principal, Steve, and the principal met to set up a procedure for supply
requests. The staff member would fill out a request form and have it
approved by his immediate supervisor or the assistant principal of orga-
nization. Steve would fill the orders as they came in. When he delivered
materials, the staff member receiving them would countersign the original
supply request, which in turn would be given to the assistant principal of
organization who would keep it on file and use it to keep track of the flow
of supplies.
There would be no more verbal requests. Of course, there were some
glitches with the system at the beginning, but in a few weeks it ran well.
Steve felt empowered and less flustered because he was now able to do
his job without any grief.
In many school districts, dietary services are under the jurisdiction of a cen-
tral office, which assigns a dietician to a school or group of schools based
on enrollment and actual number of meals served. Most dieticians are dedi-
cated professionals who care about the nutritional needs of students.
Of course, there will always complaints about food. While there have
been several successful experiments to improve school food, in most
places it is still institutional steam-table fare. During Ms. Hildebrand’s
tenure as principal, some of the cafeteria workers complained about the
language students used when they were served. She asked her teachers to
address this issue instructionally during the weekly “family” period. She
spoke to her cafeteria security personnel to make sure at least one adult
was stationed near the service area. After a few weeks, there were no fur-
ther complaints. Making sure enough trained staff is available to ensure
order in the cafeteria is the responsibility of every school leader and one
that should be taken very seriously.
The cafeteria, where hundreds of students congregate for each of the
lunch periods, is always a security concern. Ms. Hildebrand had two
cafeteria deans in her Chicago school, one of which was always on duty
each lunch period (both for at least two). In addition, there were several
school aides assigned to assist them and school security guards patrolling
the cafeteria floor during the lunch periods.
These deans and aides addressed quality-of-life issues such as reducing
the din and making sure students cleaned their trays. Over several years,
as part of a special project, art students created beautiful murals to turn
154 Chapter 11