RF: I understand you’ve been a dean for one month so far – what’s been challenging, and what’s been the best part?

The challenging part, I think, is just having to hit the ground running. Right when I started, I transitioned straight from the classroom, where I’ve been teaching math here for ten years. So I finished teaching at the end of semester one, and at the start of semester two began this role. But the thing is, I was on maternity leave and then came back [at] the beginning of January. And so during that transition – the three weeks, at the end of [the] semester – I had to go back into the classroom after my maternity leave. There was a lot of relying on my team for help when a situation presented itself, and it did on day one. 

I think what’s actually been the most rewarding part has been seeing the school on this side of things and through this lens. Now I have the ability to assess and problem-solve in a way that I did as a teacher. That’s been really rewarding for me, getting to the root of, for example, why students are late. As a teacher, the most I can do is to mark you tardy. What I do now is getting to the root, collaborating, and problem solving and troubleshooting. It’s super intense but so rewarding.

RF: What made you interested in this position? What does it mean to you to be a dean at CRLS? 

A few years ago I got the itch, like, “I want to remain in the classroom or adventure into another field or stay?” At that point, I was also teaching AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination), which really helped me develop relationships with students in a more holistic way. With AVID, I’m helping students with choosing the right classes, [and] with future decision making about post secondary decisions – I’m basically their liaison. And having that view, that holistic view of students, is what really propelled me [to] want to expand my impact at CRLS. I knew I wanted to be a leader in some capacity. And so I said, “You know what, I’m just going back to grad school,” (although I said I was never going to go back to school). Everything that I learned in the grad school program was confirmation for me that in order to affect change on a wider scale, I had to go into this avenue of administration into leadership. Right now, what’s most important for me is my relationship with students, and the Dean of Students role is super student facing. I appreciate and love that about this specific role – that I haven’t lost touch with the student body. 

RF: What’s your favorite thing about CRLS from your 10 years here, and why do you think you keep coming back?

I love how unpredictable CRLS is day to day. This is a super diverse community, and it means that everyone brings a uniqueness to the space. That’s what makes it an unpredictable environment. There’s always something new to learn. And I appreciate that about this community just in terms of, again, the diversity but also I think, particularly in this role. I just love being able to collaborate with not only members of the admin team but the teachers like the willingness to collaborate, the willingness, to make this student-centered. And I think that that’s really at the heart of it. 

RF: You mentioned working with students through AVID – how do you hope to bring that sense of connection to your new position?

I truly do have a goal and endeavor to meet all 488 students in LCR. For me, at the heart of why I do what I do is my belief that every student, every person here, is here on purpose and for purpose. We’re not here just by accident or by chance. I want my students to understand that they bring value to a space, that they are wanted, that they belong, that their voices are heard, [and] that what they have to say matters. If someone could just pull that out of them so that they understand how precious they are, then I think it will not only shift their own mindsets of themselves but shift this overall community. So it’s like, again, this idea that I really want students to know that they’re special, and that the uniqueness and the gifts and the talents that they possess are super critical in shaping our community. 

RF: What policies are you focused on enforcing through your new position?

I’m working to understand chronic absenteeism. The questions I want to ask are, “Do we understand why students aren’t here?” And number two, “Are we analyzing what’s happening in the specific classrooms?” Like maybe there’s something happening – or something that’s not happening in the classrooms – that’s causing students to not want to go? Do they have a sense of belonging? I think that when we think about absenteeism and why students don’t come it’s important to figure out why, but then to address the things that we can fix? And so if we are committed to establishing an environment that welcomes all people, welcomes all ideas, welcomes all thought processes. And a place where students feel like I want to go because I matter here, because my contribution is appreciated here. If they feel that then there won’t have to be any phone calls of, “Hey, why aren’t you in school?” But there is also a level of accountability that’s necessary for both groups, the ones who are here but cutting, and the ones who aren’t here and are choosing not to come. So yeah, I’ve got work to do. 

RF: What advice do you have for CRLS students?

The advice that I have for CRLS students is to give this experience your all. You get a four-year journey, and maybe you came in here later or you transferred from another school, but however many years that you are allotted here at CLS to give it your all. Just so that you avoid, after this is done and over, saying to yourself, “I wish I could have done things differently”. If you give this experience you’re all, you’ll reap the benefits. [In] the end, you’ll reap the rewards and those rewards could look like number one crossing that stage. Right getting that diploma, getting the job after you graduate here, whatever it is, and keeping your eye on the prize. So I think those two things are linked; giving this experience in your all while also keeping your eye on the prize, whatever it is that you aspire to do.

And my last question is, what would you like CRLS students and teachers and other people in the building to know about you?

I’m gonna say something as silly as all three of my kids.ike their names start with  a “br” at the start with their name: Brandon, Brielle, and Braxton. I don’t even know if that’s worth mentioning, but maybe I’m just saying how much I love my three children. The work that I do here is informed by what I would want for my own children. So, yeah. Brandon Brielle Braxton.

Anything else you’d like to add?

This is a learning process. You know, like, even though it’s been a month like there’s still so much more to learn. But I just love the fact that I get to, to build relationships with students in this deeper way. I’m so excited about that journey.