able to, similar to Jeff, get my to do list completed for
Daisy Steele:
the most part, knowing that there are these bigger things
Daisy Steele:
that I'm just not going to be involved with, like building a
Daisy Steele:
brand new building was coming online as I was getting ready to
Daisy Steele:
depart, and just letting folks know that I'm not going to be
Daisy Steele:
involved in that, because I will be departing. One of my plans
Daisy Steele:
when I was planning to leave was to make sure that I went out on
Daisy Steele:
a high note. I wanted to have things all sort of running and
Daisy Steele:
humming, and then step away and say, this is a really good pause
Daisy Steele:
time for the next generation to come in. And so that was really
Daisy Steele:
important to me.
Bill Stites:
It's great when you can step away and know things
Bill Stites:
that are working well and feel comfortable about that. Jeff, I
Bill Stites:
do find it hilarious. I can't tell you how many times I have
Bill Stites:
heard people say that it's the SIS transition that is, like,
Bill Stites:
the breaking point for them, where they're like, enough is
Bill Stites:
enough. Yeah, I've done this twice. I'm not doing this the
Bill Stites:
third time. Peace out. I'm done. Let this be somebody else's
Bill Stites:
project to take on and own.
Jeff Dayton:
And doing it right after coming out of covid was
Jeff Dayton:
just awful.
Bill Stites:
We did it during covid. You can imagine what that
Bill Stites:
was like.
Jeff Dayton:
Oh my gosh, yeah. And I wanted to just touch base
Jeff Dayton:
on what Daisy said. I really like that term pause time, I
Jeff Dayton:
felt like I was in a really good place as well. With pause time,
Jeff Dayton:
there were no major systems that were going to need upgraded for
Jeff Dayton:
the next two to three years. All the copier contract was new, the
Jeff Dayton:
Wi Fi contract was new, and it just felt good to be able to
Jeff Dayton:
slide out and let somebody else slide in, get their feet wet,
Jeff Dayton:
learn the job. Before the next phase of change was coming down
Jeff Dayton:
the road in the next two to three years.
Christina Lewellen:
As you guys are now in your retirement, tell
Christina Lewellen:
us what to look forward to. What are you loving about your
Christina Lewellen:
retirements?
Daisy Steele:
Oh, it's the best job ever. I really have enjoyed
Daisy Steele:
being able to wake up and figure out what I want to do with my
Daisy Steele:
day, the flexibility to do some consulting if I want, but then
Daisy Steele:
also go paddle boarding, camping, fishing, be in the
Daisy Steele:
outdoors a lot more than I was able to. Also just doing all
Daisy Steele:
that wellness stuff you're supposed to be doing, yoga,
Daisy Steele:
exercising, eating, better, meditating, and just all of the
Daisy Steele:
things. Just feeling like life is a lot more balanced than it
Daisy Steele:
was and taking time and resting and just really enjoying life
Daisy Steele:
and just grabbing every piece of it, it's been wonderful.
Jeff Dayton:
Yeah, I have to echo what Daisy said. Self Care
Jeff Dayton:
is a big thing. Being able to have time for exercise and
Jeff Dayton:
working out and being outdoors and playing tennis. I have eight
Jeff Dayton:
grandchildren, getting to spend time with them without having to
Jeff Dayton:
look over my shoulder at what's going on at the school is just
Jeff Dayton:
wonderful. You get up and the day is yours. You can choose
Jeff Dayton:
what you want to do with it, and some days you just don't want to
Jeff Dayton:
do anything. That's okay too, because no one's going to really
Jeff Dayton:
miss you. But yeah, it is the best job ever. I love it, but
Jeff Dayton:
I've been thinking about it for a long time, planning for it for
Jeff Dayton:
a long time. I'm doing some volunteering, which has been
Jeff Dayton:
great to give back. I drive for Meals on Wheels. I serve on the
Jeff Dayton:
lake Montclair Community Foundation Board. I just became
Jeff Dayton:
certified as an AARP tax counselor. I will start helping
Jeff Dayton:
people do their taxes next week. I'm a tax geek, as Christina
Jeff Dayton:
would probably guess so, yeah, it's just been great.
Larry Kahn:
I can't agree more with everything you said, from
Larry Kahn:
following your passions to giving back to sleeping in to
Larry Kahn:
spoiling grandkids. I think the only other thing I'd add is
Larry Kahn:
being able to travel, not during peak times. It's a wonderful
Larry Kahn:
thing.
Christina Lewellen:
I love it. Thank you guys so much for
Christina Lewellen:
giving us this insight and for joining us for this
Christina Lewellen:
conversation.
Hiram Cuevas:
Thank you all for being here today. Bill and I are
Hiram Cuevas:
hunkered down doing school stuff, whether at school or at
Hiram Cuevas:
home, in the midst of the snowpocalypse and ice pocalypse
Hiram Cuevas:
we thank you all for your
Jeff Dayton:
time. Thank you for having us.
Peter Frank:
This has been talking technology with ATLIS,
Peter Frank:
produced by the Association of technology leaders in
Peter Frank:
independent schools. For more information about Atlas and
Peter Frank:
Atlas membership, please visit the atlas.org if you enjoyed
Peter Frank:
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