When our new superintendent Jerry Almendarez arrived in Santa Ana just over 3 months ago, one of the first things he did was hand each of the governing board and executive cabinet members a book. In this case, he handed us each a copy of The Advantage, by Patrick Lencioni. Jerry didn’t just encourage his cabinet members to read. He assigned it to us, reminding us that the first thing on the agenda during our upcoming executive cabinet meeting would be a discussion of the first two chapters of the book. Come prepared.
When our cabinet meeting came around, we all sat around the large table in Jerry’s office, interested to hear what he would have to say as he formally launched his tenure as superintendent. Behind him, on the long bookshelf that runs along the window, there were perhaps two dozen books. They weren’t stacked like books are normally stacked on a bookshelf. Each one was face-up, carefully placed and easy to read the cover. Then the meeting began. With almost every short conversation, Jerry would say something like, “that is a great point, it reminds me of this great book…” As he explained the connection to a favorite book, he would stand up and move towards his bookshelf, find the book he was looking for, and eagerly pick it up and show it to us – inviting us to take a read for ourselves. You know, in our free time. These weren’t just book recommendations from Jerry. It was like he was introducing us to his oldest friends. People we would want to get to know.
When we gathered for our first meeting with all of the principals around the district, Jerry brought some of his favorite books with him. Just like in our cabinet meetings, many topics of discussion generated spontaneous book recommendations. Personalized instruction, yep, we’re going to be reading about that. Building momentum in a complex organization, definitely got a book to help us there. Guess what everyone, Voxer book club! We can talk about books together even when we aren’t physically together. When Jerry passed out copies of an upcoming shared read, it felt like we were all on the Oprah show. “A book for you! And a book for you! Everybody gets a book!”
Now don’t get me wrong. I love to read. I would even identify myself as an avid reader. I’m constantly challenging myself to keep reading, and have a long standing goal of reading a book each month. Each year, I too engage my division leadership team members in a shared read and discussion. But this was different. Jerry’s enthusiasm for reading is at a whole different level. As a former missionary, I know something about proselytizing, and Jerry is a straight up book evangelist.
Importantly, there was a corresponding message along with Jerry’s enthusiasm for reading. That message has been clear and consistent since the day he began his leadership tenure in Santa Ana. “We have to build the capacity of our team.” “We have to grow leadership from within.” “We have to help people learn to do things they don’t yet know how to do.” His invitation to push ourselves to learn and grow has been particularly prescient given our current situation as a district, nation and world as we confront the ravages of COVID-19. Jerry’s urgency, if anything, has grown. We have to transform ourselves, our systems, our practices if we want to survive and thrive as an organization – and we have to make the pivot thoughtfully and quickly. And then, of course, he had a book for that too.
To be honest, with six kids at home and a demanding job, reading had slowly become a bit more of a luxury. When things got busy, which they always do, taking a few quiet moments with a book was often one of the first things crowded off the essentials list. But then Jerry helped me reframe my priorities – and suddenly I have found myself taking 15 minutes during the day to read a chapter, or a chapter at lunch, or a longer read before bed. Since finishing that first read together as a cabinet, I’ve read over a dozen additional books. Some for work, but some for myself. It’s been a real gift.