Bakersfield has been good to How Many Wins over the years and January 19th's stop at Independence High School was no exception. A staff of 150 strong were spending a full day going over some of the more mundane requirements of public education. We are responsible for covering and updating staff on laws of bullying, abuse reporting, and harassment training to name a few. It is an issue of compliance, but not necessarily the most exciting stuff in the world. My hope was to start their day with an uplifting message about our jobs and lives.
Independence is in their 10th year of existence and the facility looks fresh and new. As the staff rolled into their beautiful theater, they looked tired and ready to go back to bed. We spent the next hour going through the HMW story. They came to life and were an awesome audience. I got a chance to visit with many of them and they were inspiring professionals, committed to pushing forward the conversation about winning. As I left, I spent some time in conversation with their principal, Debbie Thompson. First, I was completely taken by her style and commitment. Then, she talked about her willingness to continue the conversation over time. That is what I'm talking about!!