Feb. 2 Puesta Del Sol

The biggest school we go to in Rio Rancho. Saw 165 kids. Despite the vastness of the school grounds and large numbers we saw, the week was stolen by a character called 'Frank'.

January 23 La Promesa Elementary

OK, first of all, if the 'sticks' is an imagitive place describing a location beyond anywhere civilized, this school is 15 miles past that. Situated somewhere along the plains of sagebrush and pinon pines in NE Soccoro county rises a bright pink adobe styled elementary school named 'La Promesa'. I think it means 'the Promise' in Spanish. Too bad...I'm not sure what these folks were promised, but undoubtedly it was a let down when they arrived. While many of the schools we serve have Spanish speaking students, this one actually had a couple of English speaking students. Case in point, I go into a first grade classroom to announce they won the pizza party for most dental forms returned....no reaction. The teacher then says the same thing in Spanish, and I get rushed by 22 screaming kids who act as though maybe this was THE very "La Promesa" that they had in mind when they arrived here....In any event, lots of bad teeth here and no way to pay for it, so we went instantly from a for profit organization to non-profit pretty quickly. Too bad the IRS doesn't let you fluctuate your status on a weekly basis. In business school, marketing class teaches you a strategy about being a loss leader for the sake of market penetration. If you aren't Wal-Mart or Southwest though, it usually means everyone in the market loses out in the end becuase everyone has to cut profits, adjust prices downward, just to compete. So I'm not sure why I keep implementing this strategy when we don't have any competition in this school district. One thing business school doesn't mention though, is that sometimes loss leadership and 'ethical' leadership aren't mutually exclusive. Simply put, even though no payment is coming in for treating many of these indigent children, it wouldn't be the right thing to walk away from those needing the very treatment and care we provide. So we do it...and don't receive payment...and get to experience "La Promesa" of business that it's hard to make money working for free. But sometime after the initial realization of our now non-profit status this week has hit me, I get a 75 minute ride home that reminds me that if you enjoy what your doing and feel you are making a difference, there are more primary and intrinsic satisfacations that can be felt, gained, and experienced in your work life over the pull of the almighty dollar.....