Pasco County Schools, FL Stephanie Spicknall, RD, LDN in u ertain times BALANCING LABOR DEMANDS
On The Front Lines
supervise two school sites. Typically, one of the two school sites has a very low participation (<500 MEQ) and is in close geographic proximity to the other site. In addition, employee’s daily job duties were broken into 15-minute increments so not only did they know what tasks were assigned to them to complete, but the time expectation as well. We recognized that the need for cross training was more important now than ever as multitasking became a necessity! COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE Since so much changed so rapidly, it was important to have regular communication with all the stakeholders to successfully adapt to our new normal: Superintendent Staff, Principals, Parents, Community Members, Students, Teachers, and most critically the Foodservice Staff. Each stakeholder provided great incite and feedback that assisted in the development of plans that would move our department forward. It was vital to be as transparent as possible with our challenges, solutions, and next steps. Change is never easy, so the transparency and collaboration brought forth vital stakeholder buy in.
Child Nutrition Staff are truly the most resilient and dedicated. They find a way to ensure students get a meal. It is truly remarkable and heartwarming. While so much has changed their giant hearts have surely been a constant amidst these uncertain times.
Like most Child Nutrition Programs, the pandemic impacted our operation in ways which we had never experienced before. Pre-pandemic our sites were well oiled machines providing consistency operationally and more importantly, for staff and students. Ask any sitemanager approximatelyhowmanycases of a given item they need weekly and a response will promptly be provided - it is second nature. Fast forward to these COVID times where we never know who is going to be at school, let alone who will choose to come and get a meal. Times have surely changed and so have our revenues and expenses. To persevere through these tough times, we have had to take a step back and look at our operation through a new lens. There was a lot that we could not control so we worked hard to focus on what we could with the goal of not only surviving but thriving to the other side of these pandemic times. KNOW YOUR NUMBERS... KNOW YOUR REALITY The data by site ranged from the good, the bad, and maybe even the ugly, but it was important to face the numbers to be able to develop a strategic improvement plan. After all, it is much more difficult
to figure out where to go if you don’t know where you are. The plan was surely not a one size fits all as each site had its own sets of challenges and specific areas requiring attention. It was vital that management at each site was aware of their numbers; how they were calculated, what impacted them, and what was the goal. STRATEGICALLY STAFF How many students would be participating, where would we be serving meals (Curbside, Grab & Go Kiosk, Café), where would students consume their meal…we found ourselves with new answers to these questions and therefore, our staffing structure had to follow. For years, an employee may have had a specific shift and set of job duties, but we had to pivot to meet the needs of our “new” operation. Serving times were extended to comply with social distancing and additional sanitation while participation counts fell. It took lots of creativity to develop a schedule that met the needs of the operation and did not break the bank. We expanded our dual management model where a manager and assistant manager
Dual Management
Marlon talks with the Pasco County School team about the process and success of their dual management model.
Times have surely changed and so have our revenues and expenses. To persevere through these tough times, we have had to take a step back and look at our operation through a new lens. “
FAST FACTS about Pasco County Schools 2020-2021 FAST FACTS about Pasc County Schools (2020-2021)
- Stephanie Spicknall -
More than $650,000.00 in scholarship funds awarded to students in the 2019-2020 school year
Pasco County Covers 868 Square Miles 49 th Largest School District in U.S. (of more than 14,000) 10 th Largest School District in Florida (out of 67)
76,801 Students
35,942 Elementary 18,444 Middle 22,415 High 46,322 White 5,920 Black 17,942 Hispanic 6,617 Other
33,406 Devices 2.3-to-1 Student-to-Device Rati o
47.5 % Free Lunch
7 % Reduced Lunch
Stephanie is a Registered Dietitian and Foodservice Director for Pasco County Schools. Her journey in Child Nutrition started in 2007. Her passion is applying creativity to her job whether it be getting kids to try new and healthy foods through collaboration with industry partners by way of innovative products or streamlining processes to make themmore efficient.
4,897 Graduates
96 Schools Elementary Middle High Educational Centers Virtual Schools 48 16 14
38,049 College Credits Earned
239 Advanced Diplomas Earned
4 1 1 12
1928
Stephanie Spicknall, RD, LDN Pasco County Schools
Technical Colleges Charter Schools
10,908 Employees
5,595 Instructional Employees
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