An incident happened this week that reminded me that we are not only in the education business at Grandview, but that we are also in the customer service industry. Of course, we know that decisions are based on what’s best for the children. We know about teaching resources, teaching strategies, learning styles, research based on what, how and why we teach, etc. We are also quite aware that parents entrust us with their most valuable and loved members of their families, their children. We take this responsibility very seriously and strive to provide the very best education experience possible.

So back to this week. A parent came in to enroll her student with her mother and her child. They had been to another school (in another district) previously. They were greeted by our school secretary, Mrs. Davis. Next, she informed me that we had a new enrollment needing a teacher assignment. By then, our counselor was in the office introducing herself and chatting with the student and grandmother regarding supplies. Next, we walked down to meet the prospective teacher, Mr. Shum. He immediately stepped away from what he was doing to greet and welcome the new student. As we walked back to the office, they commented on how rude they had been treated at the other school. They commented how just how nice and welcoming Grandview seemed.

This brings me to the latest book that the district administration team is reading, ˆDisney, Creating Magic.” It is based on the principles taught at the world-renowned Disney Institute. It is authored by Lee Cockerell, former Executive Vice President, Operations, Walt Disney World Resorts. One of the key elements of the Disney success is this Institute as business leaders from all over the world come to attend. One of the first things Cockerell notes in the Disney successes is that people want to be treated “with the upmost care and respect.”. Their employees are treated with care and respect and trained to treat all guests with care and respect.

His first strategy is “Make sure everyone matters…and that everyone knows it.”. It’s so true. Of course, we treat our students with this philosophy, but do we take the time to do this for everyone that enters Grandview? This situation brought this further to my attention. We sometimes get so caught up with paperwork, or tasks at hand, that we fail to treat people just what we teach—BE RESPECTFUL. We are in the customer service industry, too. We must be sure that we take time to recognize people and let them know that they matter.