A day in the life of a House Assistant: the capeless heroes of Samo

To get a peek into the taxing tasks and unnoticed efforts of a House Assistant’s job, The Samohi shadowed I House Assistant Chaneé Washington for a day. This is her world.  It’s 5:33 in the morning. Most are deep in dreams or beginning their morning ritual of repeated snoozing, but Chaneé Washington is up and at’em. Commuting from Inglewood to Santa Monica, she gets up early to dodge the traffic coming out of La Tijera.  Much like students taking an AM and a sixth, she’s at Samo for numerous hours. Arriving by 7 a.m., her typical work day is from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Due to this, the first thing on her mind is usually coffee.  She stops by one of ‘20,000 starbucks’’ on Lincoln to pick up her coffee. She likes her coffee with sugar -- raw like her humor -- and some cream. “I need coffee to get through all the unimaginable attendance situations,” Washington said. Food is also one of her top priorities, so she heads to Whole Foods early to pick up her lunch for the day, typically a slice of carrot cake. Which, out of observation of New Year’s resolutions, she has asked the Whole Foods staff to ban her from buying.                 “Food is important. I like to figure out what I’m eating early,” Washington said. The early morning wake up is partially because of traffic, but mostly to assert her dominance in the staff parking lot. In the Innovation parking lot, the first spot near the vending machines is unofficially hers. She advises others not to fight her on it. Once at Samo, her first task is simply unlocking everything. From the doors to fifty filing cabinets, everything has a key. After that, she goes through the daunting mound of emails, usually from parents and teachers.  “Every time I look at my computer there are at least seven to ten emails about various things. They vary from early leaves and attendance corrections to things that I have nothing to do with and was just ‘cc-ed’ into,” Washington said.  Following that, she deals with the rest of the school; anything from printing her weekly attendance report to sending call slips. Essentially, making sure that everything and everyone are in order. Then her day really begins. From radios blaring to constant walk-ins, she is continuously juggling ten tasks at once. There are frequent fun mini chat sessions that go on daily with the many staff that she has worked with for over 17 years. Whether so-and-so needs their unofficial transcripts, or someone is going through day-to-day struggles, she helps with it all. “I like to multitask, I like to do 10 different things at once. Every day is different, attendance is always a priority. I like things organized.” Washington said.  This is evident from the fact that the I House office is so clean one could do surgery in it. (Except for the kitchen, that is.) “Cleanliness is Godliness,” Washington said. Order is everything when it comes to administration. A House Assistant’s day is filled with a million things to multitask. Everything that has to do with issuing lockers, testing, dealing with broken machines, managing computer labs and dealing with angry people, is dealt with by a House Assistant. Attendance is a huge part of the job. Assistants have people constantly coming in. Students are continuously asking for tasks amidst their workday. Virtually the only thing concrete about the job demands, is that they’re unpredictable.  Just ask anyone in a house office.“The biggest piece of the job is certainly attendance: the emails, the notes from parents, early dismissals, putting in the absences and all of that. Helping students with questions or concerns when they come in, if they need to see their advisor,” O House Assistant Eileen Gilbert said.  “My day is very hectic, Anything from students coming in for being absent or leaving early, to attendance clearances,” M House Interim Assistant Diana Morales said. Since this is the first year that Samo has implemented a more restrictive attendance policy, Ms. Washington has even more stress and work than ever before. The students and parents have many questions and concerns. “It’s a work in progress and like anything, it will take time to perfect,” Washington said. Having worked over 16 years at Samo, she even remembers back to the House system being instituted. And as an alumnus of the class of ’89, she has quite a history with the school. After struggling to get through high school as a teen, she never thought she would return to, nevertheless work at, Samo. However, a staff member that was there for her was Marcia Gehct. Now retired, Gecht was always supportive of Washington. “She was someone who really helped me during high school. I really don't think I would’ve graduated without her support,” Washington said.  After high school, she went to some vocational colleges for medical assistance and then had her son Ja’Quan. Washington was a part-time beautician, and then worked for Santa Monica Bay Physicians for seven years. She’s always had a full job and then a side job, which has included everything from part time security to driving limousines. Soon after that, she decided that she wanted to go after a job with more financial security, which led her to apply to the district in November of 2000. Starting as an Athletic Secretary in January of 2001, Washington described her job as busy and hectic, yet fun. Furthermore, it was beneficial, considering all the sportswear she received. “That job was intense because it wasn’t just dealing with sports, I was dealing with sports and activities at the same time. It was a very busy job, but I enjoyed it a lot,” Washington said.  After around two and a half years, Washington switched from an Athletic Secretary to an I House Assistant in the 2003-2004 school year. “I miss athletics because of the people and getting gear, [laugh], but this job is great too,” Washington said. Even though Ms. Washington is constantly busy, she does have help. T.A.’s are in the I House Office all six periods, delivering call slips and distributing papers. Switching from phone calls, to emails, to helping out students and filing papers, help is much appreciated.  “We appreciate all the hard work that our T.A.’s put in for us. We also get help from fellow house offices occasionally and fellow classrooms as well.” Washington said. Many think that the busy jobs of a House Assistant stays only in the office, but this is not the case. Crazy things go down throughout the day, from helping someone who is having a seizure to witnessing backpack searches for “mysterious items”. “I’ve seen everything from different substances to pink exotic toys,” Washington said. It’s cliche to say “not all heroes wear capes”, but that definitely applies to the Samo House Assistants. We were only with Washington for a few hours, but spending just those measly minutes in the I House Office revealed the magnitude of work they do. Throughout the day it was evident that a House Assistant’s job is so much more than attendance.  “It’s supporting the students, but it’s also listening to the parents and what they’re struggling with. [It is] for sure that our jobs entail emotional help along with administrative,” H House Assistant Elena Martin said. The House Assistants are the shoulder to cry on for kids in and out verging on mental breakdowns and also the hand to their counselors juggling college careers of 290 teens. “They’re the face of the office. The first individuals that you encounter and you see. Their work extends far beyond administrative duties...it’s a relational thing, it’s answers, customer service, you name it. They’re jacks of all trades,” Dr. Shelton said.