The Learning Community clerks of CRLS are the faces many CRLS students see everyday when they go to school. The work they do is essential to the organization and structure of everyday school life, but it often goes unnoticed. The LC clerks serve as the necessary bridge between the many people of our school.

LC S clerk Yvette Jackson, who has worked for CPSD for a total of 18 years, explained in an email to the Register Forum that she enjoys “being involved and engaging with the students on a daily basis.”

“What I do everyday is a lot of different things. I think there’s a few different kinds of things that happen here,” explained LC R clerk Berhan Duncan. “I think primarily it’s about a smooth start to the day and to first period. That includes making sure all the teachers are in, also making sure that when students are tardy for any appointments or need to leave for any important reasons they can do so and that attendance is accurate.” Every day, Mr. Duncan and the other three LC clerks work diligently to help each Learning Community. “I think that attendance for both teachers and students is a primary focus here as well as supporting various aspects of both of those roles,” said Mr. Duncan. Many things can make a day very busy for an LC clerk. “The phone’s constantly ringing. It’s all day long,” said LC L clerk Miriam DaSilva. When things are this busy, Ms. Jackson emphasized that “[LC clerks] have to be able to multitask at its finest.” She added, “I have a system that works which includes being on top of things and being well-organized.”

While these are tasks that the clerks do everyday, Ms. DaSilva added that the work changes day-to-day. She explained, “Every day is different. Every day is a different crisis; kids come in different every day. They come in maybe with a scratch or the next day it could be a headache or your hungry or whatever, so every day, there’s no two days alike here, [and] that’s what I like.”

The general consensus amongst the clerks is that interacting with students is the best part of the job. “I like the kids; I think they’re gonna keep me young. I mean, I like the teachers too, but I like the kids better,” Ms. DaSilva said, continuing, “The more students, the more personalities.” Mr. Duncan added that CRLS’ diversity is another reason why he likes working at the school. “I find that there’s great value in the diversity among the student body …  I have learned over ten years how different each and every individual student can be. And that’s been a lot of fun.”

This piece also appears in our May print edition.