Mr. Marlon Shows
Mr. Shows has been at LACES for 15 years, and has not just one, but two completely different jobs. He is LACES’ Athletic Director as well as the Dean of Students. Although both are full-time jobs, Mr. Shows is able to juggle both responsibilities, and LACES is lucky to have him.
Getting to school before the bell rings and usually not leaving before 6:00 p.m., Mr. Shows’ day is typically full of having to make a myriad of decisions regarding athletics and student affairs.
“Every day is different because I have different responsibilities depending on what day it is.” His two unique positions as LACES means that things never get boring, as Mr. Show says, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and Mr. Shows definitely needs the energy for his long days at school.
“I eat eggs most mornings for breakfast. I like to start with protein in the morning, it’s a good way to start my day.” Having that energy is paramount, as each day is different and presents new issues for Shows.
“I try to get as much done in the morning because as student issues arise throughout the day it takes away my time from athletics. Today I was in the middle of working on playoff tasks, and I was interrupted because I had to deal with student discipline, so that’s typically what happens,” said Shows.
“I oversee player eligibility, transportation, contest scheduling, playoffs, all the uniforms, and inventory distribution,” said Shows. If that sounds like a lot of responsibility, it is.
“A good amount of my days consists of trying to make sure the athletic contest happens on time, officials are paid, individuals are cleared and ready to go.”
When COVID-19 was affecting LACES, it changed how Mr. Shows had to do his job.
“When the pandemic hit, a lot of the job became more strenuous because the physical information had to change, the student clearance procedures changed, also insurance liabilities changed so more documents were needed, which meant more documents need to be collected,” said Shows.
Another aspect of Mr. Show’s day is supervision. You’ll see him everyday on the blacktop during lunch and nutrition, making sure there are no issues. The same is true with sport games.
“Sports events require supervision if it happens after 5:00 p.m., so typically I’m en route to help support our teams and cheer them on. I provide supervision just in case emergency situations arise.”
Clearly, being the Athletic Director and Dean of LACES is both demanding and time-consuming. Finding a balance between work and home can be difficult. But Mr. Shows enjoys his weekends, “I have the weekend. That’s pretty much the only time I have.”
Despite the heavy workload, Mr. Shows loves his days at Laces.
“The most rewarding part of my job is to see a student reach their potential and be successful,” said Shows. “When they come back to LACES and say, ‘Hey Mr. Shows, look what I accomplished!’”
Randall
The LACES Computer Tech Randall Iwashita has been working here for about two years and has enjoyed his time at LACES so far. Throughout the years, he has worked with LACES students and staff and tried to help them solve their issues with technology. He has made many memories of talking with staff and students at this school.
Randall had dropped out of his previous job, it was a company where he previously worked, and he wanted to find a better job where it wasn’t just about the money, and where he felt less pressure.
“I had worked for a company before and that was just about the dollar sign, ‘we gotta make this much money’, but working for a school you kinda feel like you are helping the next generation,” said Randall.
He arrives in the morning around 8:00 a.m. and checks in at the main office. He then starts to head to his classroom, room 139. When he arrives he puts his stuff away and sits down at the back of the classroom, next to the Chromebooks waiting for students to come if they need help with anything.
“I go through my to-do list, and usually by then students start to come in and ask for Chromebooks,” said Randall.
As he waits for students or staff to pass by, in one of his to-do checklists, he makes sure the Chromebooks are ready to go, he goes through his emails in the morning to make sure there are no new updates on school stuff. He ensures that students and teachers can smoothly access the Chromebooks they need for a day of learning.
“The administration trusts me in getting things done which I do appreciate, the main idea of working here is gratitude,” said Randall.
But some of the students here can be a bit tough and he has to stay calm. Randall is always there when students need him, even if the students maybe in a bad mood.
“Some of these kids can get on the nerves very quickly, and I try not to get mad at them. I didn’t think it was gonna be very hard, I have nephews and nieces and they were chill most of the time, ” said Randall
He usually fixes Chromebooks but after that, it is whatever people throw at him. He even gets called if a projector or printer doesn’t work. Some students don’t know that he does a lot of auditorium stuff, like with the tech and the lights. He is prepared for whatever is needed and gladly helps out.
“[Previously this school year] there was a squirrel that was upstairs that was near Ayorinde’s room and we tried to get downstairs but eventually it jumped to Dr. Fey’s room, I had to carry it out. I used a towel to pick it up, ” said Randall.
Students feel comfortable seeking his help, knowing that he is there to help with technical issues.
“He helped me with getting a new Chromebook and he told me what I could have done and what could be fixed. It was fast because he had many Chromebooks that were working and available for other students to use,” said junior Jasmine Leyva.
Ms. Jennipher Lewis
Ms. Jennipher Lewis is one of the two LACES Magnet Coordinators, the Middle School Leadership Advisor and the Middle School College and Career Coach. This year is her first full year out of the classroom. She used to be an English teacher, but now she spends her days juggling multiple responsibilities from welcoming students at the front gate to organizing field trips.
At the start of each day, Lewis can be found welcoming students at the entrance gate. Once the first bell rings, she visits the homerooms of 7th, 8th, and 9th-grade students to assist them with the Naviance app. “I only do 7th grade through 9th grade, just getting students comfortable with the app,” said Lewis.
On Mondays, she doesn’t visit homerooms. “Mondays tend to be a bit chaotic,” said Lewis. She instead spends her Mondays letting teachers know she is coming that week.
Lewis typically uses her 2nd-period to prepare work for her middle school leadership course, which is scheduled for the fourth period of the day.
“During the second period, I usually get ready for class, but it’s also catching up”
During her 4th-period middle school leadership class, Lewis doesn’t spend her time on specific activities, mostly preparing for upcoming events. “We didn’t do anything in February, but we had an event coming up in March. So we’re going to start gearing up to get that done,” said Lewis.
During lunch, Lewis either supervises or assists her middle school leadership class in selling tickets for their events. “At lunchtime if I’m not selling tickets and supervising,” said Lewis
The 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th and 7th period are when Lewis takes care of her more tedious tasks. “I’ve focused on field trips, and getting them done that takes up a lot of my time,” said Lewis
The second semester has been a change in schedule for Lewis. The first semester she spent more of her time fulfilling her duties as a Magnet Coordinator. “At the beginning of the year, we would go to schools, and we would promote LACES,” said Lewis.
Once the school day is over Ms. Lewis will occasionally fill in for Ms. Derdzinski supervising the buses. This entails ensuring that the students get on the buses and monitoring the departure of the buses.
Lewis will sometimes stay after school to do her work in the quiet. “Sometimes I like it because everybody’s gone and it’s quiet. I can get work done quick,” said Lewis.
