"Building a Sense of Belonging at School" - GIPS Cast, Ep. 065

"We're all coming together to learn and to dream.  We're investing in their dreams."

In public schools, educators seek to build confidence in students, and equip them with the tools they need to confidently engage the world.

Perhaps most importantly, that means building a sense of belonging for students.  Helping students feel like they belong at school, in many ways, fuels everything we do at Grand Island Public Schools.

And that’s where Whitney Flower comes in.

Mrs. Whitney Flower is the Principal at Stolley Park Elementary.   As passionate leader and supporter of people, Mrs. Flower is driven by helping every single student feel like they belong at school.

She joins our podcast to share her philosophy of student belonging, how she cultivates strong staff culture, and why there’s always room for a pop-culture reference when telling stories. 

Because school is about learning.  But it’s also so much more than that. 

Listen to the latest episode above or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform.

(Transcript may be found below the episode player.)

#WeAreGIPS  

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Podcast Intro  00:00

This is Grand Island Public Schools podcast, and these are our stories. We are learners. We are educators in teaching hearts as well as minds. We are 10,000 diverse voices, and we're changing the world together, one classroom at a time. These are our stories. We are GIPS. We are GIPS. Somos, que y pe ese. We are GIPS. Somos GIPS. We are GIPS. And this is 'The GIPS Cast'.

 

Mitchell Roush  00:27

Welcome back to the GIPS cast, a conversation based podcast exploring the voices of Grand Island Public Schools in Nebraska. I'm your host. Mitchell Roush, the Communications Director here at GIPS, and as always, I'm grateful to bring you new stories from all corners of our district, because here we are driven by our mission of every student every day, a success.

 

Mitchell Roush  01:02

School is about learning, but it's also so much more than that. In public schools, educators seek to build confidence in students, to spark wonder and to equip them with the tools that they need to confidently engage the world around them and to be lifelong learners. That means that supporting students as they facilitate friendships, building critical thinking skills, and perhaps most importantly, it means building a sense of belonging, helping students feel like they belong at school. In many ways, fuels everything we do at Grand Island Public Schools, and that's where Whitney flower comes in, Mrs. Whitney flower is the principal at Stolley Park Elementary she's a 16 year veteran of public education, all of them here at GIPS. Now, throughout that time, she served as a first grade teacher, an academic support coach, a virtual school principal, and now currently serving as the principal of the Stolley Park Panthers. Now, if you spend just five minutes with Mrs. Flower, you'll understand two things. Her positivity is intentional and contagious, and she is driven by helping every single student feel like they belong at school and like anything else in public education. There is so much more intentionality that goes into that. So she joins our podcast to share her philosophy of student belonging, how she cultivates a strong staff culture, and why there's always room for a pop culture reference when telling stories, give a listen.

 

Whitney Flower  02:41

I'm Whitney flower. I'm the principal of Stolley Park Elementary.

 

Mitchell Roush  02:45

Hello, Whitney. Hi. Thank you so much for jumping on the podcast. Yeah,

 

Whitney Flower  02:48

I'm excited, a little nervous, but I got this.

 

Mitchell Roush  02:51

You got it this; it'sgonna be fine. And anyone that knows you knows you, you're gonna be fine. Yeah? It's gonna be excellent. Excellent. Yes, spectacular. Whitney, I want to talk about a lot of stuff with you, but obviously, you're a building leader, you're a principal, and so I definitely want to hear about that, because I know our listeners appreciate learning what principal life is like, and it's unlike any other job. What is principal life like for you here at Stalley Park?

 

Whitney Flower  03:15

I think every principal that you've probably ever had on the podcast has told you that every day is different, yes, literally no. Two days are the same, no, no. So every day is different. So that definitely keeps me on my toes. And I learned a long time ago when I taught first grade like, you have to be flexible. And so I think flexibility, figuratively, not literally, is important.

 

Mitchell Roush  03:39

The sneaky MVP of like, education, life skills, right?

 

Whitney Flower  03:43

Yeah, you got to be flexible, yeah. Life Skills for anyone, honestly. And that's what we teach. That's what we teach our Panthers too. You will. You will hear me say, if something goes wrong or if we have to change because there's an indoor we have to have indoor recess or something, I will say, what do we say? Panthers. And they all say, "it's cool".

 

Mitchell Roush  04:01

So that's right, yeah, we're training them up.

 

Whitney Flower  04:06

So every day is different, and I have the opportunity to be flexible, yes, and exercise that muscle. Like I said, every day was different. Every day is different. And some days are like, loud and fun, which is really special, and we're doing celebrations, and we're doing activities, and then other days are quiet, where I'm just sitting and listening to teachers, or I'm watching good instruction happen, and finding the best way to support our Teachers who support our students. Everybody in education will tell you that the reason that they are in it, whether they are the custodian or they are the nutrition services, teachers, academic support, coaches and definitely principals will tell you it's because they love kids. Yep, absolutely everybody here is. Genuinely, genuinely loves kids, even today, I said, Oh, I learned something new. Like you, you literally learned something new every day. And I know that's so cliche, yeah, but you do, you learn something new about yourself. You learn something new about your school. You learn something new about your students, or sometimes all three.

 

Mitchell Roush  05:18

Or, all three, or what "six, seven" means, I don't know, like, that's a new thing.

 

Whitney Flower  05:22

I think it technically means nothing, nothing. I think it means nothing.

 

Mitchell Roush  05:26

Yeah, but it's everywhere, and your kids will remind you of that. Yes, they will. I really like what you said, though about it doesn't really matter the role of who works here in the building. Everyone sees themselves as invest, as an invested contributor to the Panthers education.

 

Whitney Flower  05:44

Yeah, we're all educators. Yeah, all of us, everybody, one of us.

 

Mitchell Roush  05:48

And I love seeing that, right? Because you see that when custodians give fist bumps to kids in the high school or in the hallways, right? You see that when you've got para educators doing crossing walk duty, like you just see all these little things, and everyone's hyped up to help the kids.

 

Whitney Flower  06:02

Yeah, yeah, and you'll definitely see that at Stalley Park.

 

Mitchell Roush  06:05

So, principal, life is never boring. You've got hundreds of kids you get to care for every day, which is wonderful. I know for you that you're very involved with your team, and team support is a big deal for you, and culture is really important to the people that work in this building. So how do you as a leader, help establish a healthy culture for your staff as they take care of kids, while also implementing instructional expectations? Because that's a lot to balance.

 

Whitney Flower  06:33

This job is different, and sometimes it there's a lot that goes into it. So I'd love to say like, there is, like one thing that makes the climate and culture of our building great, but it's so many things working together. It's a big puzzle. So first and foremost, relationships always come first. Our teachers know that I care about them. Our teachers know that each other cares for they care for each other. Our students know that our staff are here for them, and it's, it's all about relationships first and foremost. Yes, you'll hear that from anyone.

 

Mitchell Roush  07:09

And people can tell the difference between genuine connection and not and that like that may seem like an obvious thing to say, but when you're working with a team of people and you're caring for other people's kids, like, that's kind of a big deal.

 

Whitney Flower  07:21

Yeah, it's a huge deal. I'm glad that you said that. I do want to talk about that in a minute. But so besides relationships, I mean, there is a lot of management pieces that go into it that I think have been really successful. For me, clarity is so important, and that is for like, our staff and our students know the expectations are like, what what do we expect Panthers to look like school wide? And also, what do we expect our staff to do? You know, they know what to expect from me from day to day, and vice versa. Teachers know what I'm looking for in instruction, and it is all based in research and everything. So, yeah, so clarity is key. Our students and staff know their expectations. Our teachers are never shocked or surprised, yeah, at the feedback that they get, because the clarity is always there and that we always have predictable communication, lots of communication.

 

Mitchell Roush  08:21

Yes, communication. I'm here for it. I'm all I'm all for it. So, yeah, talk about that all you want.

 

Whitney Flower  08:28

They know every Sunday they're gonna get something from Mrs. Flower. They're not gonna get seven emails day to day about all the little pieces. They're gonna get predictable communication and know that they're gonna know what's gonna happen, right? Yeah, so clarity, clarity is key, plain and simple. I also think modeling positivity and being vulnerable is just who I am personally, and I think that that has been really successful for me as a leader. I will be the first to admit if I if I made a mistake or did something wrong, and people received that really well being human. Who knew, right? Weird with that being said, like we can make mistakes, and I can make a mistake as a leader, but then we always go back to it's cool, and we're just gonna keep moving forward, right?

 

Mitchell Roush  09:15

It's cool. It's cool. So I you're talking about something that I see in all of our buildings to a certain degree, and I and when I get a chance to sit down and talk to leaders like you, I hear this quite frequently, which is, like, it doesn't have to be an either, or it can be both, which is, your your people can enjoy coming to work every day and enjoy working together and still know what's expected in terms of their role and expecting high expectations of their kids; like you can have both.

 

Whitney Flower  09:48

Yes, it doesn't have to be one or the other. It can be both. Absolutely. I think that's where the positivity comes in. We do have a lot of fun together, so I'm glad that you brought that up. Yes, I. I mean, that's what makes it really special. Shared experiences are so important. And when you're working with people, day in and day out, long days, hard stuff, fun stuff, things to celebrate, those shared experiences are what brings you together and makes you a really strong team. You know, we have traditions that we look forward to every year, and not just traditions with our students, like March Madness and all. I love March Madness here, by the way, yes, all those positive supports, things that get our kids excited. Yeah, those are great. But then we also have things that we do together as a staff, and our staff get excited about it every year. So we have mini golf that we do every single year, where each team takes a whole and every year it somehow gets bigger and better. And I'm like, Oh my gosh, what are they going to come up with next year? Right? So we do those kinds of fun things together, and it doesn't have to be fancy like mini golf. Sometimes it can just be let's ask a silly question, and let's see what fun answers that we get.

 

Mitchell Roush  11:02

And when you talk about clarity being important, you know, a lot of people say clear is kind and everything like that. That makes a difference, not just in expectations for your teachers, but it probably has an impacting effect in a lot of other ways. How do you see that happening this?

 

Whitney Flower  11:18

This just makes me think about like, the my beginning of my principalship, yeah, so I fun fact I started out my principalship as the principal of elementary virtual school, yes, what a time. Yeah, it was. It was an incredible time. And anybody who was there will say it felt like Summer camp.

 

Mitchell Roush  11:40

Had to do something.

 

Whitney Flower  11:43

We had it. We it was. It was a very special thing, and I look back on that fondly, and not in a scary way. But along with that clarity and and communication, I wanted to be very clear from the get go as a leader of boundaries? Yes, and it really did. It stemmed from virtual school originally, but I've carried that over as I've come to a brick and mortar school, right? Yeah, um, because during that time, our boundaries were constantly being crossed, right? Like my my house is also my classroom, and I have 23 kids in my living room. The boundary piece originated there in and just being a model for good boundaries, because I didn't want our teachers to work all night long after they had worked all day long, because their office, their classroom, was sitting in their living room, right? And what is the best way to have people set boundaries? Is to model boundaries. Yes, as a leader, you you have this perfect space to model that, and then people will emulate that, because they know it's okay, right? So in that instance, it was like, Okay, we're not gonna send emails to each other after five o'clock, right? And I utilize the schedule send. Praise be. Yes. Thank you. Shout out to Ashley Tom Jack, you can Yeah, Ashley Tom Jack, showed me how to do that one time. Dr Tom Jack, it's a game changer. Yes, it is a game changer.

 

Mitchell Roush  13:18

Schedule send is your friend Exactly. If you don't know what that is, Google it and it'll change your life.

 

Whitney Flower  13:23

Yes. So doing that, and even if I thought about something on a weekend schedule, send that for a specific time so they didn't have to think about it over the weekend, right? Also, like any any communication that I send out, especially when it's non working times, I just love to put that little thing in here. Oh, you don't need to look at this till Monday. Yep, that shows that you have a boundary, that you respect their boundaries, and that you care for them, right? They are more than our staff is more than just teachers or paras or, you know, they're more than that. They're they're mothers, their fathers, their aunts, their uncles, their pet parents, yes, shout out to all the the fur mommies out there. That's what keeps everybody healthy. That's what makes it easier to come to work on a Monday, is knowing that you have been respected and you have boundaries when you're not doing your work. Good people coming together for kids is incredible.

 

Mitchell Roush  14:22

So, and that's what we do every day, and you hit on this too. It's not easy work, but it's about as meaningful as you're gonna get. And if you can find a way to be connected and do it together with a common goal, then you're really going to make an impact, which is awesome.

 

GIPS COMMERCIAL  14:44

Public Schools Newsflash: Substitute teachers are heroes! And that's why Grand Island Public Schools is hiring for substitute teachers across the district. The best part about being a substitute teacher, GIPS has a new high. Pay rates, and you can pick your own school. Go to gips.org/employment for more information and to apply today. Will you join our team of everyday heroes? Go to gips.org/employment to learn more about joining our team of substitute teachers.

 

Mitchell Roush  15:22

You another thing I want to talk to you about is just the sense of belonging at school. I feel like every, every principal in our district has their superpowers that they're just like, really, really big on or really naturally good at. And I know, knowing you the way that I have the last few years you were, you are definitely driven to probably the nth degree on helping students feel like they belong at school. So talk to me about that. Give me Give me your philosophy, like, why is this such a why does this drive you?

 

Whitney Flower  15:55

Well, first of all, thank you. That is so kind. It's just so sweet to be seen like that, so I appreciate it. I mean, all of that came from so many different aspects of my own life and wanting to have a school that embodied all that belonging. And in one of my other roles, I get the opportunity to train staff across the district for man training, which is could be a podcast in its own, in its own right, but we not just there, but also in undergrad and everything we talk about Maslow's hierarchy of need. So here's the nerd in me, here's the research, but we know that kids, right after basic needs and safety, that they need love and belonging, yes, and then to get to those higher levels, like high self esteem and self actualization, like goal setting and those kinds of things, they have to have that love and belonging. So I just know it is that's really important to know that they come here and they feel the love and they have people that they can count on. Is so important. Our Panthers are really fortunate to come from some pretty incredible families, so I doubt that they are loved every day at home, but having even more people in your corner, I think, is really special too. We get the privilege of families sending us their absolute best, like your kids are your best.

 

Mitchell Roush  17:29

Absolutely. And they're, they're everything too. Yes, yeah, you're, you're taking your most important thing that you're ever going to have in your life, your child, and you're going to take it to the public school and say, "Please continue caring for them".

 

Whitney Flower  17:42

And that is a huge privilege. Yeah? Nobody at stolly Park takes for granted. And so I just hope that every parent notices how much their student is loved. And I hope every child feels that, because it's genuine here at stolly Park, hugs, high fives all the time. Yeah. I used to think it was because my name was pretty novel.

 

Mitchell Roush  18:06

Right? Like, Mrs. Flower is always giving me high five, yeah?

 

Whitney Flower  18:10

Like, they think it's pretty cool because my principal's name is Mrs. Flower. But I do, I mean, more and more I recognize it's the warmth, yeah, right.

 

Mitchell Roush  18:18

It makes a big difference. And and again, like you said, parents are doing a great job of taking care of their kids at home, but it still matters for the child to feel like, even if they're not necessarily excited to come to school that day, they still know that they have a place and they belong. So I do, I do want to ask you, and maybe you had this prepared to talk about in your notes, I don't know, but I did want to ask you that sense of belonging. You know, I got to, I got to see a pretty key transition for you in this building, in that sense of fostering a deeper sense of belonging for kids. So a few years ago, Stolle became the new home of elementary newcomers, and west lawn was previously where they where they got to hang out. And they did a wonderful job over there at west lawn taking care of that program, but they outgrew it. Yeah, and Westlawn didn't have the space to accommodate the growth, but you had the space at Stalley, so a couple years ago you transitioned and said, All right, we're gonna do this. I'm gonna welcome the newcomers into this building, and this is what gonna be a part of what we do out here. So talk to me about that.

 

Whitney Flower  19:21

Oh, gosh, that was a big transition, yeah, but it was a super fun one. I think going into it with positivity, but there was that sense of belonging and just thinking about what the students are experiencing, how how they are going to feel having to switch schools. Some of them switched schools in February, yeah, so they were Mustangs at the beginning of the school year, and then they had to become Panthers in February. So I'm just thinking about what that was gonna look like for them. Like, I'm gonna come to a new school. What if I were this student coming? Like, what? What would I need to know? What would How would I need to feel when I walked inside these doors? So we were we're just always really intentional about fostering those positive feelings. Yeah, and I don't do that alone. In that transition, took a lot of people and a lot of thinking to make sure that all of our families and our students felt safe making that transition, and then we we bring that thoughtfulness into everything. But, yeah, the newcomer program, since it's been here, is, is kind of been a roller coaster up and down. Yeah. So we've had, you know, one year we had, I mean, we almost, nearly outgrew Stalley, yeah, we had 27 in some of the classrooms at the end of the year. And for, for a small program, that was pretty big program, right? Yeah, it's a lot for one classroom, but having all the right people on the bus and everybody working towards the same direction and same goal, and just making sure, ultimately, we take care of our people, yeah, our Panthers, our families first. That's that's so important.

 

Mitchell Roush  21:13

Your students interact, because every all of them are your students, your newcomers are your students, and your non newcomers are your students, right? And they get to interact at cafeteria time. They get to go to specials together like they're they're doing school together in many different ways, even though your elementary newcomer students are in a focused program.

 

Whitney Flower  21:34

Yeah, I'm not gonna lie. I mean, there were definitely some growing pains. But what I love about our Stolley Park Panthers and our families our Stalley families, is that this wasn't the first transition that we've made. Similar to this, we also have the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program here do so there are already really great at inclusion and making sure everybody feels safe and happy. All of it is intentional. Not very many things happen by happy coincidence or accident. So just strategically thinking about how we bring them on board, and how they're going to interact with their peers, and what pieces that they're going to need to be successful here there are so many little examples, but I think one of a great example is that our PTA, we have an incredible PTA, first out, shout out to PTA. Shout out, PTA, y'all are awesome. We do. We love them so much, but recognizing like communication is going to be a barrier for our newcomer families, right? Because they don't just speak Spanish. Some of them speak Arabic, some of them speak Somali. We just needed a way for our kids to communicate, because that's the way that they're going to love each other. So our PTA, we had an idea of getting a communication board for the playground, so that not only could our deaf and hard of hearing students communicate with their peers, but also our Spanish speaking students, or Somali speaking students, Arabic, any of those languages. So you'll see that on on the playground like that's just one of those really intentional things that we did to make sure everybody is is valued as as a panther.

 

Mitchell Roush  23:20

And that, again, helps students feel like they belong. And coming back to what you said earlier, right, those hierarchy of needs, we talk about this in a lot of different capacities. You know, I interviewed Chris Spellman talking about, you know, the importance of food security, yeah, for kids, because a kid's not going to be able to focus in class and learn all the cool things that they could learn if they're hungry. Same thing here, if they don't, if they don't feel welcome at school. And I'm talking about all of our schools. All of our schools do a good job of this, but like, if they don't feel welcome at school, like they belong, they're not going to get the excitement that comes with learning what they can learn.

 

Whitney Flower  23:56

100%. it's just the work that we do, right?

 

Mitchell Roush  23:59

That's education. That's one of the reasons why I wanted to talk to you about this. Because yes, education is we use ckla for our literacy curriculum, but it's also all of the training and the conversations and the planning that you and your staff are doing to enhance a sense of belonging for students. It's pretty incredible. So you were recently named GIPS administrator of the year at the start of the school year, which was, I'm sure, a surprise.

 

Whitney Flower  24:32

It was a huge surprise, but it was so humbling. You know, I don't, I mean, anybody who's ever been nominated in that capacity with the foundation, you get all of these letters at the end of the school year after they have compiled them for you. And I was sitting in the back of the classroom, and this itself wasn't the honor, right? Yeah. Like, just getting the letters is the honor.

 

Mitchell Roush  25:02

getting to see what other people say about you because of the positive difference that you've done in your work. Like, that's a bucket filler, yeah.

 

Whitney Flower  25:08

So, Kari Hooker-Leep emails those to us, and so I get this huge PDF file from Carrie hooker leap, and I'm sitting in the back of the classroom during doing an observation, and I'm like, I couldn't help myself, and I was looking, I was looking through them, and I am sure the teacher whose room I am is very concerned.

 

Mitchell Roush  25:34

"Is she okay?"

 

Whitney Flower  25:35

Flower is crying in the back of the classroom. What is happening? She knows she knew me well enough to know, oh, something, something, got Mrs. Flower in her feels back there. That is the moment that, like I won't ever forget, is receiving 157 pages of beautiful words. Like, how many people get that in their lifetime? Yeah, it's a rare how many people get recognized like that. I mean, everyone should, yeah, but it was, it was deeply humbling that moment specifically, and then sitting in the auditorium, a funny little quip for you. I knew, I knew that our teacher of the year was going to be a stall e Park, Panther yourself. Lauren Pitts Meyer, she shout out to Lauren, she is an incredible teacher, and I knew she was gonna get it. And I was like, they're not gonna choose two people from the same school and maybe all the identities.

 

Mitchell Roush  26:36

So you're like, I don't have to worry about that.

 

Whitney Flower  26:39

yeah!  I'm sitting there, I'm like, whatever. It's not going to be me. And then, having read those letters, I'm not going to lie more than once, because sometimes you need those pick me ups, right, of course. And so I hear something, and I was like, oh gosh, that sounds a lot like what one of my students, one of my students, said. And then there was, like, a really powerful moment last year where our community rallied around a family who had lost their mother, and we all came together that wasn't just me, that was all of us, yes, right? Everybody in the building, yeah, but we rallied around them. And then to hear that, I was like, Oh my gosh, Carrie, she paused in what she was saying because she herself was getting a little bit teary eyed. Yeah, and I am so afraid that everybody in the entire auditorium heard me go like I am. I'm not kidding you, I am. I am back in the left loge, and I am sobbing. I am sobbing because it's just getting teary eyed thinking about it like I'm telling you, everybody in this district deserves that honor, yeah, and to be seen and noticed is a really special thing. But I wish you know the scene from Mean Girls, where she breaks the crown and she passes it out like, everybody gets some that's what I wanted. That's what I wanted to do. Like, I wanted to be, like, you get a piece of the crown. You get a piece of the crown. But I think that just goes to show you, like everybody here has heart, everybody I know everybody is totally has heart. And I share, I share that with them?

 

Mitchell Roush  28:22

Yeah, no, but nobody does the work of public education alone. Yeah, you can't.

 

Whitney Flower  28:27

No, you can't. It's, it's, it would be an impossible lift. And I think the best parts of it are the things that you do together.

 

Mitchell Roush  28:34

Yeah, I was just about to say that, that that's indicative of what we've already talked about, how you're connecting your people and how they're all bought into the shared responsibility of taking care of kids and helping kids feel like they belong, like all of that. That's a team effort, and that's everyone believing in it together.

 

Whitney Flower  28:51

And it's genuine. I think that is so important. Like every educator that I have worked with, genuine is genuinely here for the right reasons?

 

Mitchell Roush  29:02

1,000% Yeah. So as we wrap up our conversation, Whitney, I ask everybody that guests on this podcast, staff and student alike, the same question, because I'm always fascinated by the answers. So I want to ask you, what is one thing about public education you want people to know?

 

Whitney Flower  29:20

Do people really narrow it down to one thing? Most don't.

 

Mitchell Roush  29:24

Well, okay, let me clarify. Let me clarify. You know what something that you said earlier? If I'm I'm talking stereotypically. This is episode 65 so we've done a few of these. But if I'm talking to a classroom teacher, it doesn't matter at any level, most of them will say what you said earlier, which is, I wish everyone would understand how much we love your kids. Yeah, but if I talk to a student or an administrator, they can never narrow it down to one, like a student will be like, I love all the things that I get to do. I love all my teachers. I love these people that helped me. And if I talk to right and if I talk to a principal, they can never. Narrow it down to just one because of what you've been saying already, which is like, well, I love my people and the work that we're doing, but I also love the hundreds of kids that walk in my door every day.

 

Whitney Flower  30:09

Well, and it's such a cool place to be at. Yeah. Is to support teachers doing what they love. Yes. So you know, you see people walking around with the I love public school shirts, and it doesn't say I love public schools. There's a heart, right? And I really think that was intentional. Whoever did that, that was incredible marketing, right? Because public schools, I mean, that heart is, I don't know if it was intentional or not, but they are the hearts of our community. Yeah, that it's it's where all kids can come together, no matter their background, every ability, every story, we're all coming together to learn and to dream. Very important, when we invest in our public education, we're not just investing in what the kids are learning today. We are investing in their futures. We're investing in their dreams. We're investing in our community. Public Schools are just an incredible place, and I hope that if ever given the opportunity, that people will take it to come see what our people do every single day.

 

Mitchell Roush  31:25

That's a good word. That's a good word. This is why I asked this question. So this is wonderful, and at the end of the day, it's really, as you said before, it's really cool to see. It doesn't matter where you go in this district, you walk into one of our buildings and you're going to see incredible people taking care of kids, 100% and that's what we do. I believe that 100% Yeah. Whitney, thank you for the time, but more importantly, thank you for what you do every day.

 

Whitney Flower  31:53

Well, thank you for the platform to share, share the message, and to have the opportunity to lift up the people in my building that do the hard work every day and the kids that we have the privilege of serving.

 

Mitchell Roush  32:16

Thank you again to Mrs. Flower for joining us here on the podcast and for all of the great things she and the Stolle Park team are doing to inspire students and of course, thank you listeners for joining us here on The GIPS Cast. We wouldn't be here without you. So if you enjoyed this episode, or if you enjoy the show, please give us a rating or review on your favorite podcast platform that could be on Apple podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, wherever it is that you listen to Teh GIPS Cast, we would appreciate the love, and it would help other people discover us along the way. As always, be sure to check out gips.org That's www.gips.org our district website and trusted hub for all of your resources, information and news updates from Grand Island Public Schools. Thank you again for joining us, listeners. We'll be coming back at you soon with some more great stories here on the GIPS castle.

 

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