October 6, 2024 • 31 mins
Stormy and Superintendent Dr. Feagins talk about Memphis Shelby County School in Tennessee and challenges she's faced this year at one of the largest school districts in America.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, hello everyone, welcome in. Thank you for joining us
today for the pulse. Hey, grab everybody in the house,
tell them to come to the radio so they can
hear the show today because I have a very special
guest on the show today, and ladies and gentlemen, let
me introduce to maybe you're living on a rock if
you don't know my guests that is here today, Ladies
(00:24):
and gentlemen, Superintendent doctor Marie Fagan's.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
So nice to be here, so nice to be here.
Thank you for the invitation, thank you for coming, absolutely
for accepting the invitation. And I hate we hadn't had
a chance to have you on sooner, but that's okay.
You're here now, and maybe now is when you're supposed
to be here. Always okay, always, all right, I'm stormy, everybody,
so listen in because we got some talking to do.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
How are you feeling?
Speaker 2 (00:49):
I feel great, wonderful, privileged to do what I do,
blessed to be who I am, and excited about putting
it all together each day that I'm giving the opportunity to.
Certainly this time I'm supposed to be here right now
with you, so.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Okay, I'm here for it. And you know, what I've
been praying for you, because it seems as though you'll
visit your time. Your tenure here has been kind of rocket.
You had a lot of stuff going on. You had
someone threaten your life. Yeah, you had a situation with
someone at the school who was talking about a contract
(01:23):
that seemed to get a little made in the news. So,
so tell me how you doing, how you dealing with
all of that. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
So I am a praying woman, a woman of great faith,
and a leader of the same. I know that with
this seat comes a lot known and unknown. Yeah, and
so I stay prayed up, but I take care of me.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
I am a very happy, upbeat person. So it takes
a lot to get to me and get me down.
I try to be balanced about you know, my thought
processes about things, thizing with people seeing all sides, if
you will. But my main thought and concern and focus
(02:08):
and all of this has always been And even before
I accepted the role, I had a sit down with
my mom and dad and you know, my closest family
and companion and things of that nature and shared. You know,
what could come of an experience like this, And this
is a part of those things that you could anticipate,
and so just always wanted to make sure that they
are okay, that they know that I am okay and
(02:31):
authentically and and transparently h sharing with them to keep
them at bay, but also I am their baby, their
child I am, And.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Are they Are they close to us? Are they? They're
about six hours away.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
So my family still lives in Alabama. Okay, so not
far but not far, but still not here. And so
you know, anything like that is you know, always a
call let me put my eyes on you. And so
as long as they're okay, I'm always good.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Okay, good. Yeah, I appreciate you asking, you know, and
I asked because it's I don't have a position like yours.
I mean, being a public figure. It's kind of similar,
but not really. What you do, I guess more personally
for a lot of people affects lives. I mean you
touch children every day. Not just children, but you have
(03:20):
a staff of how many.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
People nearly fourteen thousand employees wow, from MEMPHISHLB County schools.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Yeah, that's a lot of people. And yeah, a lot
of controversy. Yeah, so I guess I don't want to Yeah,
I never want to do this show and you know,
beat up anybody. That's not what I do. And I'm
not that kind of radio host, not that. But I
(03:48):
do want to ask you about the recent situations, the articles,
the news stories from some people I don't know if
you were close to, but worked closely with you. Mister
Calvill and doctor Althea agree. So how you feeling after
(04:08):
that article and all the stories that have come out recently?
Speaker 2 (04:11):
You know, incredibly disheartened. I think anytime you do great
work and your heart is good and your intentions are pure,
I wake up to do this work, or when I'm awakened,
when my feet hit the floor, I say thank you,
and then I think about all the ways that I
can go and be impactful. How can I be influential?
How can I shift the edges of the world in
(04:32):
such a way that our children and our children's children
are better. How can I say something that might change
the life of one? How can I do something that
might shift the life of one or two? And so
that's always my thinking, And how can I do it
with the best spirit, with the greatest optimism, filled with hope,
but also a balanced understanding of the harsh reality of
(04:55):
believing that you be the person to do all those
things right. So where you wake up and you're in
the news and you are the news. I think that
when I process it, it is always my goal to
be truthful, and so when I see things that maybe
(05:15):
aren't truthful, that is challenging for me. But I typically
do not respond to those things that don't elevate conversations
that they don't serve to push the needle of the
most important focus for me, which is the status of
(05:36):
our children, that of our city and our county, and moreover,
the impact on the greater world around us. We have
a nation that is in crisis. We are dealing with
walking through and doing our best to navigate some incredibly
complex experiences that none of us have been trained to do,
(05:59):
none of us thought we would have to do. And
so I try to offer my compassion to those who
may not be healed, who may not have the same
sense of balance and commitment to truth and a desire
to be the greatest example of who we are and
our best moments. I believe that I am light, and
(06:21):
I believe that I am here to shine a light
so that others can see a way forward and can
go on and do the things and be the people
that can do the things and help others become the people.
And so I understand that letters are floating. I understand
that words are shared, but the words that matter to
me are those of my family, those of my God,
(06:44):
and actually those that I say to myself, I like me.
It gives me permission to really like others and to
be respectful at all times. I always am trying to
be committed to being the person that I either didn't
have or I wanted more. And so there's no middle
ground for me. And so the high road is my road,
(07:05):
and sometimes it's less traveled, but it's mine, and I
stay there. I do look forward. You know, Stormy, you
can think about it, and you don't have shared on
air because we won't tell all of our business, right,
but you can think about a time when you made
a really bad mistake and you thought in that moment
it was the worst mistake ever, but only in your
(07:26):
season d wiser age. You thought, you know what, Without that,
I wouldn't be here, I wouldn't be me. And so
I look forward to being If so, the best mistake
that Memphis Shelby County Schools has received, that a city
(07:46):
and a county could encounter, and I look forward to
doing what I want. Every one of the one hundred
and eleven thousand, three hundred and twenty two students that
we have that I share with them every day. I
hope that they learn learn from me. I hope that
they learned from us how to lead, and more importantly,
I hope that they are working on leaving the type
(08:07):
of legacy that will be newsworthy.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
A girl, you about to make me shout, whoa, My
heart is jumping, and you about to make me run
out of this room.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Don't run, wool, don't run woo.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Oh my goodness, yeah, oh my yeah. That was so
eloquent and so beautiful. You took a page out of
a former first Lady our forever flowss Michelle Obama's notebook
or her speech from how many years ago, four maybe
(08:46):
years ago when she said when they.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Go low, that's right, we stay high, she said, go
but we stay high. Yeah, always and forever.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
I am.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
I am a favored individual.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
My god, I.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Am not the most experienced, but I'm highly qualified. Not
because I qualified myself. I took the time, I've done
the work. I've done it in some deep and challenging spaces.
And I did it without any lights, without any news,
without any cameras. I did it because it's who I am.
(09:27):
I love kids, but I absolutely believe in the power
of education because I am the result of the same.
I'm a proud head start kid. I say that all
the time, and I am a first generation college alumna.
My folks didn't go to college, but it was the
only thing they said I could do. And so I
believe in what we are doing, and I believe in
(09:50):
all of the possibilities. But more importantly, I believe in
the hopes and dreams that I see in the eyes
of the youngest leaders who we are responsible for right now.
This is generational work that we're doing. Yeah, And so
there's no time to focus on anything other than them,
because the time that has been exhausted. It has been misused,
(10:12):
it has been abused. And you know, you know the
poem I have only but a minute, only sixty seconds
inutes forced upon me. Can't refuse it. Didn't seek it,
didn't choose it. But it's up to me to use it.
Must suffer if I abuse it, to give a count
if I lose it. Just a tiny little minute, but
eternity is in it. I don't miss a millisecond miss
(10:35):
Stormy when my feet hit the ground, because everything is
counting all the decisions that I make, and more importantly
and sometimes detrimentally, the ones that I don't make. And
so anytime I am distracted, I cannot be my best.
And kids deserve our best, they actually deserve more. And
so on my count on my account, I will not
(10:57):
be held responsible for misusing and abusing the privilege that
it is to be in the seat of the superintendent.
And there's a lot of heat that comes with the seat.
And I said that as a candidate, and so I
am okay, because it means that we are doing the
right things and we are on the right track and
the trajectory that Memphis Shelby County Schools deserves to be on.
(11:23):
I will do this, as I've said, for free. Kids
deserve better. And so when we think about literacy, and
all we hear is what kids can't do. I've been
trying to focus on what they can and who they are.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
Is that why you go into the class and tell
the teachers. So just take the days and how many
times have you done that? And you don't even broadcast it.
You just do it.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
So we do it a couple of times, you know,
with the cameras, so that people I want parents to
see their kids in action, right, I want people who
don't really understand it education to understand what the life
of a teacher consists of. Just in a glimpse. Teacher
life is a different life. Teacher tired is a different tired.
(12:10):
They're constantly making decisions all the time, head on a swivel,
trying to ensure not only has learning taking place, but
you want kids to have a good time as well.
You want the experience to be that and experience so
they come back the next day ready and excited to
do it again. And so I'm a teacher first, foremost,
and forever. I will always be in the classroom. It
shapes and sharpens my decisions. It heightens my compassion and
(12:34):
my empathy. It keeps me connected to where the magic
is happening. And so the further away you go normally,
the more disconnected you become. And that's what your decisions reflect,
It's what your actions reflect, it's what your attitude and
ego reflect. And so I keep myself humble, right, I
didn't know math when I went to BTW the other
(12:55):
day high school to substitute in the eighth grade, but
the kids did. And that's where it allows me to
do teach me.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
So what do the teachers say to you? Because I've
got three teachers in my family Byron Harris, his wife Camille,
and Jason Harris. I might have some more, but those
are the three I can think of right now that
have told me that they are excited and thankful for
(13:23):
a doctor. Marie Fagin's okay, let me say it, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
Absolutely hello to them all.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
So how excited are the teachers when you walk in
their classrooms and do this kind of stuff? What do
they say to you?
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Oh, they get excited. I've seen some tears, you know,
you get hugs, you get the first Are you serious?
Nobody's ever done this? And it's like, yeah, I'm.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
A teaching you. Who's ready?
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Go enjoy the day? Right, enjoy the mouse of your day,
figure out how to go and just relax the days
on me. And if you don't have a lesson planning, right,
I can do it with kids. I taught six years
in middle and high school and so I love being
with children. It is the fuel that I know that
(14:14):
I need, and so I would not do this work
if I could not stay connected to them. Kids informed
the budget process for me. Kids have certainly shared, you know,
some disheartening experiences that have allowed us to stand up
a bus app so we can track, they can track
where the bus is.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
Right.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
A young lady shared she was out at five thirty
am in the morning, it was dark and the bus
never came. So it allows me to really get with
the team and stay connected. It's also the expectation of
my senior leadership team to sub for a day as well,
and so you know, they share the experiences that is
so odd, their headaches, and.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
You need me to come to it.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
Absolutely, absolutely, I invite now be careful. Now I'm a
recruiter and I'm pretty good at it, but you'll be teaching, absolutely,
you know. I actually tutor over her dumb bar it
then I tutor, you know, and I love it that
my little note there's I brought it home from the
little girl that I was tutoring.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
She said, I love you, Stormy. It's at home, yes,
in my bathrooms, and it looks at me every day,
you know, every time I go into the bath. I
see that little note that she wrote on the sticky.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Absolutely, you mean something to her, and that's.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
What it's and she means something to me and the
work that teachers do. I've said it for a long time.
I won't stop saying it. I think teachers should get
paid just as much as these professional basketball absolutely, because
you there's nobody living or listening to me right now
that can tell you or me that they did not
have a favorite teachers, right and that a teacher, there
(15:42):
was one teacher that affected their lives in a good
way like nobody's ever done. It's correct, you know what
I'm saying. Everybody's got one.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely and mine.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
And it's head Start month, National head Start Month. And
so my head start teacher who along with my mom
and dad, Miss Bourbine. She's in Phoenix City, Alabama. I
sent her edible arrangements last year. I got a cent
her something this year. Wow, she started this spark if
you will for me. I love learning and reading, uh
and I like to infuse the same in our youngest leaders.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
Is this I'm gonna say this, and I'm not gonna
We're gonna move on to something else. But I could.
I could see you running for office for something. Oh,
I don't know what the stormy, Now you start and stuff,
I could see it, I could start. I don't know
when I have talked to a woman who has been
(16:36):
as eloquent as you are. Thank you, And not that
I haven't talked to them, absolutely, But I'm just saying, sister,
the way you was quoting over to anam, saying all
that good stuff you were saying, yeah, I could that
wasn't written down people, let me just tell you that
she doesn't have anything written. She's sitting to here with me,
(16:57):
talking to me, looking me eye to eye and sharing
all of this. And you really got me a little emotional.
So I'm going to calm myself down so we can
get back to some other things. But I am stormy.
Ladies and gentlemen. Superintendent of Memphis Shelby County Schools, doctor
Marie Fagans, is on the show today. Thank you again
for accepting my invitation. But let's talk about some tough
(17:18):
things that you had to deal with the school resource officers. Yeah,
tell me about that.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Sure, I think when I learned of it as I
shared with them, you know, it's let's talk about what
we need to talk about. For me, let's talk less
and let's make do more action. I believe in safety
and everything that goes along with it. Safety is comprehensive approach.
For me, it is multi layered, and so it is
a combination of mental health supports. I believe in the
(17:47):
power of professional school counselors, social workers, nurses, school psychologists.
I believe in the power of our mental well being supports.
I also believe that even if just perceptually, when something
is happen and who do we call uh, and we
want a response and we wanted to be quick, we
trust those who are trained and and this is their
(18:08):
life right and they've been called to do this thing
keeping us safe, and so our officers I embrace I
value them. I think that in a space where they've
had to fight for everything, they felt like they had
to fight one more person as this and what's just
the fight prior to that's right? Absolutely okay, And you
know it has been a sequence of I don't ever
(18:35):
try to judge anyone's intentions, but I will say that
there have been several things that I haven't been informed about.
And so when you don't know, you don't know, but
I am one that when I know, I will take action, uh,
you know, in the way that it's necessary. And so
once it was I understood, uh and and and then
you know, I didn't have what I needed, but it
(18:56):
was just let's have the conversation about what a good
experience could be for you here financially, but also continuing
to inform the way for me. So they did receive
the rais and there were several things that they were
you know, had been asking for. And so most of
those things were able to provide. Some of those I'm
still working through that are more you know, need a
little bit more review in terms of policy oriented some
(19:20):
state support and then you know, presenting to the board,
if you will, and then other things. I stood up
a superintendent Safety Council. And so there are twelve of them,
nine representing the nine districts of Memphis Shelby County schools
and three at central Office. And so they will inform
you know, how we think differently and more broadly, if
you will, about ensuring the safety three hundred and.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
Sixty five days a year, and we need them, we
need them. There you had brought someone in that only
stayed for a small amount of time. Can you tell
me a little bit about that?
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Can tell you very little. Again, it's a case of
you know what you know, as I've shared, you know,
publicly with the board and just with the general public
who watched that particular board meet incredibly qualified individual, certainly
known from his experience during my short tenure in Detroit professionally,
(20:10):
But you only know what's made available to you. And
so at the district right now, we do not currently
have a practice where we request, you know, the deepest
reviews of personnel files, if you will, and so it's
a matter of what you place on your application. I
did share with the board that it is something since
(20:32):
policy is the boards, that is something that I would
give consideration to if they would be supportive of it,
that at least for executive level positions that we do
one more step and that would include a personnel file.
But in this case, you know, I want to respect
that individual and their privacy and things of that nature.
But I am a transparent individual and that was you know,
(20:54):
the nature of the matter.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
Unfortunately, Okay, Now, another tough thing the parents, with the
recent situations with the threats at the school, parents being
frustrated by the fact that they were told at the
last minute that school was closing or not well, some
of them saying, you know, they didn't get the get
(21:16):
what you're saying, Yeah, tell me, tell me about that.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
So we had two cases one you know, and of
course they would be back to back and so when
it rains, it pours. First one was inclement weather. The
second week it was you know, just mass crisis in
terms of several threats back to back across the district. Uh,
in terms of basically across the country, because it wasn't
just happening here and it's still happening. Yeah, uh, the
(21:39):
inclement weather. You know, we have some opportunities, certainly to
clean up our communications in terms of we've been on
with our platform and just thinking about why so many
of our families are not receiving our messages.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
I have a little deeper.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Insight now, but I am still looking looking at that
information in terms of internally, in terms of the site itself,
you know, what do we need to do, what do
they need to do? Just generally, how do we fix
this when more than forty thousand individuals are showing up
is not having contact information? So that's a challenge.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
That's a lot of people.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Oh absolutely, And so when individuals are sharing, hey, I
didn't get the message. I didn't get the message to
a degree, it's like, okay, you may have us blocked.
But when I looked at it and received several emails,
not this many have us blocked. And so that's what
made me do request the analysis. I looked at it
January fifteenth and sixteenth, at the beginning of the year
as well. Of course I was not here, and it
(22:40):
was the same case in terms of the number of individuals.
So this has been something that's ongoing. Naturally we like
to stop it here though. The following week was the
lockdown started out at one school, then it became three
schools in five schools, and so five schools you believe
you can, you know, contain and just place those particular
(23:02):
schools on watch, lockdown, or whatever the case might need
to be. But then it became what's that scary for you? No,
So I am you know, it is a very probably
unhealthy thing. But when situations like that take place, I
go opposite. And so where most are heightened and panic,
I go very calm. I can switch my voice. I
(23:22):
am a counselor, so I am licensed and trained, but
also I understand the impact if you will, if I
am rattled, that I'm not going to make a good decision.
And I also am very cognizant of the number of lives.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
You learn that. Is it from being a counselor? Did
mom and dad teach you that?
Speaker 2 (23:41):
I think that I learned it from respectfully seeing my mom.
She's pretty uneasy at times, and so just growing up
in a household and around individuals who just paying attention
to people in a very intense way. I study human
(24:02):
behavior and observe it deeply to understand what word I
should say, to understand the tonality and the pitch.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
I know it's a gift.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Yeah, I'm naturally excited, and so I know that that
energy can make some nervous. And so just being that's
why I say it's probably a little unhealthy because I
am always paying attention to everything.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
It's kind of like a strength sometimes being a weakness
as well.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
There you go, which means it's tough for me to
go to sleep fall asleep because I got to bring
myself down right, And so that's when it shows up
a little bit. But yeah, in that moment, incredibly calm,
just a matter of you know how many asking the
right questions, the sharp questions, because crisis is about time.
And so five schools. Just as I began to send
(24:48):
the information just for those five and just the individuals
of what we needed to do for that, we received
word that the individual saw the number of law enforcement
that were at the specific school where it started, which
South Wind High School, and decided, Hey, I'm going to
go somewhere else. And so the unknown became Okay, yes,
those five need to be on lockdown, but where are
(25:09):
they going? It became a matter of being on the
east side of town and then on a different side
of town and in another moment, and so the unknown
and not knowing where this person and or these people,
if you will, could be, because we did not know
if it was just one person, if it was a group,
if they were acting together. It was phone calls. Then
(25:32):
it became the social media posts sharing of the same
and so really trying to dig into that and see
which ones are original, which ones are just reposts, and so,
you know, very layered and complex experience where you have
to make a split decision in this moment as we
because your original question was just about you know, parents
and their response. I shared when I knew. However, it
(25:56):
was not posted when I shared in terms of you know,
the next person taking it and making it plain for
the public to see.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
So is your plan from now on to if you
feel like communicating will be a challenge with a lot
of parents, is to do social media Facebook, Instagram, because Donna,
that is really a good way to get the word out.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
They were really responsive. I think I did the live
and share that I should have just followed my intuition.
And you know, the reason for the live, if I
were going to do it in the moment, is so
that people can see what you see. Right now, I'm
calm all as well to the degree possible and known,
and I'll keep you posted right as often as possible.
In those moments. Not much changes, right, And so we
(26:42):
have the FBI, we have Homeland Security, we have TBI,
we have every law enforcement agency, our own MSS officers
really working to secure the spaces and also see what
is what? Yeah, and so there were some gaps in
the communication that of course is the lead do I
own internally of walked through those themes with the team
(27:04):
ensuring that whatever training is necessary is provided and availed,
and also giving a little bit of grace that the
natural instinct in those moments is to panic, It is
that the brain goes into flight mode. It is that
you are no longer you know your normal natural self,
whatever that might be on a normal day, And so
(27:25):
I give grace for those things. I think that on
the other side, if you will listening to some families
after I've shared what I've shared, they too have been
you know, it's lowered the temperature. And so right now
we're just figuring out how do we get to more
of our families who we do not have the contact
information for or because that forty something thousand is a lot.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
And hopefully if any of those forty something thousand are listening,
ID Stormy, you're listening to superintendent, talk to Marie Fagan's
hopefully they'll reach out to you, reach out to the
school and say, hey, here's my information. I just want
to check make sure you have it. So y'all just
call the school. What's the number they can call?
Speaker 2 (28:01):
Oh, I don't have a number.
Speaker 1 (28:03):
All the numbers are different. We will call your respective school.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
Yeah, and then they can take care of it for you. You
can also go into Power School and the Parent Portal
enrollment portal. You can update it there, and certainly you
can call our help desk and they can route you,
but the direct line would be your school, and that's
the easiest way. I think many of our families and
I always try to make this clear that when we call,
(28:28):
we call from the same number. So it's that number
that you feel like, oh, I'm so tired of the
district calling. It's the same number that we use in
a time of emergency and crisis. But like I shared,
looking at those numbers, there weren't a lot of people
in terms of the number of people we're trying to
reach that have us blocked, and so it is a
matter of concern that we are missing that many numbers,
(28:49):
if you will, in contact information for our family. So
we're working through that, working with schools to lift that.
And so I appreciate the feedback all of it. No
matter how it's shared, I pay attention to it because,
like I shared early, it informs better decisions moving forward.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
Yeah, I think I think sometimes you know, people don't
like it a lot. When when people don't just don't
agree with everything they say. I think sometimes it's a
it's a good thing because it kind of opens your
eyes to other things that maybe you can't see, because
all of us are living in a world where we
(29:23):
see things through our own eye. And I think it's
sometimes it's healthy. Depending on how it happens, it can
be healthy to have conversations and at least to have
those conversations to each other instead of sometimes broadcasting them
to the world before. You share things you know with people,
and I know people do the best do Maybe maybe
(29:45):
they are doing the best that they can with what
they got. I don't know, but I do know that
differences of opinions makes the world go round.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
Oh beautiful. That makes it a beautiful space. It sharpens us,
It makes us better being who we are. Yeah, it
invites us into a world that differs from I.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
Don't want to be around somebody who is yes and
me all the time, right. I don't want a man
yes and me. I don't want a friend yes and me.
Tell me when my slip is hanging. That's right, that's right.
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
It's the team.
Speaker 1 (30:16):
How can I get better? Right? Like that is? That's
not a I'm not.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
Afraid of what could be received, right, what could be
shared with you on the other side.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
And listen, I could talk to you forever, of course,
but we only have thirty minutes and we've gone over that.
So that just means you'll have to.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
Come by anytime, please, anytime.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
I appreciate you and use us you. You have my number. Yes,
if there's an emergency and we can do anything to
help on all of this wattage of power that we have. No,
we've got a lot of it. Yeah, John Best is
going to reach out to you.
Speaker 2 (30:50):
Actually shared with him that it will be one of
our ways how we move forward, utilize love it.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
We would love it.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
Yeah, we'll be reaching out.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
Absolutely, doctor super Into, to doctor Marie Fagus. What do
your friends call you? Marie or Nicole? On Nicole Marie
Nicole Fagan. That's right, it's a sweet name.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
I do my best to live up to the sweetness.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
Right, you got a tough job, and you can't be
sweet to everybody.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
Well, you know you'd be balanced. I'll be focused, be committed,
but do it right.
Speaker 1 (31:20):
And right there you go. See. I was gonna ask
her to leave y'all with a little gem, and she
just gave it to us. I'll be back. Oh my goodness,
thank you guys for listening to the show. I am stormy.
I hope this show blessed you as much as it
has blessed me today. And I am putting Superintendent Doctor
Marie Fagin's on my prayer list.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
Thank you, Thank you again for coming by my absolute privilege.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
Yes, all right, that's gonna do it. For the pulse,
keeping our fingertips on the pulse of our community. We'll
see you next week, same time, same station. God bless
you have a great week.
Well, hello everyone, welcome in. Thank you for joining us
today for the pulse. Hey, grab everybody in the house,
tell them to come to the radio so they can
hear the show today because I have a very special
guest on the show today, and ladies and gentlemen, let
me introduce to maybe you're living on a rock if
you don't know my guests that is here today, Ladies
(00:24):
and gentlemen, Superintendent doctor Marie Fagan's.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
So nice to be here, so nice to be here.
Thank you for the invitation, thank you for coming, absolutely
for accepting the invitation. And I hate we hadn't had
a chance to have you on sooner, but that's okay.
You're here now, and maybe now is when you're supposed
to be here. Always okay, always, all right, I'm stormy, everybody,
so listen in because we got some talking to do.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
How are you feeling?
Speaker 2 (00:49):
I feel great, wonderful, privileged to do what I do,
blessed to be who I am, and excited about putting
it all together each day that I'm giving the opportunity to.
Certainly this time I'm supposed to be here right now
with you, so.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Okay, I'm here for it. And you know, what I've
been praying for you, because it seems as though you'll
visit your time. Your tenure here has been kind of rocket.
You had a lot of stuff going on. You had
someone threaten your life. Yeah, you had a situation with
someone at the school who was talking about a contract
(01:23):
that seemed to get a little made in the news. So,
so tell me how you doing, how you dealing with
all of that. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
So I am a praying woman, a woman of great faith,
and a leader of the same. I know that with
this seat comes a lot known and unknown. Yeah, and
so I stay prayed up, but I take care of me.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
I am a very happy, upbeat person. So it takes
a lot to get to me and get me down.
I try to be balanced about you know, my thought
processes about things, thizing with people seeing all sides, if
you will. But my main thought and concern and focus
(02:08):
and all of this has always been And even before
I accepted the role, I had a sit down with
my mom and dad and you know, my closest family
and companion and things of that nature and shared. You know,
what could come of an experience like this, And this
is a part of those things that you could anticipate,
and so just always wanted to make sure that they
are okay, that they know that I am okay and
(02:31):
authentically and and transparently h sharing with them to keep
them at bay, but also I am their baby, their
child I am, And.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Are they Are they close to us? Are they? They're
about six hours away.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
So my family still lives in Alabama. Okay, so not
far but not far, but still not here. And so
you know, anything like that is you know, always a
call let me put my eyes on you. And so
as long as they're okay, I'm always good.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Okay, good. Yeah, I appreciate you asking, you know, and
I asked because it's I don't have a position like yours.
I mean, being a public figure. It's kind of similar,
but not really. What you do, I guess more personally
for a lot of people affects lives. I mean you
touch children every day. Not just children, but you have
(03:20):
a staff of how many.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
People nearly fourteen thousand employees wow, from MEMPHISHLB County schools.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Yeah, that's a lot of people. And yeah, a lot
of controversy. Yeah, so I guess I don't want to Yeah,
I never want to do this show and you know,
beat up anybody. That's not what I do. And I'm
not that kind of radio host, not that. But I
(03:48):
do want to ask you about the recent situations, the articles,
the news stories from some people I don't know if
you were close to, but worked closely with you. Mister
Calvill and doctor Althea agree. So how you feeling after
(04:08):
that article and all the stories that have come out recently?
Speaker 2 (04:11):
You know, incredibly disheartened. I think anytime you do great
work and your heart is good and your intentions are pure,
I wake up to do this work, or when I'm awakened,
when my feet hit the floor, I say thank you,
and then I think about all the ways that I
can go and be impactful. How can I be influential?
How can I shift the edges of the world in
(04:32):
such a way that our children and our children's children
are better. How can I say something that might change
the life of one? How can I do something that
might shift the life of one or two? And so
that's always my thinking, And how can I do it
with the best spirit, with the greatest optimism, filled with hope,
but also a balanced understanding of the harsh reality of
(04:55):
believing that you be the person to do all those
things right. So where you wake up and you're in
the news and you are the news. I think that
when I process it, it is always my goal to
be truthful, and so when I see things that maybe
(05:15):
aren't truthful, that is challenging for me. But I typically
do not respond to those things that don't elevate conversations
that they don't serve to push the needle of the
most important focus for me, which is the status of
(05:36):
our children, that of our city and our county, and moreover,
the impact on the greater world around us. We have
a nation that is in crisis. We are dealing with
walking through and doing our best to navigate some incredibly
complex experiences that none of us have been trained to do,
(05:59):
none of us thought we would have to do. And
so I try to offer my compassion to those who
may not be healed, who may not have the same
sense of balance and commitment to truth and a desire
to be the greatest example of who we are and
our best moments. I believe that I am light, and
(06:21):
I believe that I am here to shine a light
so that others can see a way forward and can
go on and do the things and be the people
that can do the things and help others become the people.
And so I understand that letters are floating. I understand
that words are shared, but the words that matter to
me are those of my family, those of my God,
(06:44):
and actually those that I say to myself, I like me.
It gives me permission to really like others and to
be respectful at all times. I always am trying to
be committed to being the person that I either didn't
have or I wanted more. And so there's no middle
ground for me. And so the high road is my road,
(07:05):
and sometimes it's less traveled, but it's mine, and I
stay there. I do look forward. You know, Stormy, you
can think about it, and you don't have shared on
air because we won't tell all of our business, right,
but you can think about a time when you made
a really bad mistake and you thought in that moment
it was the worst mistake ever, but only in your
(07:26):
season d wiser age. You thought, you know what, Without that,
I wouldn't be here, I wouldn't be me. And so
I look forward to being If so, the best mistake
that Memphis Shelby County Schools has received, that a city
(07:46):
and a county could encounter, and I look forward to
doing what I want. Every one of the one hundred
and eleven thousand, three hundred and twenty two students that
we have that I share with them every day. I
hope that they learn learn from me. I hope that
they learned from us how to lead, and more importantly,
I hope that they are working on leaving the type
(08:07):
of legacy that will be newsworthy.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
A girl, you about to make me shout, whoa, My
heart is jumping, and you about to make me run
out of this room.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Don't run, wool, don't run woo.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Oh my goodness, yeah, oh my yeah. That was so
eloquent and so beautiful. You took a page out of
a former first Lady our forever flowss Michelle Obama's notebook
or her speech from how many years ago, four maybe
(08:46):
years ago when she said when they.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Go low, that's right, we stay high, she said, go
but we stay high. Yeah, always and forever.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
I am.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
I am a favored individual.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
My god, I.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Am not the most experienced, but I'm highly qualified. Not
because I qualified myself. I took the time, I've done
the work. I've done it in some deep and challenging spaces.
And I did it without any lights, without any news,
without any cameras. I did it because it's who I am.
(09:27):
I love kids, but I absolutely believe in the power
of education because I am the result of the same.
I'm a proud head start kid. I say that all
the time, and I am a first generation college alumna.
My folks didn't go to college, but it was the
only thing they said I could do. And so I
believe in what we are doing, and I believe in
(09:50):
all of the possibilities. But more importantly, I believe in
the hopes and dreams that I see in the eyes
of the youngest leaders who we are responsible for right now.
This is generational work that we're doing. Yeah, And so
there's no time to focus on anything other than them,
because the time that has been exhausted. It has been misused,
(10:12):
it has been abused. And you know, you know the
poem I have only but a minute, only sixty seconds
inutes forced upon me. Can't refuse it. Didn't seek it,
didn't choose it. But it's up to me to use it.
Must suffer if I abuse it, to give a count
if I lose it. Just a tiny little minute, but
eternity is in it. I don't miss a millisecond miss
(10:35):
Stormy when my feet hit the ground, because everything is
counting all the decisions that I make, and more importantly
and sometimes detrimentally, the ones that I don't make. And
so anytime I am distracted, I cannot be my best.
And kids deserve our best, they actually deserve more. And
so on my count on my account, I will not
(10:57):
be held responsible for misusing and abusing the privilege that
it is to be in the seat of the superintendent.
And there's a lot of heat that comes with the seat.
And I said that as a candidate, and so I
am okay, because it means that we are doing the
right things and we are on the right track and
the trajectory that Memphis Shelby County Schools deserves to be on.
(11:23):
I will do this, as I've said, for free. Kids
deserve better. And so when we think about literacy, and
all we hear is what kids can't do. I've been
trying to focus on what they can and who they are.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
Is that why you go into the class and tell
the teachers. So just take the days and how many
times have you done that? And you don't even broadcast it.
You just do it.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
So we do it a couple of times, you know,
with the cameras, so that people I want parents to
see their kids in action, right, I want people who
don't really understand it education to understand what the life
of a teacher consists of. Just in a glimpse. Teacher
life is a different life. Teacher tired is a different tired.
(12:10):
They're constantly making decisions all the time, head on a swivel,
trying to ensure not only has learning taking place, but
you want kids to have a good time as well.
You want the experience to be that and experience so
they come back the next day ready and excited to
do it again. And so I'm a teacher first, foremost,
and forever. I will always be in the classroom. It
shapes and sharpens my decisions. It heightens my compassion and
(12:34):
my empathy. It keeps me connected to where the magic
is happening. And so the further away you go normally,
the more disconnected you become. And that's what your decisions reflect,
It's what your actions reflect, it's what your attitude and
ego reflect. And so I keep myself humble, right, I
didn't know math when I went to BTW the other
(12:55):
day high school to substitute in the eighth grade, but
the kids did. And that's where it allows me to
do teach me.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
So what do the teachers say to you? Because I've
got three teachers in my family Byron Harris, his wife Camille,
and Jason Harris. I might have some more, but those
are the three I can think of right now that
have told me that they are excited and thankful for
(13:23):
a doctor. Marie Fagin's okay, let me say it, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
Absolutely hello to them all.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
So how excited are the teachers when you walk in
their classrooms and do this kind of stuff? What do
they say to you?
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Oh, they get excited. I've seen some tears, you know,
you get hugs, you get the first Are you serious?
Nobody's ever done this? And it's like, yeah, I'm.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
A teaching you. Who's ready?
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Go enjoy the day? Right, enjoy the mouse of your day,
figure out how to go and just relax the days
on me. And if you don't have a lesson planning, right,
I can do it with kids. I taught six years
in middle and high school and so I love being
with children. It is the fuel that I know that
(14:14):
I need, and so I would not do this work
if I could not stay connected to them. Kids informed
the budget process for me. Kids have certainly shared, you know,
some disheartening experiences that have allowed us to stand up
a bus app so we can track, they can track
where the bus is.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
Right.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
A young lady shared she was out at five thirty
am in the morning, it was dark and the bus
never came. So it allows me to really get with
the team and stay connected. It's also the expectation of
my senior leadership team to sub for a day as well,
and so you know, they share the experiences that is
so odd, their headaches, and.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
You need me to come to it.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
Absolutely, absolutely, I invite now be careful. Now I'm a
recruiter and I'm pretty good at it, but you'll be teaching, absolutely,
you know. I actually tutor over her dumb bar it
then I tutor, you know, and I love it that
my little note there's I brought it home from the
little girl that I was tutoring.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
She said, I love you, Stormy. It's at home, yes,
in my bathrooms, and it looks at me every day,
you know, every time I go into the bath. I
see that little note that she wrote on the sticky.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Absolutely, you mean something to her, and that's.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
What it's and she means something to me and the
work that teachers do. I've said it for a long time.
I won't stop saying it. I think teachers should get
paid just as much as these professional basketball absolutely, because
you there's nobody living or listening to me right now
that can tell you or me that they did not
have a favorite teachers, right and that a teacher, there
(15:42):
was one teacher that affected their lives in a good
way like nobody's ever done. It's correct, you know what
I'm saying. Everybody's got one.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely and mine.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
And it's head Start month, National head Start Month. And
so my head start teacher who along with my mom
and dad, Miss Bourbine. She's in Phoenix City, Alabama. I
sent her edible arrangements last year. I got a cent
her something this year. Wow, she started this spark if
you will for me. I love learning and reading, uh
and I like to infuse the same in our youngest leaders.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
Is this I'm gonna say this, and I'm not gonna
We're gonna move on to something else. But I could.
I could see you running for office for something. Oh,
I don't know what the stormy, Now you start and stuff,
I could see it, I could start. I don't know
when I have talked to a woman who has been
(16:36):
as eloquent as you are. Thank you, And not that
I haven't talked to them, absolutely, But I'm just saying, sister,
the way you was quoting over to anam, saying all
that good stuff you were saying, yeah, I could that
wasn't written down people, let me just tell you that
she doesn't have anything written. She's sitting to here with me,
(16:57):
talking to me, looking me eye to eye and sharing
all of this. And you really got me a little emotional.
So I'm going to calm myself down so we can
get back to some other things. But I am stormy.
Ladies and gentlemen. Superintendent of Memphis Shelby County Schools, doctor
Marie Fagans, is on the show today. Thank you again
for accepting my invitation. But let's talk about some tough
(17:18):
things that you had to deal with the school resource officers. Yeah,
tell me about that.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Sure, I think when I learned of it as I
shared with them, you know, it's let's talk about what
we need to talk about. For me, let's talk less
and let's make do more action. I believe in safety
and everything that goes along with it. Safety is comprehensive approach.
For me, it is multi layered, and so it is
a combination of mental health supports. I believe in the
(17:47):
power of professional school counselors, social workers, nurses, school psychologists.
I believe in the power of our mental well being supports.
I also believe that even if just perceptually, when something
is happen and who do we call uh, and we
want a response and we wanted to be quick, we
trust those who are trained and and this is their
(18:08):
life right and they've been called to do this thing
keeping us safe, and so our officers I embrace I
value them. I think that in a space where they've
had to fight for everything, they felt like they had
to fight one more person as this and what's just
the fight prior to that's right? Absolutely okay, And you
know it has been a sequence of I don't ever
(18:35):
try to judge anyone's intentions, but I will say that
there have been several things that I haven't been informed about.
And so when you don't know, you don't know, but
I am one that when I know, I will take action, uh,
you know, in the way that it's necessary. And so
once it was I understood, uh and and and then
you know, I didn't have what I needed, but it
(18:56):
was just let's have the conversation about what a good
experience could be for you here financially, but also continuing
to inform the way for me. So they did receive
the rais and there were several things that they were
you know, had been asking for. And so most of
those things were able to provide. Some of those I'm
still working through that are more you know, need a
little bit more review in terms of policy oriented some
(19:20):
state support and then you know, presenting to the board,
if you will, and then other things. I stood up
a superintendent Safety Council. And so there are twelve of them,
nine representing the nine districts of Memphis Shelby County schools
and three at central Office. And so they will inform
you know, how we think differently and more broadly, if
you will, about ensuring the safety three hundred and.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
Sixty five days a year, and we need them, we
need them. There you had brought someone in that only
stayed for a small amount of time. Can you tell
me a little bit about that?
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Can tell you very little. Again, it's a case of
you know what you know, as I've shared, you know,
publicly with the board and just with the general public
who watched that particular board meet incredibly qualified individual, certainly
known from his experience during my short tenure in Detroit professionally,
(20:10):
But you only know what's made available to you. And
so at the district right now, we do not currently
have a practice where we request, you know, the deepest
reviews of personnel files, if you will, and so it's
a matter of what you place on your application. I
did share with the board that it is something since
(20:32):
policy is the boards, that is something that I would
give consideration to if they would be supportive of it,
that at least for executive level positions that we do
one more step and that would include a personnel file.
But in this case, you know, I want to respect
that individual and their privacy and things of that nature.
But I am a transparent individual and that was you know,
(20:54):
the nature of the matter.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
Unfortunately, Okay, Now, another tough thing the parents, with the
recent situations with the threats at the school, parents being
frustrated by the fact that they were told at the
last minute that school was closing or not well, some
of them saying, you know, they didn't get the get
(21:16):
what you're saying, Yeah, tell me, tell me about that.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
So we had two cases one you know, and of
course they would be back to back and so when
it rains, it pours. First one was inclement weather. The
second week it was you know, just mass crisis in
terms of several threats back to back across the district. Uh,
in terms of basically across the country, because it wasn't
just happening here and it's still happening. Yeah, uh, the
(21:39):
inclement weather. You know, we have some opportunities, certainly to
clean up our communications in terms of we've been on
with our platform and just thinking about why so many
of our families are not receiving our messages.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
I have a little deeper.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Insight now, but I am still looking looking at that
information in terms of internally, in terms of the site itself,
you know, what do we need to do, what do
they need to do? Just generally, how do we fix
this when more than forty thousand individuals are showing up
is not having contact information? So that's a challenge.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
That's a lot of people.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Oh absolutely, And so when individuals are sharing, hey, I
didn't get the message. I didn't get the message to
a degree, it's like, okay, you may have us blocked.
But when I looked at it and received several emails,
not this many have us blocked. And so that's what
made me do request the analysis. I looked at it
January fifteenth and sixteenth, at the beginning of the year
as well. Of course I was not here, and it
(22:40):
was the same case in terms of the number of individuals.
So this has been something that's ongoing. Naturally we like
to stop it here though. The following week was the
lockdown started out at one school, then it became three
schools in five schools, and so five schools you believe
you can, you know, contain and just place those particular
(23:02):
schools on watch, lockdown, or whatever the case might need
to be. But then it became what's that scary for you? No,
So I am you know, it is a very probably
unhealthy thing. But when situations like that take place, I
go opposite. And so where most are heightened and panic,
I go very calm. I can switch my voice. I
(23:22):
am a counselor, so I am licensed and trained, but
also I understand the impact if you will, if I
am rattled, that I'm not going to make a good decision.
And I also am very cognizant of the number of lives.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
You learn that. Is it from being a counselor? Did
mom and dad teach you that?
Speaker 2 (23:41):
I think that I learned it from respectfully seeing my mom.
She's pretty uneasy at times, and so just growing up
in a household and around individuals who just paying attention
to people in a very intense way. I study human
(24:02):
behavior and observe it deeply to understand what word I
should say, to understand the tonality and the pitch.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
I know it's a gift.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Yeah, I'm naturally excited, and so I know that that
energy can make some nervous. And so just being that's
why I say it's probably a little unhealthy because I
am always paying attention to everything.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
It's kind of like a strength sometimes being a weakness
as well.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
There you go, which means it's tough for me to
go to sleep fall asleep because I got to bring
myself down right, And so that's when it shows up
a little bit. But yeah, in that moment, incredibly calm,
just a matter of you know how many asking the
right questions, the sharp questions, because crisis is about time.
And so five schools. Just as I began to send
(24:48):
the information just for those five and just the individuals
of what we needed to do for that, we received
word that the individual saw the number of law enforcement
that were at the specific school where it started, which
South Wind High School, and decided, Hey, I'm going to
go somewhere else. And so the unknown became Okay, yes,
those five need to be on lockdown, but where are
(25:09):
they going? It became a matter of being on the
east side of town and then on a different side
of town and in another moment, and so the unknown
and not knowing where this person and or these people,
if you will, could be, because we did not know
if it was just one person, if it was a group,
if they were acting together. It was phone calls. Then
(25:32):
it became the social media posts sharing of the same
and so really trying to dig into that and see
which ones are original, which ones are just reposts, and so,
you know, very layered and complex experience where you have
to make a split decision in this moment as we
because your original question was just about you know, parents
and their response. I shared when I knew. However, it
(25:56):
was not posted when I shared in terms of you know,
the next person taking it and making it plain for
the public to see.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
So is your plan from now on to if you
feel like communicating will be a challenge with a lot
of parents, is to do social media Facebook, Instagram, because Donna,
that is really a good way to get the word out.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
They were really responsive. I think I did the live
and share that I should have just followed my intuition.
And you know, the reason for the live, if I
were going to do it in the moment, is so
that people can see what you see. Right now, I'm
calm all as well to the degree possible and known,
and I'll keep you posted right as often as possible.
In those moments. Not much changes, right, And so we
(26:42):
have the FBI, we have Homeland Security, we have TBI,
we have every law enforcement agency, our own MSS officers
really working to secure the spaces and also see what
is what? Yeah, and so there were some gaps in
the communication that of course is the lead do I
own internally of walked through those themes with the team
(27:04):
ensuring that whatever training is necessary is provided and availed,
and also giving a little bit of grace that the
natural instinct in those moments is to panic, It is
that the brain goes into flight mode. It is that
you are no longer you know your normal natural self,
whatever that might be on a normal day, And so
(27:25):
I give grace for those things. I think that on
the other side, if you will listening to some families
after I've shared what I've shared, they too have been
you know, it's lowered the temperature. And so right now
we're just figuring out how do we get to more
of our families who we do not have the contact
information for or because that forty something thousand is a lot.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
And hopefully if any of those forty something thousand are listening,
ID Stormy, you're listening to superintendent, talk to Marie Fagan's
hopefully they'll reach out to you, reach out to the
school and say, hey, here's my information. I just want
to check make sure you have it. So y'all just
call the school. What's the number they can call?
Speaker 2 (28:01):
Oh, I don't have a number.
Speaker 1 (28:03):
All the numbers are different. We will call your respective school.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
Yeah, and then they can take care of it for you. You
can also go into Power School and the Parent Portal
enrollment portal. You can update it there, and certainly you
can call our help desk and they can route you,
but the direct line would be your school, and that's
the easiest way. I think many of our families and
I always try to make this clear that when we call,
(28:28):
we call from the same number. So it's that number
that you feel like, oh, I'm so tired of the
district calling. It's the same number that we use in
a time of emergency and crisis. But like I shared,
looking at those numbers, there weren't a lot of people
in terms of the number of people we're trying to
reach that have us blocked, and so it is a
matter of concern that we are missing that many numbers,
(28:49):
if you will, in contact information for our family. So
we're working through that, working with schools to lift that.
And so I appreciate the feedback all of it. No
matter how it's shared, I pay attention to it because,
like I shared early, it informs better decisions moving forward.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
Yeah, I think I think sometimes you know, people don't
like it a lot. When when people don't just don't
agree with everything they say. I think sometimes it's a
it's a good thing because it kind of opens your
eyes to other things that maybe you can't see, because
all of us are living in a world where we
(29:23):
see things through our own eye. And I think it's
sometimes it's healthy. Depending on how it happens, it can
be healthy to have conversations and at least to have
those conversations to each other instead of sometimes broadcasting them
to the world before. You share things you know with people,
and I know people do the best do Maybe maybe
(29:45):
they are doing the best that they can with what
they got. I don't know, but I do know that
differences of opinions makes the world go round.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
Oh beautiful. That makes it a beautiful space. It sharpens us,
It makes us better being who we are. Yeah, it
invites us into a world that differs from I.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
Don't want to be around somebody who is yes and
me all the time, right. I don't want a man
yes and me. I don't want a friend yes and me.
Tell me when my slip is hanging. That's right, that's right.
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
It's the team.
Speaker 1 (30:16):
How can I get better? Right? Like that is? That's
not a I'm not.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
Afraid of what could be received, right, what could be
shared with you on the other side.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
And listen, I could talk to you forever, of course,
but we only have thirty minutes and we've gone over that.
So that just means you'll have to.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
Come by anytime, please, anytime.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
I appreciate you and use us you. You have my number. Yes,
if there's an emergency and we can do anything to
help on all of this wattage of power that we have. No,
we've got a lot of it. Yeah, John Best is
going to reach out to you.
Speaker 2 (30:50):
Actually shared with him that it will be one of
our ways how we move forward, utilize love it.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
We would love it.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
Yeah, we'll be reaching out.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
Absolutely, doctor super Into, to doctor Marie Fagus. What do
your friends call you? Marie or Nicole? On Nicole Marie
Nicole Fagan. That's right, it's a sweet name.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
I do my best to live up to the sweetness.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
Right, you got a tough job, and you can't be
sweet to everybody.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
Well, you know you'd be balanced. I'll be focused, be committed,
but do it right.
Speaker 1 (31:20):
And right there you go. See. I was gonna ask
her to leave y'all with a little gem, and she
just gave it to us. I'll be back. Oh my goodness,
thank you guys for listening to the show. I am stormy.
I hope this show blessed you as much as it
has blessed me today. And I am putting Superintendent Doctor
Marie Fagin's on my prayer list.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
Thank you, Thank you again for coming by my absolute privilege.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
Yes, all right, that's gonna do it. For the pulse,
keeping our fingertips on the pulse of our community. We'll
see you next week, same time, same station. God bless
you have a great week.
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