النص الكامل لحلقة Sky-High Potential: Chris Riley on Launching STEAM Careers for Every Learner

really large mental health component that we were missing. So as an academy, we focused on the fact that what can we do to help support that mental health first? We started with hiring ⁓ a licensed therapist that we have on staff. And that was a big thing for us. We wanted to coordinate service. We have a lot of service in Los Angeles County, but our parents and our students do not access it. So having a therapist on board that can coordinate services that was really doing the tier ⁓ two, tier three work, that was exceptionally important for us. We're also the first high school ⁓ in the Antelope Valley, which is where our school is located, to actually partner with the Los Angeles Department of Public Health to bring a wellness center to our school. So we have a center that's staffed by nurses from Los Angeles Department of Public Health, and they provide education and service for our students ⁓ sixth through 12th grade. So that for us was a big, big, ⁓ it had to happen. We needed to address something and we needed to address it quickly. And those are a couple of things we did. Matt Giovanniello (06:43) Chris, we talk a lot on this podcast of one that is generally centered around special education and supporting our multilingual learners about the needs around mental health. And you understand it quite well with the student population that you face, but something that seems to be pervasive across the country is if we have students showing up for school not feeling safe and not being in a state of mind that they're ready to learn, nothing will get accomplished. So meeting those needs first is critical. And it's amazing to hear how the Academy has prioritized that over the past few years. especially in the wake of COVID where it exacerbated existing problems to your point. And unfortunately put a spotlight for all of us to realize, oh my God, these problems are even more intensive than we originally realized, or there are new problems building on top of them. So kudos for prioritizing that and achieving such incredibly high success rates, not only by your own standards, but by the standards of your kids and their families and the community at large. So just some kudos for you. Of course. Christopher Riley (07:35) Thanks, appreciate it. It's the work of the teachers, it's the work of the staff. mean, they're the ones doing the work in the trenches and we have a great group of people and staff that care about kids first and place them first in their decision making. So we are fortunate to have just people who love kids and want to do what's right by them. Matt Giovanniello (07:56) We are incredibly fortunate to hear that too and to know that your students are being really, really well served. Let's get a little bit into a related topic on your campus culture, your student experience. It sounds like students from a mental health perspective are really well supported. What else is going right at the Academy where you feel like that is earning you high

ranks on the campus culture side? The wellness center is a great example. ⁓ And we love to hear even more about what that looks like right now for other districts and other academies who might want to build out something similar or increase their capacity. What else do have that's going right on a campus culture front? Christopher Riley (08:30) I mean, we can talk about the Wellness Center for sure. I think it's something that we as a school, we're really proud of the fact that we pioneered it and the Valley and other high schools have started to adopt it. One of the things that our students were missing, it's the education component when it comes to healthy decision making. So we have students that are being seen for, I mean, obviously there's the sexual health component. but more so we have students that are going to be seen for education on vaping and how to make good friends. What is a good friend? What are healthy relationships? And so it's one of those pieces that I think our students miss. is an overall focus on, yeah, sure, sexual health and making sure that takes place, but we're skipping the part of what is a good relationship? What is a healthy relationship? What do those look like? One of the other things that... we implemented over the last couple of years was we have a student superintendent student council. And one of the things that we asked our teachers for this year, last year was, had seemed like we had all students who were either gate, know, AP classes and their needs and their desires are vastly different. So we asked for a wide swath of students this year. Yes, that student who does not look like all the rest of the kids in our AP class. We want them, we wanna hear their voice. Those students who may be a little difficult, I like to say have character, always love students who have character. ⁓ That ability to wanna talk and say, here are the things that we see that aren't right for us. Will you have the ear to hear and also for us to educate going, we can't change everything. Obviously there are rules, there are things, there are laws that we have to abide by, but let's come together and actually come up with solutions. So the group this year is much more diverse. We added elementary students into it. So last year it was high school kids for the most part. We went down, we started grabbing elementary age students and now we're using elementary students as well inside these groups. They played a large role in especially for us, we are doing portrait of a graduate work. So what What does a graduate look like when they leave the academy? What would you expect to know as a student? What should we expect you to know as a student? What skills should you have when you leave here? So We spent a lot of time with our students because we felt their voice is one of the most important parts of that process. Sure, we had the staff do it. We leadership did it. We had our teachers at each of our grade levels go through that work, but It really came down to what our students thought. What do you see are your needs once you graduate? I think the thing that gets missed often in education is that the adults do all the talking, the students never get a chance to talk. I also think, I I live by this, I make fun of it all the time because we have meetings, meetings upon meetings upon meetings ⁓ where they say when all is said and done, Well, more is often said than is done. And so for us, one of ours was we're not just going to talk, we're going to create action. And so we have changed our actual ⁓ mission and vision at the Academy to represent our Portrait of a Graduate and the work that was done by our students and by our staff. Matt Giovanniello (12:06) That's awesome. OK, so I'm really glad you brought that up, Chris, because that leads me to another burning question that I had about what your mission and vision looks like present day. Let's get a definition for design, create, explore, and what that looks like in practice, especially as it's continuing to evolve. Christopher Riley (12:21) So ⁓ in the Yellow Valley, we are also frequently referred to as the Aerospace Valley. So we have some of the world's largest defense contractors, ⁓ creators of aircraft. We have one of the largest Air Force bases in the entire world, and they need a trained staff. They need students who are going to look at aerospace engineering as an option. We bring in know, we bring in people from all over the world to actually fill those jobs and our we have partnerships with Lockheed Martin. We have one with Northrop Grumman. We are working on getting one with ⁓ the actual Air Force itself. And then we do we do a little bit of stuff with Boeing and then there's actually NASA that's out here, So we have partnered, especially with Lockheed Martin, one of our board members is is someone who works for Lockheed Martin. But. Hold on, let me reject my phone call there. So between Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, who are some of the biggest ⁓ employers in the entire Antelope Valley, there was a need. And so as a charter school, one of the things that we want our students to see is that you don't have to go someplace else. You have an opportunity here where you live. And if you embrace the STEM education, makes, that's the part that makes us different. We have... STEM requirements for our students, that science technology, you know, it's really exceptionally important. We've moved it into even into STEAM because we believe that there's an art form that comes into the designing of aircraft, the designing of things in the aerospace industry. It's not just your ability to know math and all those things, but people have to design those before you can test them to see if they actually fly. So when we, the original creation, think we're on year 14 or 15 at this point, the original creation was how do we help our partners inside the NL Valley have a future workforce? And how do we get our students to be able to have a

quality, high paying job that some of them could do very shortly out of high school? And we partner with our local community college because they have a, FAA flight mechanic school that would allow the students to get that certification. So we have tried to work really closely with them to go. We have graduates, they're interested in this and funneling them their direction because within six to eight months they can be certified and they could actually be working for the Air Force on the line. We also brought a drone program to our school where our students will receive all the training they need to be licensed drone pilots. We even pay for the actual tests for them to do that. And again, the Air Force, ⁓ because they have these large massive airplanes out here, we have ⁓ C-17s, which is one of the primary jets that are at our Air Force base. Used to be that guys would have to get on top of those planes to check and see if there are stretch fractures and everything. That works all done by drones now. So it's reduce the ability of One, having to have someone go up and walk step by step, but it's opened up a different job market. So there are a number of things that we're doing because aerospace engineering and science and technology are so rooted in our community. We were actually the place where the space shuttles were originally built. There are pictures of the Space Shuttle Columbia being towed down Sierra Highway back when it was originally created. ⁓ We are the home of where space exploration has been in most of our modern era. I mean, I think we all grew up, not many of us grew up with the rocket going to the moon, but most of us have grown up in the era of the space shuttle. And so it was made here. Matt Giovanniello (16:27) no, Chris, did we lose you? That was funny timing. Chris, you still there? Anthony, you're still with me, right? Antonayah Ellis (16:38) I'm here. Okay, I see dots coming. Okay. Matt Giovanniello (16:40) Hold on, might be coming back. there we go. Christopher Riley (16:41) It's me. It's completely me. Unfortunately, the office I'm in has the single most on the planet. Matt Giovanniello (16:54) You're good. You actually you ended your your piece there I think exactly right and then all of a sudden vanished for a second. But ⁓ so, you know, we'll cut all this out. Obviously your background changed if you want to put it back cool. Otherwise, I love your background. You didn't need to hide that. You got a cool wall. Christopher Riley (17:07) There you go. So yeah, it's my it's my wall where you know people get to kind of see who I am as a person. Matt Giovanniello (17:14) I love it. I love it. You got to embrace it. I see the hawks in the background. my God. And blink. I love it. that's so cool. Antonayah Ellis (17:16) I love it too. Christopher Riley (17:19) Yeah, huge. Yeah, went and saw him when we had ⁓ a conference we had to go to and I was like, ⁓ you know what, they're in town. So I told my boss, yeah, I'm only going

to dinner with you guys for about an hour and then I'm out. Matt Giovanniello (17:30) Thro- And then Sia, I love it. that's sick. So, so, so cool. ⁓ My co-founder is a drummer ⁓ in a band and they do like 90s, early 2000s, ⁓ quite pop punk, ⁓ emo and blink is like they're, big set. So that's awesome. That's so cool. Anyway, we'll get back into our podcast, ⁓ Personas. Antonayah, I'm fascinated by all of this. I feel like- Christopher Riley (17:50) So it makes sense. Antonayah Ellis (18:01) I am too. I have so many thoughts about so many things. I mean, from the Air Force, mean, literally having kids on base is an opportunity in itself. Just being exposed to that, I feel like is an awesome opportunity. And then also just showing them that there are so many different walks of life that they can choose. It's not just, ⁓ get out of here and go figure out life. No, you can. continue to grow right where your roots are being planted sort of deal. So I am super intrigued by that entire theory because that is just something that I've never heard even growing up. Usually they're pushing you out, encouraging you to go off and fly and figure it out elsewhere. But I love that sense of community of stay here, pour into what we already have because it's already so great. It's really made for you. We need you. We want you here. So I just think that that's. beautiful in itself, but we've talked about student voice. I feel like with student voice comes so much of parent input. What and how do parents feel about this different approach? Even the mental health and the services that you offer, how are parents responding to those services? Are they also participating in them? Is it just for the students? How does all that look? Christopher Riley (19:23) No, one of the things, and I'm sure that as you've talked to people across the country, mental health is not a one person situation. Typically, it's a family and the family has needs, there are things that they have going on. So we work with some contractors, we work with some organizations in the Antel Valley itself that actually do wraparound service with parents as well. So. That way it's not just you're here with us for your six, seven hours a day and then off you go. And whatever happens at home for the majority of your time happens at home. So we have done a tremendous amount of communication. In fact, this year we started what's called a passport series. Our community liaison has started, it created an education series about all the different things that we do at the Academy. programs that they can be involved in, things that they can access on behalf of their children. As a school of 2,300 students, for us, when you talk about parent participation, when we can get 100 parents in a room, feel like we're doing a pretty doggone good job at the end of the day. I think it's very hard. The majority of our parents that work outside of our community, they travel what we call down the hill. So we live on the high desert. 60 % of our population commute ⁓ to Los Angeles or in the Los Angeles area every day. So you're talking about a lot of families that they're just not here ⁓ during the daytime. They have to go down, they have to go to work. So some of the things we've been trying to do and be creative is not only are we holding them in person, we're accessing that digital ⁓ opportunity, but then we're also trying to make sure that we're using YouTube. Film it, ⁓ you put it in our socials, those kinds of things. So parents that don't have an opportunity, well then they have an opportunity. ⁓ I think the other part that really parents missed in the course of COVID were just school activities. Those school presentations, we had a, we had a, ⁓ multicultural ⁓ festival that we held last week, which was just wildly attended by our parents. It's an opportunity to see their students perform, to do something different. We've been doing it in elementary for a couple of years, but we moved it up to our middle and high school and had really the same result. We had a packed gym of parents who just wanted to see their students do something just different. ⁓ One of the people that attended, just sent me a video and I'm like, I was like, wow, that's like Michael Jackson. But like, really, looks like he looks like Michael and sounds like Michael. And so he had he had done this entire performance and all that. So just so the parents could see it. And on our end, that's what we want. We want our parents to not just see the fact that this is where your child attends school, but this is their opportunity. It's for them to grow, to stand in front of a room full of people and put yourself out there and to be to show something different. We want to provide those opportunities for our kids. And so that's just some of the work that we're doing and really trying to grab parents and bringing them in the building and go, we've a lot of great stuff going on. We just don't, we don't get to show it to you often enough. We want you to be, we want you to come, we want you to partner with us. It's not about servicing students, it's about servicing families. And that's been my, that's been my mantra since I started this, is that we don't just teach kids, we serve. families, we serve communities. And if you forget that, if that's not part of the work that you're in, then we are literally just like everyone else trying to get kids through. Yes, metrics are important. The state holds us responsible for metrics. But people aren't numbers. And every student that we have that comes here, they're they're not the same. They're They're not a widget. We didn't come off of some assembly line that something going on, they have vastly different things happening in their own households. And for us, we want to respond. We want to be able to provide a community service to every parent and student that chooses us. And that's the beauty of a charter school. We get chosen. And I think we as a staff and we as

a leadership, we take that very seriously because at the end of the day, they can not choose us too. Matt Giovanniello (24:09) That's amazing to hear, Chris. I love your philosophy and your thought on that because As you're cultivating and educating our next generation of those working in aerospace factories, school is not a factory. They are not, you know, just a number. Metrics are important, but you can't look at students as metric drivers. And I think that when you remind yourselves as a staff and as a team of educators that you're not just meeting students where they're at and helping them close those gaps and achieve even more, but that you're doing the same for families, that's where this partnership really comes into play. And is my guess on how you've been able to accomplish so much with it. when it comes to your mission and vision, when it comes to your mental health supports, when it comes to closing achievement gaps in the wake of COVID for your students and disabilities, and everything in between that we've been talking about and that we have yet to uncover, it comes down to that family piece. I'm really glad that you brought that today. And ⁓ it's a really refreshing outlook, Chris. And I think the charter piece is unique to your point. Like you're getting chosen as a two-way street and everybody, when they're grateful for it, it's amazing to see what your outcomes can be than if you were to think about it as an uphill battle because you need to face parents or you need to Kind of get them on board. They're already on board and things just go that much more smoothly when they are. ⁓ Related comment and question for you, Chris. Going back to something you brought up before about your outcomes of your students. You're cultivating a high school group of students who when they leave you and graduate, they're earning high paying jobs, they're earning certificates, they're moving on to advanced studies, they're CCR and otherwise, and they're winding up in these incredible, name drop, super humble brag ⁓ firms across the country. many of which staying right in your area of California. All of those outcomes and students with disabilities tend not to go in the same sentence, which is really unfortunate. High paying jobs for students with disabilities tend not to go hand in hand. Certificates, advanced degrees, really successful careers tend not to go hand in hand with students with disabilities. So tell us about the investments that you've made, how you're kind of flipping the narrative on that to support all of your students with disabilities. We know you don't have self-contained. This is a really... Intriguing model. It's not ones that a lot of districts or charters have. Tell us what you're doing differently. That's going great. Christopher Riley (26:15) So one of the things that was in place when I took over as the director of special education was the fact that we had self-contained high school and middle school. They spent almost their entire day, except for their STEM class, in some form of self-contained education. And one of the conversations that we had early on was we've created two schools. We've created two levels of expectation. that one, the expectation for our students with disabilities is significantly lower than it was for our students that are, know, what you would consider regular, general, whatever label you attach to them. And it was concerning because one of the things that we really wanted to focus on was we're not just preparing students for high school graduation. It's not just about, ⁓ you know what, we need to make sure students are A to G eligible. California thing or that they're just graduating from high school and hey Pat on the back we did good our graduation rate and and our graduation rate is incredible we have the second highest graduation rate in our entire area so I mean again that's that's but it's not what it's about it's another metric that we sit there and go we did awesome but did we prepare our students to do what's next is and so when I looked at how does special ed need to change One of the things that I thought was significant was self-contained classrooms have to go away. What is the ed benefit for a high school student for you to be in this setting where maybe the standard is not as high as your gen ed peers? And I had previously, as a site-based administrator, done a lot of work on the co-teaching model. And what does it mean to co-teach? And how do we change ⁓ what would be a self-contained program into let's push in. Let's have the gen ed teacher who is the content master with a special ed teacher who's the differentiation master. And what you learn is that differentiation isn't just great for special ed students, it's good for every student. That there are students sitting in class right this second in our classrooms today that are not identified, do not have an IEP. but actually function at the same level or have the same needs as our students with disabilities. One of the other parts we want to do is really implement ⁓ learning labs. And that's the work that's going on right this second, is that right now we have a class called Strategies for Success, and that's really kind of a focus on what are your needs beyond your regular work, the regular school day in your regular classrooms? What are those additional supports we can give? We want to expand that and offer and provide more support for those students. So it's the next step that's coming into play. I mean, our vision of it would be to have, again, a gen ed teacher and a special education teacher in these learning labs. And so that we could use that as an opportunity, one, for intervention for our general education students, because they still need intervention. Even in high school, there's a need for additional support. how do we do that and how do we do it in one fiscally responsible way, but how do we do it and get the maximum impact for the work that we're doing? And

so we're really looking at what's next and kind of excited about what's next and that work that's gonna go into, we will again be the first doing something. And especially in the valley that we're in, old school has really kind of, it's deeply rooted. It's, you you're in special education, you have an IEP, you need to go to someplace separate or different. And we haven't seen that be effective in just the implementation of doing co-teaching. ⁓ In the last year, we had our students with disabilities only raise their grade point average almost a half a point just across the board. And again, that's a testament to good first instruction. and differentiation. Also, we recovered, I want to say, I'm going to give you a ballpark number, but around 1200 school days, just with our students with disabilities over the course of this last school year. It is still a consistent problem, mean, as far as chronic absenteeism, students with disabilities. But when you start talking about we had kids missing 25 days, now they're missing 10. you know, we're getting much closer to closing that gap. And a lot of the the gap you see academically for a special ed kids has to do with attendance and showing up every day. And when you don't feel like you're a part of what's going on, or you don't feel like that you belong to the group, or that what you're doing here is a waste of your time, you don't show up. And so that change alone, just just the half point GPA and just covering 1,100 days of school for our students with disabilities, it was just a massive difference. Now think we can attribute that to the five, six, seven things we have going on, but I really do look at the fact that integrated ⁓ inclusive schools, that's gonna be the result. And so I know that there's fear amongst even special educators that are like, no, we can't do that. These kids are far too low. And I sat there throughout the majority of my career teaching special day class going, why are half my students in this class? They shouldn't be here. Why are they here? Which is even as an elementary teacher, I taught sixth grade, the majority of my career, so middle school. I teamed with gen ed teachers. Hey, let's mix our groups. You teach math. You teach something else. And so we would trade students. because it's important. My grade attendance, because my kids wanted to be there, they didn't wanna miss. They made friends outside of their own classroom. They were a integral part of the school. And at a certain point, I asked my ⁓ principal at the time, can you stop labeling us as the special day class? Just say Riley sixth grade. And I go, so that way again, I don't want my students, they should blend in with everyone else. When they walk on this campus, The only designation, the only thing anyone should know about them is the fact that they're Mr. Riley students. And you know what I teach, but no one else needs to know whatsoever what's going on with my students other than the fact they are sixth graders who have come to this school to learn and to be educated. Matt Giovanniello (33:26) Good on you. Good on you for removing that stigma and just like, like literally flipping the narrative of that script. That's awesome, Chris. What a heartening story. And I hope that it serves as an example for districts who even think that those deeply rooted ways, for example, of self-contained or special day class is, you know, there's no way around it. I think you're proving that that is not the case, that you have successfully been able to bring ICT inclusion throughout your district, not only a benefit to your students with disabilities, Antonayah Ellis (33:27) That's admirable. Matt Giovanniello (33:56) but also to their neurotypical peers, their teachers, their parents, and the community at large. That's awesome. Thank you for sharing that story. It's an amazing one. Christopher Riley (34:02) And you just have to make the fiscal commitment. And I think at the end of the day, you look at what's going to be the overall societal cost and what is our cost as a school. if you do the math, the cost is less for us to do the work at school, to do it here, than it is going to be for us beyond school for our students. So what do we do when we look at our budgets? How do we budget? in order to make sure that our students are getting exactly what they deserve. And I think that is the part that's a different thing. It's not what we, not what they, I think a lot of people think, well, here's what they should get. No, it's what they deserve. What do you deserve as a student? And sometimes I look at our AP classes and I go, man, they have everything. They get all the bells, all the whistles, all the other, everything. But why doesn't everyone else have the same thing? They deserve exactly what we're giving to our top students. And there's not a difference. They're still TKA through 12th grade students. The way they learn, different. But I used to have the conversation with my students all the time. You're not in special education ⁓ if you're dumb. You have to qualify. You're not a dumb person. And it was sad because I'd get kids in my class going, well, I'm dumb. Matt Giovanniello (35:00) Whoa. Christopher Riley (35:30) No, you are not. You learn differently. And let me help you find those areas where that's my strength. I do this really, really well. And what we'll do is we'll teach you how to tweak that so you can not only use it in math or English language arts or science, but here's how you can use it across your entire life. And so me and I, I'm proud of the fact that as a teacher, I have mean that the guy the guy that's my my, he does my pest spraying, one of my former students, I mean, loves his job. He goes, it's really kind of he goes, it's really complex, because I got to think about the chemicals that that and I'm like, like, he was always a smart kid, loves his work loves being outside. I'm like, you pick the perfect job. I have nurses and kids that

have gone to the military and diesel mechanics and people working, you know, in out on base. They're all these kids that have come through my life. And I'm sitting there going Yeah, and all it took was you can do this and you're smart. You're a smart person. Let me help you and I'll dive into how smart you really are. And if we do, you will live out whatever dream you want. I think the hard part in special education is that sometimes we make decisions for five-year-olds that impact five through the day they stop breathing. And I'm like, you're gonna make a decision for a five-year-old? They're five, they're kindergartner. We're gonna make this big, huge decision about what we need to do for them or what service that we should provide and then we're gonna end up doing what? We're gonna handicap a child, but then we're gonna handicap an adult. We're gonna make it worse. so I think, yeah, exactly, we've handicapped them for their entire lives. And... Matt Giovanniello (37:19) and label them the entire way. Christopher Riley (37:24) I believe that that is just the wrong way of looking at how we educate students with disabilities. Matt Giovanniello (37:32) I wholeheartedly agree with you. I'm glad that you stand so firm in your stance, Chris. And I think it's an important reminder to others that you are capable of doing that too and servicing your students better, regardless of the presence of a disability and just breaking down the barrier that it's a label because it really shouldn't be and it's not right. think also the really refreshing take I'm taking away from this Antonea is Chris, not only is it morally right, which we all know, or I hope everybody knows by now, but also when you look at it with the right perspective, in the business world, call these incentives are aligned, meaning that fiscally, it's the right thing to do. It is the most optimal thing to do for a school district socially and societally. It's the most optimal thing for schools to be doing that investment early on to increase a child success in life and college career and otherwise afterwards. And morally, it's the right thing to do. So we are very lucky, Chris, for you to be so staunch in your beliefs in supporting your students at the Academy, but also to lend your voice to tell others, hey, you can take this stance too. if you so believe in it and try and inspire others along the way. Chris, we're at the end of our time, which is so crazy to think. This really flew. I have one more question for you as we wrap up today's conversation. And it speaks to a lot of what you just ⁓ started sharing in your beliefs. That question for you, Chris, is what does being an exceptional educator or being an exceptional leader mean to you? Christopher Riley (38:34) So. I don't think it has, it's not this personal meaning as far as like, oh, I'm amazing. It's not what it means whatsoever. I think there are people that sit there and go, the length of your title is your level of importance. It's not what it's about. What's exceptional? Exceptional is the fact that over the course of, I think I'm on year 25 or 26, is that I've had the opportunity to impact the lives at this point of thousands of children. I've had an opportunity to impact what happens inside of my community. That I believe that one of the things that gets lost in education is that we are servants to the community in which we live. And I live and actually work in my community. I believe it's important for me to do that. I don't drive from someplace else. It's different than the families I serve. I want them to see me when I'm walking through the mall and go, hey, Mr. Riley. you're an adult, you can call me Chris now you guys are fine. Mr. Ali is my dad, you guys can call me Chris now we're your adults and I'm going to tell you so that's what it means to be exceptional is to see families that you've you've had an opportunity to work with that you've made a difference in their lives and the fact that they didn't I didn't just change them or their lives. They've changed who I am and who and what I do and what I think about as an educator. Matt Giovanniello (40:03) You made it. Christopher Riley (40:22) So when you think about what it means to just be a leader, it's to serve the community in which you live. You serve that. And it's sacrificial in a lot of ways, especially as a school leader. So, I mean, I waited for quite a while till my son had graduated from college because I knew this is a 55, 60 hour a week job. I'm fortunate that I'm married to a special educator who, she gets it. ⁓ She only asks one thing when I leave at the end of the day that everything gets left on my desk. We'll talk about it on my ride home and then Once I'm home, I'm not Chris, I'm not Chris, the school administrator. I'm just Chris, the husband. so, you know, and when we leave, we're heading to Dominica here on Friday and to St. Lucia for Thanksgiving break. She goes, you will not answer your phone. And I'm like, you know, that's not practical. I will promise to limit how much I do that. But that's what it means. It means going that extra mile. And for me, I was fortunate. I had teachers that did that in my own life. Matt Giovanniello (40:55) Did. Yeah. Christopher Riley (41:22) ⁓ having grown up and just a ⁓ low socioeconomic family, blue collar, hardworking parents, and teachers said, hey, there's more out there. Go do and light the world on fire. And so like I said, mean, when I talked to you about the original teacher, I Mr. Goodwin, again, he had such a huge impact on me and that's what I want to have on the families, the staff. and the students that I work with. Matt Giovanniello (41:54) For all the Mr. Goodwin's out there who light a fire under you and serve as that that role model mentor They are exceptional and for all of the people who now kind of lead that mantra Chris such as you for this next generation forward You also are exceptional whether you think it or not you are and I think you gave so many amazing examples today of just how exceptional you are and how you inspire your Teacher leaders and your building leaders and your educators to be exceptional as well. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you for joining us today It was such a pleasure having you on Enjoy St. Lucia, I am so envious. Have an amazing Thanksgiving break with your wife, you both deserve it. And thanks for hopping on today. For everybody listening to today's episode of the Exceptional Educators podcast, thank you again for joining us and we will see you on our next episode. All right, cut. Christopher Riley (42:24) Ha