Wearing blue vests and armed with a list of tasks, students at KIPP Academy Nashville take their jobs as Operations Ambassadors seriously.
“I enjoy helping out around the school,” says Alexander, a seventh grader. On this particular day, Alexander and his classmate, Sarai, are organizing hall passes, decorating bulletin boards, and lending a hand wherever needed.
“Yesterday they had an incentive for upper grades to earn nachos. So we helped make and distribute those to the kids yesterday,” explains Alexander. “I help distribute supplies, I help deliver boxes to Ms. Randolph from downstairs when they get delivered. We helped organize the supply closet in the science room. Odds and end jobs.”
Those “odds and ends” are the glue that keeps the school running. Stocked teacher workrooms, organized supply closets, and sorted paperwork may not always be in the spotlight, but they’re essential to keeping everything on track.
The idea for the Operations Ambassadors program came from KAN Director of Operations, Jacklene Randolph, who was inspired after visiting another school during a KIPP Nashville operations team professional development session.
“I observed student helpers re-stocking teacher lounge spaces, running errands, and all sorts of cool things! I was thrilled by the students and the sense of pride that they had when speaking about the program and knew I wanted to replicate that at KAN.”
This year, she made it happen. Students applied for the role, swapping their elective class time for hands-on school operations experience, which are also part of their grade. A total of 9 students participate across grades 6-8.
Now, the ambassadors aren’t just helping out—they’re integral to the school’s daily success.
Ms. Randolph says, “They have become such game changers for all of the staff because they are able to divide and conquer tasks such as counting and distributing flyers to go home, restock supplies, and just being extra legs throughout the day to get building tasks done so the Ops Team and other staff can focus on planning and development workstreams.”
In addition to working on those tasks, Ms. Randolph believes this opportunity is helping students gain valuable perspective into what it takes to run a school, and empowers them to act as leaders in and out of the classroom.
“This program provides the students opportunities to learn functional job skills, create lasting relationships with staff, and have firsthand insight into school events and how they are planned and executed.”
Sarai says working as an Operations Ambassador has given her a new appreciation for everything that goes on behind the scenes at the school. “We learn about what they have to deal with, and we also learn new things, like about the school, like how they keep everything organized.”
For Alexander, it’s all about pride. “Before, things would just be there. Now, I look around and think, ‘I did that.’”
Ms. Randolph says the pilot has been so successful, she plans to expand the program to include more students and even families who may want to volunteer and get involved at the school.
