From the Principal’s Desk: New teachers, the return of tradition, and student behavior

Mr. Shin is working every day to help Redwood thrive. Here is how he worked to make Redwood the best school possible in September 2021.

Last month, Shin was struggling with filling in empty teaching positions and adapting to the shortage of substitute teachers. He was able to resolve some of these issues this month.

He says, “We [Shin and the district] have hired some new staff, we’re getting them slowly cleared, because there’s a big clearance process.”

The clearance process is very intricate, as Shin says, “You can’t just put anybody in a classroom, they have to pass background checks, we have to make sure all of their credentials match up- all of these things.”

Shin is “happy to announce” that Redwood has a new English teacher [Mr. Johnson], two biology teachers [Mr. Ruiz and Mrs. Prims], an athletic trainer, and a potential college and careers teacher if they get cleared.

In addition, an intervention class was added for students to make-up failed credits by taking online classes. Ms. Smith was hired as the instructor.

Some teachers have already started. There are still some positions open, a social science teacher, a campus supervisor, and a counselor are still needed.

It’s taking a while, but eventually Redwood will welcome new teachers and staff who will help to make Redwood the best it can be.

One thing that is still a struggle from last month is the district-wide shortage of substitute teachers. Teachers are still filling in for each other during their prep periods, which Shin appreciates.

“There’s something to be said when you have familiarity with the campus. If a student sees a sub [substitute teacher] but then they see it’s a sub from another one of their classes, or maybe it’s a teacher they’ve seen on campus, they are less likely to probably misbehave and more likely to be engaged,” Shin says.

He is also happy to see Redwood activities in action, “We’re [the school] starting to see more school spirit, and ASB [Associated Student Body] has done a great job of having Homecoming week. Given the restrictions we have, they made it work.”

Redwood’s return to Friday night football games has awakened a lot of school spirit.

Shin states, “I’ve seen different themes [at the football games], we’ve expanded the student section because we’ve had such good turn-out at games.”

In addition, volleyball games and water polo games are starting to have a great student turn-out.

“We’re starting to get back to what it used to be like at Redwood before the pandemic, and that’s where we’re hoping to get,” Shin states.

The first grading period ended around two weeks ago. Shin assures that students who are struggling with academics will receive support to improve their grades.

Students are starting to get more involved in school culture, such as performances, competitions, club meetings, field trips, sports events, and much more.

Shin expresses, “We’re just starting to see more and more involvement in different types of activities for kids to do.”

Redwood’s return to normal operations hasn’t been an easy one, but school activities are coming back stronger than ever.

“We’re just getting more things going on on a regular basis, and getting kids opportunities to attend those things [school activities], to be a part of that, we have a lot of opportunities for kids to be involved in things,” Shin adds.

Among these great things, Shin still has problems to tackle. Trying to maintain morale among teachers and students is hard at this time of the year.

“I think as we get more into the semester, people get tired. They start to get fatigued, they start to get just a little worn out,” he says.

October is difficult in particular. There are no holidays and students have been in school for a good 10 weeks.

Shin says that people also get “less friendly” with each other, so it’s important to him to make sure Redwood always has a positive atmosphere.

“I don’t know if I’m struggling with that, but that’s on the forefront of how can we maintain a positive culture and climate,” he states.

The TikTok trend “devious licks” has been a big issue this past month. Redwood’s campus has taken a big hit when it comes to the vandalism and theft involved with this “trend.”

Restrooms were a popular target, as students could get away with things much easier than they could in a classroom.

“We were struggling with keeping our restrooms safe and clean, and intact,” Shin states.

Shin remarks that students getting “a little too comfortable” at school and not understanding that they come to school to learn was a big factor in this issue.

Overall student behavior has also been a problem for Shin.

He expresses, “We’re working at trying to intervene with the kids who make bad choices and trying to help them understand what it means to be a Redwood Ranger.”

He mentions, “A good thing we had the other day was the senior class meeting, and we were able to kind of recharge the seniors and let them know what it means to be a Redwood Ranger.”

According to Shin, the seniors were reminded of their expectations.

As they are upperclassmen who younger students look up to, Shin wants them to model what a Redwood Ranger looks like.

Shin is working on tackling these issues, “We’ll have more class meetings if we have to, we are obviously going to have staff meetings to address some of the concerns that have come up and get some ideas, and talk to staff about how we can be more proactive instead of reactive.”

He continues, “We can possibly eliminate some of these issues that are happening and also, you know, being proactive, getting people involved with students who have reoccurring behavior issues.”

He reports that the counselors, the social-emotional support staff, and parent meetings are all being used to help students with these issues.

Adding activities and incentives for good behavior and setting consequences for bad behavior is another thing that Shin is working on.

Shin wants his students to abide by his classic six words; “Get involved. Work hard. Be nice.”

He adds, “This is our school, meaning, would you deface your own home, would you ruin the bathroom in your home? Would you throw trash on your kitchen floor then walk away? Would you do things that would just make your home look bad? Probably not. The majority of kids would say no, so why do you do it here?”

Shin wants his students to treat Redwood’s campus with respect, “Treat this school like it’s your home and have the same respect for it that you do for your house, or your bedroom, or your car, or your phone, or your clothes, whatever it is that is near and dear to you, that’s how Redwood should be.”

Shin is very proud of Redwood because “it is a special school, it’s a great school, it’s the best school in Visalia, it’s the best looking school in Visalia, and it’s not by chance, it’s cause we’ve worked hard over the years.”

Redwood has a lot of history and tradition from people “before us and that care about Redwood.” Shin wants to uphold the decades worth of history, tradition, and school spirit.

“People before me and even with me have worked hard to maintain that, and so I want to challenge students. Let’s continue to make Redwood look the best looking school and the safest school, and the best school,” he states.

Shin wants Redwood to be a safe, positive place where everybody feels welcomed and gets involved. Recent student behavior has made upholding a positive atmosphere a bit of a struggle.

He comments, “Leave those bad behaviors, the things that just don’t go with Redwood, leave them off-campus. Don’t bring them to Redwood. When you come to Redwood, come to learn, come to be involved, come to work hard, and to be nice so that we can all have a great experience here.”

Shin cares about Redwood’s campus, students, staff, and the positive atmosphere Redwood should have. He works every day to combat issues while bringing good to the school.

The month of September was a long one, but Shin is willing to do what it takes to keep Redwood safe, positive, and a place for students to make memories that will last forever.

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