Please evaluate the CEO on a scale from 1 (low, not effective at all) to 5 (high, very effective) on the following topics. / Evalúe al CEO en una escala de 1 (bajo, nada efectivo) a 5 (alto, muy efectivo) en los siguientes temas. [Leading Living School to accomplish our Mission of improving lives, communities, and environment. / Liderando Living School para lograr nuestra Misión de mejorar vidas, comunidades y medio ambiente.]

Please evaluate the CEO on a scale from 1 (low, not effective at all) to 5 (high, very effective) on the following topics. / Evalúe al CEO en una escala de 1 (bajo, nada efectivo) a 5 (alto, muy efectivo) en los siguientes temas. [Hiring, developing, and retaining excellent staff / Contratar, desarrollar y retener personal excelente]

Please evaluate the CEO on a scale from 1 (low, not effective at all) to 5 (high, very effective) on the following topics. / Evalúe al CEO en una escala de 1 (bajo, nada efectivo) a 5 (alto, muy efectivo) en los siguientes temas. [Supporting students & families to achieve our Graduate Outcomes / Apoyando a los estudiantes y las familias para lograr nuestros resultados de posgrado]

Please evaluate the CEO on a scale from 1 (low, not effective at all) to 5 (high, very effective) on the following topics. / Evalúe al CEO en una escala de 1 (bajo, nada efectivo) a 5 (alto, muy efectivo) en los siguientes temas. [Managing Living School's strategic priorities & budget / Administrar las prioridades estratégicas y el presupuesto de Living School]

Please evaluate the CEO on a scale from 1 (low, not effective at all) to 5 (high, very effective) on the following topics. / Evalúe al CEO en una escala de 1 (bajo, nada efectivo) a 5 (alto, muy efectivo) en los siguientes temas. [Managing Living School's Democratic Governance (Board, Staff Council, Student Council, & Family Council) / Gestión de la Gobernanza Democrática de Living School (Junta, Consejo de Personal, Consejo Estudiantil y Consejo Familiar)]

Please evaluate the CEO on a scale from 1 (low, not effective at all) to 5 (high, very effective) on the following topics. / Evalúe al CEO en una escala de 1 (bajo, nada efectivo) a 5 (alto, muy efectivo) en los siguientes temas. [Leading Living School's Communications to be clear, compelling, & effective / Liderando las comunicaciones de Living School para que sean claras, convincentes y efectivas]

Do you think Stefin Pasternak should remain CEO of Living School? / ¿Crees que Stefin Pasternak debería seguir siendo director ejecutivo de Living School?

Is there anything else you would like to add? / ¿Hay algo más que le gustaría agregar?

kwillsevans@livingschoolnola.org

Stefin does not clearly or effectively communicate when people are not meeting expectations, instead he speaks about them to others. There have been many instances where people lost their gainful employment suddenly and as a surprise. Stefin steamrolls all meetings that he is in. Under his leadership, systems team spends hours weekly meeting instead of just providing updates and allowing folks to lead in the ways that they are more than able. I have noticed that Stefin is constantly apologizing for things that have not been done, and yet there seems to be no shifts in capacity or priorities to make sure important task are complete.

I have submitted an incident report about Stefin's behavior with no follow-up.

jthomas@livingschoolnola.org

xfrost@livingschoolnola.org

The Most important thing is for him to understand that his good nature and well meaning comes off as a white savior complex.

Listening to the staff and students as to what the school needs. Understanding Cultural appropriation and his own place within the confines of educating within this community, his impact and harm even though he "means well". Understanding his privilege and how that comes across.

I think this school needs to be led by someone from the community who understands the needs and struggles that exist here, someone that sees the world we are sending these children into and not what we want it to be. Stefin ignores the burning building while trying to keep a positive attitude, which is not what we need.

Let go of some of the nuances in the original vision of the school, and allow for transformation and change, regardless of the risk factors. I also think that it's important to find someone that can obtain and manage grants that can support the sustainability of our school.

pmartinez23@livingschoolnola.org

Honestly Mr. Stefin should not remain the CEO I believe he has too much on his hands to handle and I believe that is the reason LS is so dysfunctional.

eschroeder@livingschoolnola.org

We need to raise more money in order to adequately staff for student needs. This is a shared need for the district as a whole, and could be assisted by the district centralizing some services and costs. It's really hard to see anything more that the CEO can do, versus what is an example of failed systems at the local, state and federal level.

This is not an appropriate survey for students - how are they to have an opinion on strategic priorities and budget? There needs to be an option for "I don't know" if you are giving this to students. Frankly, staff may not have an opinion or knowledge about various prompts either, nor the degree to which these responsibilities are shared by others within leadership or the BoD. The CEO does not "manage" the BoD, yet that is suggested in the prompt given.
Any data derived from this survey is flawed.

kward@livingschoolnola.org

- He has consistently received feedback from black women that he is not listening to them. This has to change immediately.
- Build more structures and systems to support the school
- Think through the details of anything we're about to do (field trips, staff development, etc.) or co-plan with someone who is detail oriented
- Think carefully about how his words and actions are going to be received by staff/students, particularly members of marginalized groups who may have been harmed in the past
- Be clear when the responsibilities are too much and delegate

I am so grateful to Stefin for the work he's done and the ways he's organized to begin this place. In transparency, I am unsure how it will survive without him, not only because of the institutional knowledge he holds, but also because I'm not sure how many other people would be willing to work as hard as he does at such an incredible breadth of tasks to make this place survive.

However, these responsibilities cannot rest of his shoulders forever. We have clearly heard the call of several black women who are native New Orleans for him to step aside publicly and I think their voices matter deeply. I would ask the board to step up in this moment, and guide us through a long, thorough CEO transition process that will not only respond to these calls, but will also show us that Living School can sustain in the long-term, and we are not simply built around one man. We should take the next 1-2 years to set LSNO up for a decades-long future.

Additionally, I would love to see a member of the board leadership come and speak to our staff. I feel sometimes that people are not aware that the board is there to hold Stefin accountable, and also that there is a group of awesome, committed folks who believe in LSNO and believe its mission is worthy of continuing. I think that reassurance that we as staff are not alone in trying to sustain this would be wonderful if you have that capacity.

Thank you so much for all of the work you do for this school.

mpichon@livingschoolnola.org

I think this year when we have lost a lot of leadership and there are few founding staff members left we need the security of someone who understands the school's mission, has the institutional knowledge of how it runs, and who is willing to work a job that requires such an intense commitment (time, emotionally, etc). I think when we are in less of a crisis situation (i.e. fully staffed and with a leader who is well versed in how the school runs) we can return to this conversation to see if there is a more appropriate person to be the CEO but in the meantime I worry it would cause more instability and confusion for Stefin to leave the CEO position.

pwilliams@livingschoolnola.org

Stefin frequently discusses others to other people but not with those people directly, which leads to confusion and contention within the school setting. I would also offer that this is unprofessional and inappropriate from a leader.
He hoards power and acknowledges that delegation and transparent communication are growth areas for him, but does not name explicit next steps or plans to improve with specificity. About once a week, Stefin says something along the lines of "I'm not sure I told you this" or "I didn't follow up, but..." in relation to me or my workload, which is incredibly frustrating. I'm not sure what his personal organization systems are, but I experience working alongside him to come with unnecessary and defeating bottlenecks.
When issues with leadership are brought to us, he does not seem to internalize being a part of the issue, but rather speaks of the issues in a detached way which doesn't include personal accountability. I told Stefin directly on multiple occasions last semester about specific examples of how he has harmed me or our community with his delay in communications or in his oversight/assumptions about other people that affect their jobs, and his response most frequently was "heard that," with no changed behavior.
I have confronted him at least twice on situations wherein a staff member was upset at a decision that was made that impacted them without it being communicated clearly or preemptively for his response to be "my bad."
I have several teachers who ask questions about certain decisions that have been made that I can't give them more context on because I don't have it (because Stefin hasn't told me either) but I am expected to disseminate and enforce this information without necessary context.
When asked for accountability, Stefin often responds with excuses, such as "Not to excuse anything but I have a lot on my plate," rather than identifying a change that he will undertake to avoid problems in the future.
Stefin micromanages with a lack of communication, which means that it's often difficult to get ahead of anything; rather, I frequently feel as if I am at a loss for how to proceed on basic things that I should be able to autonomously move forward with.
I have seen Stefin use others as a shield for responsibility, i.e. times when a decision he pushed for has been made by the leadership team has received negative feedback, he discusses as if it's entirely on the leadership team, but does not take personal ownership over certain decisions he has made.
I experience his leadership as extremely paternalistic; he frequently makes decisions about what's best for kids (as a group or as individuals) and then disseminates the information as if it is something that was determined to be best in a democratic process.
I have sat down with Stefin on multiple occasions (at least a dozen) since January 2022 about the issues I have with the school or to preemptively make decisions regarding my workload with teachers, and infrequently feel better after these meetings. I have addressed my concerns explicitly and in writing and I often get responses like "I hear you" or similar but the behaviors don't change. I feel like he centers his feelings and his intentions rather than his impact, and I have named that to him, to no change. Working alongside him is extremely detrimental and I told him about nearly quitting last semester (his response was "I assumed you were not wanting to return," but nothing about what I needed to stay or what he could offer to change the dynamic). I am considering leaving soon for my own sanity.

Stefin has several times now said he is willing and excited to do whatever he can to make things right with the school but when it comes to tangible offerings, I have heard very little and seen even less. His response to being asked by multiple people to step down and away from his position was met with a vague assurance that he is willing to do whatever it takes to benefit the school, and he'll step away if its deemed best. It's been named several times by several sources - students and adults alike - that he should leave, and while he claims he is willing I think it's telling that he refuses to explicitly say whether or not he plans to do so. I think this is a small example of what it is like working with him in general. Vague promises are made, rarely if ever kept, and we're supposed to just go along with it.

jgordon26@livingschoolnola.org

abower@livingschoolnola.org

Stefin is great at making people feel heard, but he does not always follow up with action or changed behavior. Many of the issues that have recently been raised by both staff and students have been raised for months, going back to last school year, and have not been acted upon.

Stefin also has a tendency to overcommit, and therefore under-deliver. He says yes to too many people about too many different things, then changes plans after the conversation because it conflicts with other plans he's said yes to. Example- I came in this summer and created an entire Elective plan including course offerings, schedule, and site plan. I left feeling great about the plan, only to have it changed by Stefin after I left. I then had to come back and re-work the plan, which landed back at my original ideas anyway. It was incredibly frustrating because I had to do the same work twice.

Communication at Living School is inefficient at every level. The staff are often not on the same page, and communication to students then suffers as well. Stefin has a tendency to think that information is clear and accessible when it's actually not.

Retention of both staff and students is not going well. We're losing staff members and students on a regular basis, and all roads lead back to Mr. Stefin. Multiple women of color have cited specific issues with Stefin as their primary reason for leaving, and they have all called for his resignation. His recent response to this was another vague email with an apology, but no commitments for changed behavior or specific plans for change.

While I don't believe Stefin should remain the CEO of Living School, I'm also concerned about the amount of institutional knowledge and power that he has. If he is removed as CEO, the transition will need to be handled incredibly carefully if Living School is going to remain afloat.

cpaul26@livingschool.org

rgeorge@livingschoolnola.org

Delegate as much as possible so that we as a team can achieve our overall goals. Increase communication to better disseminate important information

Stefin has been an effective leader. He puts our Legends first in decisions each and everyday within Living School. WE would be hard pressed to find a leader that cares more.

cherbert26@livingschoolnola.org

gsolomon26@livingschoolnola.org

yfluker26@livingschoolnola.org

jphillips26@livingschoolnola.org

amontegut26@livingschoolnola.org

sgleason26@livingschoolnola.org

I feel that he needs to think about us (the students) more even though he is on his way to achieving this.

amartinez26@livingschoolnola.org

cwilliams25@livingschoolnola.org

janilus26@livingschoolnola.org

agordon26@livingschoolnola.org

The CEO needs to make sure that everyone is participating and there should be a place where people who doesn't want to participate doesn't have too,some of us feel like we are being forced to do this and it's unfair.

i would like to add that i somewhat understood this survey

jacperez26@livingschoolnola.org

mhenry26@livingschool.org

riovaldez24@livingschoolnola.org

communication, stop making excuses for problems, include students more on important decisions.

perhaps a co ceo positions should be added?

jdaviosn24@livingschoolnola.org

I haven't really been here that long but i know that the school system is never to good

rwilliams26@livingschoolnola.org

khjones26@livingschoolnola.org

on the question "Managing Living School's strategic priorities & budget" i just put 3 because i really dont know

klee25@livingschoolnola.org

he needs to restore off campus lunch back to everyday because there is no point of holding other back because someone else did something

that this school was very good at first until the ceo took our lunch from us i think its selfish and wrong

rriveraguadamuz23@livingschoolnola.org

dsimon26@livingschoolnola.org

ddoyle26@livingschoolnola.org

I think that the CEO needs to better organize certain things but other than that I don't really think he needs to do anything else.

qhayes26@livingschoolnola.org

No, there is not anything else.

dcarey25@livingschoolnola.org

Something the ceo needs to do better is hire better teachers and staff and better lunch policies such as off campus everyday again.

jmiller26@livingschoolnola.org

wriuz26@livingschoolnola.org

ksudds26@livingschoolnola.org

emiller26@livingschoolnola.org

gbatizbustillo25@livingschoolnola.org

The CEO needs to not just hear, but listen to the students, and staff, and people trying to give him feedback.

rgorden25@livingschoolnola.org

i think he needs to do a better job at hearing each level of authority in the school and include the students more,

hbenjamin26@livingschoolnola.org

nlee25@livingschoolnola.org

get more involved with the students and actually fix what we are asking for and not just nod your head and say you here us

i been trying to get to my right grade and no one has helped me

sharris25@livingschoolnola.org

the ceo need to work on listenin to students and hearing their problems, working to solve the problems, keeping promises, and keeping the school in check.

khancock25@livingschoolnola.org

mjason25@livingschoolnola.org

Things the ceo can do better is cut back on the rules like the rules such as the passes and the id i feel it is not necessary

khawkins25@livingschoolnola.org

cwhite25@livingschoolnola.org

jmiller25@livingschooInola.org

mketchens25@livingschoolnola.org

Dbrown25@livingschoolnola.org

kedraphilson25@livingschoolnola.org

What Mr. Stefin needs to improve is trying to hear our students voices more often and stop pushing them to the side. Also, saying one thing is gonna change but its still continues as it has before.

mnoel25@livingschoolnola.org

acolindresavila25@livingscoolnola.org

Lo que quiero agregar es, es una peticion, lo que queremos la mayoria de Hispanos, es una cancha de futbol, si es posible. GRACIAS.

nlainezoliva25@livingshoolnola.org

Nada pienso que todo esta bien por ahora.

chwilliams25@livingschoolnola.org

i think that Mr. Stefin needs to imporve the lunch rule it should be like old times when i was in the 9th grade.

emaldonado25@livingschoolnola.org

Communication and organization is key. It builds trust within the community and can create better change overall. I feel like a lot more things can be handled as a team, I feel like as a CEO there might be a lot on your plate and a lot to handle if there's just so much to handle at once. A trustworthy team and further discussions would be better. If things aren't right the first time we can just retry and learn through trial and error. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes and that's okay, as long as said errors are made together.

For the previous question. I feel like he deserves another chance. Or we could do something like rotate CEOs. We could have kind of like a term and vote like a presidency. Said candidates could have requirements in order to run. Students AND teachers would vote. I feel that if someone remains at the head for too long it could become corrupt or we could lose sight of the school's initial goal. I think that original beliefs and morals of this school is very important.

dhurst25@livingschoolnola.org

I think that he needs to stop taking things that we all loved away and should resort to his old teaching ways.

He needs to give us back our freedoms that we had.

ebriscoe25@livngschoolnola.org

I feel like Mr.Stephen needs to do better at communications without the students. Some more transparency would be appreciated due to this being our school too.

I would like to just say thanks for creating this school where we can feel safe and be ourselves.

fvargas25@livingschoolnola.org

smguadamuz23@livingschoolnola.org

creo que nada, nunca he tenido algo/algun problema, yo miro o creo que hace bien su trabajo.

abacchus25@livingschoolnola.org

rpinedacastillo25@livingschoolnola.org

Una de las cosa que creo que mr stefin deberia de mejorar es el menu de la escuela siento que a muchos de los estudiantes no les gusta la comida y es un desperdicio.

tjones25@livingschoolnola.org

esanchez25@livingschoolnola.org

si que nos dejen poner la ropa de color y usar solo el carnet

gbenjamin25@livingschoolnola.org

I Feel Like Everybody Should Have off Campus And If Not We Should At least Be able to order Food Or At least Get Served better Food Instead Of The Food They Serve In The Cafeteria Because i Just Feel Like That Food Isn't Healthy For Us At All . And Everybody Should At least Have Some Type Of Extended Free Time Together because it feels like they splitted everybody up .

bhasan@livingschoolnola.org

tlewis25@livingschoolnols.org

his skills on learning to give us better teachers and he needs to stop picking and choosing who he likes and who he don't like

aholmes@livingschoolnola.org

Stefin could work on being transparent about his true vision for Living School and its students. This would help people develop structure in a way that aligns with the vision.

lmontoya25@livingschoolnola.org

dmartin25@livingschoolnola.org

nahh i really dont care for stuff like this

kmongeguadamuz26@livingschoolnola.org

acarranzamanzariegos25@livingschoolnola.org

rbrumfield25@livingschoolnola.org

Mr Stefin should strive to involve students, teachers, and families in important decisions regarding Living school because making them.

mlister@livingschoolnola.org

I might change my answer regarding remaining CEO if any concerning problems are revealed from the exit interviews of departing staff

rabrown@livingschoolnola.org

He causes more harm when leading or having a restorative circle.

gabriela.carranzaaguirrebelen@livingschoolnola.org

leído en lo que respecta al liderazgo como un proceso de evolución holístico que lleva al individuo de la dependencia a la interdependencia y desarrolla en el mismo una victoria privada y pública.

Como nunca antes, los cambios sociales ocurren a una velocidad vertiginosa e inciden en todos los aspectos de la vida. La dirección de empresas es una de las tareas que más se ve afectada por estos cambios, y por ello el perfil del CEO (Chief Executive Officer) también se ha visto modificado.

le gustaria agregar algo mas Rocio Londono sociologa

kordonez26@livingschoolnola.org

dwinston25@livingschoolnola.org

Abinalla26@livgingschoolnola.org

In my honest opinion Mr. Stefin isnt doing anything right so far. There is no teachers in the school for real and i can only image the stress the 5 teachers are under. and even tho the school is working to get more teachers the school is losing teachers in that time.

He needs to stop trying to make everyone happy cs that not how the real world works. its okay to have a democratic school but it become a problem when everyone uses that as a excuse. oh but is democratic this and democratic that. In order for something to be democratic there has to be structure and like certain thing cannot be changed for function. (hopefully you understand if not i will come explain my logic)

I also would like to say while we are losing valuable teachers we are keeping the ones that nobody likes around. if in your goal is to create a safe comfortable school then get rid of the bad teachers nobody like and always complains about them and replace them with teachers who care. if you need a example of someone lets start with Raven she keeps the halls clear and is a sub she might as well be a dean cs is not what she do its how she do it. how she says things. how she acts towards the students. maybe she feels like she has to be ugly towards students in order to show power i honestly couldn't tell you. personally she a bad vibe. MY FAVORITE staff member/Teacher Xavier has quit and they were one of the teachers the school should have been trying to keep around. he has done nothing but try and fix the school and work with the students they were one of the best teachers i have come across in my 14 years of life. when i asked them why they were leaving they told me because everything that was said in the Email was the reason. meaning NOTHING is being done. This school will not thrive if Stefin dosent find real solutions to the very big problems.

chouston26@livingschoolnola.org

I dont like how democratic the school is. I don't like giving feedback on adults. I think its disrespectful.

cwoodfordjohnson26@livingschoolnola.org

The CEO of the school is doing a very good job at running the school and keeping in check

cmarshall26@livingschoolnola.org

josbywilliams26@livingschoolnola.org

jjohnson25@livingschoolnola.org

What's doing well is the teachers and principals are doing great here at Living School the only thing is we need more workers at this school.

Need to improve more helpers, workers, more staff as well being not saying yall not good staff's yall are good staff's.

I would love to have new teacher here at Living School not saying these teachers are mean or nothing it just for extra help like new teachers being in the class helping other students while this teacher teach that from the third.