I'm Patrick Malley, superintendent of Haslet Public Schools, and you're listening to Haslet Voices. In this episode, I sit down with Paula Dobson. Paula just made the transition from principal of Haslett Middle School to our district's new director of student services. Paula is an incredibly thoughtful leader with a clear vision for teaching and learning. In her view, every student deserves to be supported, to have their needs met, and to see themselves reflected in their school community.
She's always been deeply committed to that vision and equally committed to supporting the teachers who make it happen. She's also just someone I enjoy talking to, consistently optimistic about our future, deeply connected to the community, and someone I have tremendous respect for. And while I'm excited to have her joining us at the district office, I also know that she's going to be missed by her team that she's leaving behind, the routines that she's built, the relationships that matter so much in a middle school. What excites me most about Paula stepping into the director of student services role is her relentless commitment to continuous learning and improvement. She's constantly asking how we can do better, and she brings that same energy to supporting and developing the staff around her.
In our brief conversation, we talk about middle school, about leadership rooted in genuine care for kids, and what it takes to support students during some of their most crucial years. Paula Dobson, thanks for doing this. I wanna start by just going back to the beginning. I think it's always interesting to ask an administrator what drew you to teaching initially, and then a little bit we can talk about what drew you to administration. But just why did you go into teaching?
So I was one of the kids that always wanted to be a teacher since early on. Like, even when I was in elementary school, I'd be like the classroom helper and go back and work in the kindergarten classrooms. In high school, I would do the student shadow of a teacher, and so I wanted to do that. But specifically, special education, it was after I was babysitting, and one of the kids I was babysitting had spinal meningitis and lost his hearing. And so once that happened, it was just really working with kids that had special needs and just helping them flourish and grow.
And so that's kind of where I went into special ed. I always thought it was going to be elementary, but when I got my first job, it was in middle school. And so middle school is where I started, and it always became a soft spot that I just liked the age group and the kids that were there. And then administration specifically, if you would have asked me back in college or even my first couple years of teaching if I'd be administrator, the answer was no way. But after a couple years of having different administrators, my superintendent asked if I had an interest, and I kind of said, sure, I'll try it.
And that's where I stuck for the last, what, eight, nine years.
Go back to that, because I think you and I have a similar path that we taught for I think I saw you taught for five years.
Correct.
What was that spark? What was it during your teaching experience that led you to wanna jump into administration so early in your career?
I think it was the inconsistencies and the changeover, just because we had so many principals that I felt like our building really just needed some consistency and that the staff and the students deserved to have somebody that was there and was advocating for them so things didn't change so often. So that way we could see some of the changes we wanted to make. And so that was kind of the main reason was I just felt like we needed someone that was constant in there.
I'm struck by that response actually because I don't know if everyone would give that same response to that same scenario. Like, hey, things aren't really going well. I think I could do that. What gives you that confidence or what gave it to you back then?
I think I've always been a student leader and a helper. Like I said, when I was in elementary school, I was there.
It's just that helper mentality.
Yeah. I think student council was a big part of my middle school and high school years. I was a class officer when I was in high school. And then when I was at Michigan State, was part of RHA, which was the Residence Housing Association. And so just always leadership was something that I had a passion for, to be a part of groups that were leading bigger things and looking to the future to make changes changes at the different places that we were a part of.
I remember seeing on your resume recently that your first admin job was as both principal and district special ed coordinator. Mhmm. That's a pretty unique combination of roles that I assume was because of the size of the district and just the needs they had at the time. What did wearing both of those hats teach you?
I think a lot of it was how to stay organized and kinda keep track of different things. We were fortunate with being a smaller district that we relied a lot on the local county Mhmm. To help with stuff. So they kind of dealt with some of the tasks, but it was more of the day to day operations of special ed that I was part of. But then the principal was overseeing the building, and so it was more of a principal role.
But then the monthly, like, compliance pieces and just making sure that, you know, all of our staff had what they needed and students had what they needed. So it was a unique role. The person after me ended up switching a little bit because they didn't have the special ed background.
So you came to Haslet in 2019. What attracted you to our district, and what have you learned about our community over the past six years?
So when you're at Michigan State, you love the area. And it was just one of the school districts that my husband and I always said, if openings happened here, here, and here, this would be the only places we moved because we loved the districts that we were in. We, you know, we lived in that area. When the Haslet job came open, I remember having the debate about going from a principal to an associate principal and what that meant. But we believed in the district and we loved, you know, what the the community stands for and the school stood for.
And so we made the leap after COVID because we loved what was happening in the schools. We moved to the area, and we brought our boys here because we felt like the schools are the community and that there was a lot of great things going. And so that's why we ended up here.
Across your career, whether you were in a classroom or leading at the building level or coordinating special education services from that role, what's the through line there for you? Like, what do you wake up thinking about? What gets you out of bed in the morning?
Honestly, it's the kids. The kids bring so much to the buildings. I mean, obviously, we have great staff in every single one of our buildings across the district, but it's making sure that kids have what they need and that every day that they're learning and growing and reaching their potential and understanding that every day is a fresh day for them and they have to be able to start fresh and that we have to give them those opportunities.
I think every one of us in education have got we've got a personal why, but we also can think of a moment or an experience that reminds us of why we do the work. Do you have a a particular story, a particular memory from your time either in the classroom or as a principal, a story perhaps of a student or an experience that exemplifies that personal why?
I think going back to my story about why special ed, it's the kid that I babysat Mhmm. And knowing all the challenges that he faced, and he was very fortunate with the family that he grew up in that they were advocating for him and just understanding that every single kid deserves to have what they need and have their needs met and to be with their peers. I think that was the main reason that I went into special ed, but also understanding that there are experiences when we're growing up that we don't always have all the best. And so I can think of several teachers along the way that maybe I didn't have a good experience with them. And so just making sure that other kids didn't face that experience, whether it was being told you can't do something or that you didn't do it the right way and kind of proving them wrong, but also knowing that sometimes that happens and how do we make sure that that doesn't lose the spark in our kids.
You sound like a middle school principal when you say that, like that optimism. Can you say just a little bit more about that?
I just think, you know, everybody deserves to be the best that they can be. And so when we look at things that sometimes we don't always have that idea in our minds, and as adults, you know, we don't always think that change is possible. But when you look and you work with the kids, that kids truly want to give you what they can, and they wanna be the best that they can be every single day. And so we just have to find ways to do that and find connections with them in order for them to meet their goals that they have because every single kid has a goal.
Yeah. And I I know working in a middle school, you have many, many opportunities in any given day to have those sorts of conversations. There's gotta be a pattern to coaching conversations with kids. What sort of patterns emerge positively out of mistakes that get made in middle school might be the question. Like, is there any insights that you've gained over your years working in middle schools of what's the secret?
I'm not sure there's really a secret, but I think it's more just letting the kids talk and talk it through. Yeah. A lot of times when we're having conversations with the kids, it's getting them from point a to point b, but not making them realize that that's our plan. And so letting them talk through what happened, why it happened, what could we do differently, and then how it long term could affect them. And if they were outside of the school community, you know, what would happen if they did it somewhere else and just watching that light bulb go on when they realize, oh, yeah.
School is a place that I need to learn from and not do silly things, but also understanding we make mistakes and that the kids understand that every single person makes a mistake and Sure. How do we grow from that?
And that has to take, I would imagine, a lot of patience because you as the adult probably know the direction that this conversation is going, especially as the principal. Right? You know where this conversation is gonna head, but you you really wanna make sure that that student makes the journey for themselves. Is that what I'm hearing?
Yeah. I think patience is a big part of it and grace and understanding that they under they know that they can come and they can make mistakes. And at the end of the day, we're not gonna be mad at them as long as they learn from it, but that they have the chance to learn from those mistakes. Because otherwise, then that's where we have issues, and where they're gonna have issues is if they can't learn and grow and that they don't feel supported that they can grow.
Your background's deeply rooted in supporting students with diverse needs. We've talked a lot about that already. But I just wonder how that perspective has shaped the way you approach education for all students as a principal.
I think, honestly, it's just knowing that everybody needs a little something different, but that also includes the staff. So when we do our professional developments and stuff, understanding that every single person is coming from a different perspective and a different opinion on issues, and that every voice is valid and needs to be heard. Finding ways to hear different voices and different opinions, so that way it comes across in the classrooms, but also that we're reaching kids because what works for one is not gonna work for all.
What's something that every parent or community member or superintendent should know about young people in these crucial years of development?
Middle school is hard, whether it's the academics or the hormones or just figuring out who they are, but it's an opportunity for them to really be themselves, and we just have to let kids be themselves and figure out who they are without the pressures of all the peers and social media and stuff being there. So I think the biggest piece that we just need to understand is they'll get there, they'll learn, they'll grow, they'll develop who they want to. We just need to support our kids and give them a chance to make mistakes and learn from them and become the adults that they wanna be.
It's not like elementary kids don't make mistakes, but the mistakes start to get a little different in middle school. Yep. So I I do think though that middle school gets a bit of a bad rep, you know. Some of it's from just our own memory of when we were in middle school, and some of it is just because it is that time of transition or change for so many kids. What do you love most about middle school? What should we be celebrating?
Just who they are. You know, you can walk into a classroom and you'll have kids telling you hi and completely ignoring what's going on Mhmm. With the lesson. But just the fact that they are who they are and that they start to get sarcasm and start to be a little sarcastic with the adults, but they like to have fun. They like to learn.
Mhmm.
But just that they're kids and that we have to remember every day that they are kids and that they're learning and growing. I think that's the part that I enjoy the most is that you can see one kid that's probably like four feet fits in an elementary school, and then you have the six foot tall kid walking right next to them that they're all growing at different rates and just enjoying the fact that you can watch their growth from sixth grade to eighth grade, and then you hear the the success stories at the high school of, you know, these kids doing amazing things and going into the world and that they're just ready for it.
So by the time this episode is going to come out, you will be our new director of student services. I wonder what you are going to miss most about being a building principal at Haslett Middle School.
I think it's the daily interaction and just the relationships that we build. So I think being in the director of student services roles will be just be a different opportunity to work with kids and see kids across the district, but it will just be the daily hourly interactions, you know, between Emily and myself just being in the hallways and saying hi or popping into classrooms, that will be a little bit challenging not having those moments just because as teachers, you thrive on the interactions with your kids and just making those little changes or helping them be there.
I'll I'll say this, and I've, you know, I've been here for just a little over a year and I've made some observations of our schools, and I have been impressed by the culture of your your teaching staff, and I know that that is a shared experience, like it's it's a thing that you as a principal both inherit and have to cultivate. Do wanna talk just a little bit about the the culture at Middle School and the and the teaching staff and what it takes in order to to kinda keep a group of of middle school teachers motivated every day?
The staff at Haslett Middle School is an amazing group of people. They go there every day with the mindset that they're making differences and that they're there for the kids. And so if you come in on a given day, you're gonna see a ton of different personalities, but they're all there for a common goal. And that goal is what we set across as the district is to have kids be successful and achieve. And so they really work together, but I think a lot of that stems from the middle school philosophy with the teaming and that the district has really supported that.
So that way, the teachers really get to know their kids and can support them and then even support after they move up through the grades. But in terms of it, it's a lot of conversations. It's a lot of meetings that parents and students don't always realize that the teachers are doing to talk to each other, to find ways to support kids, to connect with all kids, to make sure that kids are connecting with each other. From our custodians and our secretaries to the parapros, everybody is involved in just finding ways that they're connecting and that every single kid has a connection.
I I think as you think about the new principal taking over for you, what do you hope that they know about our student staff or the the community as they come on board?
I think the biggest thing is just finding ways to make connections with everybody because the relationships really matter. From the families to community members just coming in and checking in, or even when we did the bond work and people asked to come in, just to see the building, the memories that are there from people's time when the building's been around. It's just really awesome to hear the stories, and so just really get to know people and understand where Haslet has been and also where we wanna go, and then to listen and be a voice of reason when we're going through different things and just thinking through how they can be the best middle school that we can be.
The role you're stepping into, director of student services, it means supporting students in grades k 12 across the entire district. What are you most excited about that expanded role?
The biggest thing would be just getting to know each building. So obviously, as a building administrator, you hear stories about each building, but getting to know the students and the staff across the district and where our needs are and our wants and where each building's vision is. So that way we can kind of make a plan that things are streamlined k 12 and that we're supporting students from early on all the way until after they graduate. The biggest excitement is just that big picture how do we support students all the way through, and how do we make sure that kids are included and they have a voice and that, you know, we're really working with families.
Are there any opportunities that you see in the district that will help serve our students and families better?
I just think finding different ways for them to have opportunities to be involved and included. The high school and middle school has really been using the unified sports and Special Olympics and just finding ways to have kids be involved and be able to participate and make some relationships with peers, think is really cool, as well as for the staff to be involved and see those opportunities. So just looking ways to expand on some of the things that we have going at the different buildings and just getting more kids involved with it.
I think one of the early on conversations that you and I had when I came to the district was about your philosophy regarding learning as adults, if you will. Do you wanna just speak a little bit about your approach to to your own learning and your approach to your teachers in service of kids?
Learning to me is a lifelong thing. As an educator, we always have to be learning and growing. And if we're not, then we can't support our students and our staff. And so I always come with the mindset that there's ways to improve. And so if we look at different things, what are the ways that we can improve on the things that we already have going?
So finding those learning opportunities in areas that I don't know about or even that I do, if there's a better opportunity, then let's look at it and see how we can put this in place in the long term. So I am one that's constantly reading or listening or looking for places to get information from. And a lot of the time, it's going into classrooms or talking to people Mhmm. In other districts about what's going on and how can we implement things here.
You're also a parent of students at Haslet. Anything about the community that stands out to you since since joining the district?
I just always appreciate their support. So even as a parent, just the way they rally around the schools and at sporting events, they're out there no matter what's going on, that they just really are true cheerleaders for our kids. And just that I appreciate the positivity and that they're always looking for ways to support our staff and our students.
I do a lightning round with everybody. These are questions that I'm gonna ask you that don't have any right or wrong answers that we just want you to answer as quickly as possible, whatever comes to mind.
Okay. No pressure.
Are you ready? Are you scared?
Yep. A little bit.
Alright. So what's your favorite season and why?
Summer, because I just like the warmer temperatures and being out by the water and being able to read a little bit more than I can during the school year.
And what's your go to restaurant or food spot in the area? And what's your favorite order?
Oh, that's a hard question. It's probably a Mexican restaurant. I'm not sure which one, just because I like like quesadillas and nachos and you name it. But if it was ice cream, it would be the dairy store. So
Okay. Good good spot. I would I'll second that. Morning person or night
owl? Morning person.
Beach vacation or mountain getaway?
Beach vacation.
Okay. What's your favorite way to spend a Saturday?
During the fall, it's college football, and watching college football doesn't matter what's on, I just enjoy watching football games. And during the summer, it's reading. In spring and winter, I guess, it just depends on the day. It's probably sports of some kind.
So I wanna thank you for doing this. I really appreciate you sitting here in front of microphones having this conversation. We're really excited to have you join us at the district office, but also know that you'll be missed over at the middle school. So just really really appreciate you sitting down here and giving the community an opportunity to get to know you a little better as you make this transition.
Awesome. Thanks for having me.
Easy enough. Right?
Yep.