Supporting your students by supporting your staff

Compared to workers in offices without windows, those with windows in the workplace received 173 percent more white light exposure during work hours and slept an average of 46 minutes more per night. Workers without windows reported lower scores than their counterparts on quality of life measures related to physical problems and vitality. They also had poorer outcomes in measures of overall sleep quality, sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances and daytime dysfunction. "Exposure to Natural Light Improves Workplace Performance" Psychology Today, June 05, 2013

Artificial light, it seems, is a poor biological replacement for natural light. Light your office using natural sunlight and your team won’t just be faster and more productive – they will also be happier and more emotionally stable. 5 Health and Wellness Benefits of Daylighting for Employees. Bristolite, December 19, 2103.

It doesn't look like much, but this will be the technology department's new home beginning this fall. The one big difference between the new space and our old offices is that it will have lovely natural light pouring in through actual windows. Although our views are of a loading dock, dumpsters, and a parking lot, we will be above ground for the first time in at least 20 years. (And yes, I've heard all the jokes about a tech department finally getting "Windows 97".)

This was the one demand I made on our new space during the planning process - less important than size, location, or other amenities. Despite the inevitable budget overruns, I advocated for our new space having windows. And now I am glad I did.

While I certainly like natural light myself, I also like a happy staff*. Beyond not having to dread going into a hostile work environment or having my house TP'd, I believe happy support staff make for happier kids. A happy technician is more likely to engage with teachers in a more positive manner. A happier teacher is more likely to run a happier classroom. A happier classroom is a more productive classroom. I don't know if there is research to support this, but it seems pretty self-evident.

In my tenure as tech director in my current district, I hope I will be remembered for some positive changes: helping pass a tech referendum, switching to GoogleApps and implementing Schoology, building model classrooms, creating and staffing the position of digital learning specialists in our elementary buildings, overseeing the development of a K-5 information literacy curriculum, planing and deploying the district's first 1:1 program, etc. (with most of the hard work done by others, for sure.)

But when I retire, I may well best be known for moving the tech department out of the basement and into the light.

*See:

The DJ Factor: Why Technical Support is Critical, February 1996

 Keep Your Building Technicians by Keeping Them Happy, School Library Journal, May 2000