Head of School's Message: November 11

The loud, staccato jackhammering of the sport court that punctuated mornings last week barely disturbed the classrooms, but everyone was grateful on Thursday and Friday when the construction supervisor stopped the hammering while middle school students took their Educational Records Bureau (ERB) standardized tests.

 

More than twenty years ago, I worked as the director of the middle school at La Jolla Country Day School just north of San Diego. The school was located five miles from Miramar Air Force Base, where the F14 Tomcats and F15 Strike Eagles were stationed. The Top Gunfighters pilots trained there. The school was directly in the flight path of the base. When the planes took off and landed during the day, they would fly around rather than over the school.

 

When the planes occasionally flew directly overhead, either on their way out or back, there was a loud roar that shook every building. There was one week when this happened repeatedly, and the headmaster of the school asked me to call the public relations office to register a complaint. He had called himself earlier that week to no avail, and he thought my accent might help matters. I called the public relations office, told the officer who I was and what I was calling about, and he put me through to the base commander. When the commander came on the line, I introduced myself and repeated what I had said to the public relations officer about the noise disturbing the students. After a pause, a deep, gravelly voice said, “Son, that noise you hear, that’s the sound of freedom. You have a good day,” and he put the phone down.

The worst of the construction noise will be over by the end of this week. We are calling it the sound of progress.

 

As a condition of my employment, I live with my family in the house owned by the school across from Chandler. As you can imagine, it’s not a tough condition. The school has owned the home since 1981. For the past twenty-five years, every Tuesday afternoon, Jose Zarate, and a crew of three gardeners have tended to the flowers, cut the grass and raked the leaves at the house. Once a year, Jose would climb into the trees and trim the branches. Following a two-year battle with cancer, a time during which he rarely missed a day of work, Jose died at home, surrounded by his family on November 1.

 

Jose took great pride in his work. He was reliable and hard-working, and he always had a kind word for my family and for me. He was one of those salt-of-the-earth, steadfast, quiet, humble people who had a calming influence on everyone who came into contact with him. He was a good man who lived a good life, and I did not want his death to go unnoticed by the Chandler community.

 

Similarly, we have five good people in Chandler’s maintenance office - Ray Arebalo, Simon Guerrero, Juan Guzman, Glen Maravilla and Nancy Hutton. Their work ethic, kind natures and commitment to community epitomize Chandler’s mission. They care about Chandler in ways that go above and beyond their job descriptions. The start of the building project has added to their responsibilities as they work around the construction site to do their jobs and keep everyone safe. We appreciate them and everything they do for Chandler as the jackhammering continues for a few more days.