LM Jan 2024

This initiative, without a doubt, has been the most successful and exciting thing I have ever done in my 25-year superintendent career.

Who isn’t a better person when they are HAPPY!

our team. We are on our fifth set of bracelets, and I still surprise them with lottery tickets every once in a while, when we are all together. We have enough new employees that we are continuing with the book studies, so they can get the foundation of what this Happy in Havana stuff is all about. This initiative, without a doubt, has been the most successful and exciting thing I have ever done in my 25-year superintendent career. I have never spent more than $15,000 on gifts in a year, so it hasn’t been expensive, but it has been worth every penny. The ongoing Stanford study of educational opportunity in the US shows that our district is one of only a handful if districts in the state whose socioeconomic status is below the national average, but whose performance is above the national average. Our team is getting more out of our students, given where they come from, and that is something that our district is very PROUD of. Our employees and students deserve all the credit for that.

I have shared our initiative and actions with most of the leaders in our community, and I have passed out a lot of bracelets. It makes me very happy to be able to spread the benefits of Happiness and how it has improved our district. It makes me very proud when I get positive emails from staff and when I hear others in the community talking about the positive work environment in our school district. When you strive to make your employees happy, show them they are valued and let them know how much you appreciate them, you will retain staff and attract employees from other places that don’t make them feel that way. Every day, I am looking for ways to build up our team and for new ways to thank them for the challenging work they are doing. Who isn’t a better person when they are HAPPY!

29 LM January 2024