Accidental Fire Marshall

 Do  you remember those school fire drills where you and your classmates would line up, march outside, and stand in the freezing cold like well-behaved penguins? And your teacher was your fearless leader, making sure no one wandered off to freedom. On this episode of Vice Principal UnOfficed, join host Lisa Hill, as she dives into school fire safety—or, more accurately, the complete lack of it thanks to the adults in charge. And while no one ever got hurt during during her career, some of the decisions made during the ringing of the fire alarm will make you wonder how the school building didn't just turn into a pile of ash. Now let’s get laughing and learning.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Fire Safety Memories from Childhood
• 9:04 The First Taste of School Fire Safety
• 17:44 Becoming FEMA Certified the Hard Way
• 26:06 The School Fire That Almost Got Me
• 31:50 The Popcorn Incident and Sprinkler Chaos
• 37:54 Final Fire Stories and Lesson Learned

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Do you remember those school fire drills where you and your classmates would line up, march outside and stand in the freezing cold like well-behaved penguins and your teacher was your fearless leader, making sure no one wandered off to freedom? On this episode of Vice Principal Unofficed, join me your host, lisa Hill, as I dive into school fire safety, or, more accurately, the complete lack of it. Thanks to the adults in charge, and while no one ever got hurt during my career, some of the decisions made during the ringing of the fire alarm made me wonder how the school building didn't just turn into a pile of ash. Now let's get laughing and learning. Attention, students, I mean listeners. The stories in this podcast are told from the host's personal and varsical point of view. All names and identifiers have been omitted or altered to protect identities. Now get to class. Vice Principal on Office. I hope your summer is going well so far.

Speaker 1: 1:16

My favorite part of summer is stepping outside in the morning with a cup of coffee and watching the sunrise. With a cup of coffee and watching the sunrise, because apparently, when you get older, you just wake up at an ungodly hour for no reason why? No clue. As a kid, you couldn't have dragged me out of bed before noon, and when I had children I would have given anything to sleep until noon. But now I can sleep until noon, but my brain says nope. I'm not sure what cruel joke life plays on people, but this one is not funny. And of course I would love to get my youth back if it skips the journey towards lunch duty. But as a kid I do remember sleeping until noon. Eventually my siblings and I would roll out of bed and begin our adventures for the day, and then we wouldn't come back home until it was time for dinner. Now, after dinner we'd head back outside waiting for the sun to set, because playing outdoors in the dark was a great way to end the day. I remember my sister and I running around the backyard and catching fireflies. We'd rip those twinkling little bugs apart and stick them to our fingers for glowing fashion accessories. We'd also run around the yard with sparklers and generally doing things that should have set the neighborhood on fire.

Speaker 1: 2:41

And my dad, the safety director? Well, he let us light our own sparklers with matches. Did we burn ourselves? Oh yeah, absolutely. And his reaction a casual eh, you're fine. Before taking another sip of his beer. And guess what? We're fine, though I have to tell you, my sister is still afraid to strike a match. I'm not kidding. Anyway, like I've told you before, I do miss my dad. He spent his career working in safety. He was a safety director for a gas company and, aside from his heavy smoking habit, he took safety very seriously Gun safety, driver safety, water safety, fire safety, you name it.

Speaker 1: 3:36

I actually put my dad's fire safety skills to the test when I was about five or six years old. For some reason, I was playing with a large strike matchbox that held long fireplace matches. You know the ones meant for lighting fires in a fireplace and not for childhood entertainment. But in my little kid brain they weren't matches, they were drumsticks. So there I was on the living room floor rocking out like my life depended on it, armed with nothing but a matchbox drum and a couple of fireplace matches, absolutely shredding the song in my head. I'm gonna guess the song was likely Three Dog Nights, joy to the World. I still love that song. It was also fun to roller skate to. So why? My parents? Let me play with matches that literally had a built-in strike surface. That's the part of the matchbox that has the rough sandpaper like surface to ignite the match. I have no idea, but apparently I was too good at drumming because mid-riff I accidentally ignited my drum matches and set the carpet on fire, my dad being the safety man that he was, jumped up from the couch and stomped the fire out like it was just another Tuesday. And he never yelled at me. And my mom? Well, she comforted me as a good mom would, but she was devastated about the burnt holes in her fairly new carpet. As for me, well, the importance of fire safety burned into my brain forever that day. And the carpet, well, my dad fixed it like a pro. You see, this was the early 70s, so who even knows what that carpet was made of? Probably a bestest and bad decisions. But my dad just cut out the burnt parts of the carpet, glued in new pieces from leftover scraps and boom, the carpet was as good as new. No one, except for my mother, would ever guess I almost burned down the house with my mad drumming skills. Now, you'd think this would be the end of my encounters with things catching on fire, but nope.

Speaker 1: 5:59

When I was 14, my dad took our family on a vacation to San Francisco. One evening my parents went out to dinner with friends and told my brother, sister and me to go eat at the hotel restaurant. So we did and, as weird as this sounds, I swear we were the only people in the entire restaurant Granted, it was like 445, so maybe that's why Hold on. This story does get better because we were unsupervised and had full control of the menu. So, of course, my siblings and I went all out Steaks, shrimp, all the Shirley Temples we could drink and multiple desserts. I mean, what do you expect when you leave a 7, 11, and 14-year-old to fend for themselves Time out? If you're appalled that my parents left a child, a tweener and a young teenager alone at a hotel in San Francisco, don't worry, it was the 70s. What could possibly go wrong? I mean, parents left their kids alone all the time back then and guess what? We survived and I think our generation turned out okay. Well, most of us turned out okay. Sorry, I'm getting off topic again. Where was I? Oh, all right, okay.

Speaker 1: 7:28

So while we were waiting for dinner that my dad would definitely be paying for, a paper menu on another table just randomly fell over into a lit candle and instant fire. A lit candle and instant fire. My brother and sister immediately looked at me because I'm the oldest, which apparently means I'm supposed to know what to do. I looked around and again, as weird as this sounds, there was not a single adult in sight. So after a few seconds of panic, I finally jumped up from the table and dumped an entire glass of water to douse the flambe à la table. Did I save the day? Well, I think I did. But was the waitstaff impressed? Absolutely not. When they finally walked in and saw the soaked table, I explained what happened and they just shrugged like it was no big deal. Seriously, those dumbasses. At least they could have caught my meal. I mean, I saved their stupid restaurant. Adults can be so clueless.

Speaker 1: 8:40

Anyway, let's jump forward 15 years, when I'm an educator who keeps running into fire issues. I'm telling you folks, you can't make these crazy-ass fire stories up. This is the type of shit that has followed me around my whole life. Lisa Ann, I need to get out my old parenting manual. Oh, come on, mom. I need to get out my old parenting manual. Oh, come on, mom.

Speaker 1: 9:05

You have to think it's weird how fire-related incidents have followed me around since childhood. Remember the carpet. And you know what's weird about my career. Well, okay, a lot of things are weird about my career, but one thing that really stands out are fire drills, specifically in the fact that I don't remember ever doing them until I became a vice principal. I mean, I don't even remember doing fire drills as a kid Nothing, Silch, my memory bank is completely empty on this one and I'm sure the schools I attended had to have them done. I think the schools I worked in definitely did them, but, for whatever reason, the first fire drill I actually remember is the one I had to be in charge of as a vice principal, which is kind of terrifying if you think about it, because if I don't remember them, did anyone else Were? We all just wandering around, clueless as to school fire safety. Maybe that's because fire safety in schools is just kind of there, it exists, but no one really thinks about it. There, it exists but no one really thinks about it, and this is probably because get this no one has died in a K-12 school fire in the US since 1958. At least that's what my research says.

Speaker 1: 10:39

According to the History website, public fire safety policies got a massive overhaul after 92 kids and three adults tragically died in a Chicago school fire in 1958. After that, schools nationwide were required to install sprinkler systems, have multiple exits and hold regular fire drills. You know the whole deal and guess what? The massive overhaul worked. No one has died in a school fire since.

Speaker 1: 11:15

Okay, I'm going to step on my soapbox for a second. I know you're not surprised by this, but if we can change fire safety policies and literally eliminate school fire deaths, why in the hell can't we do the same for school shootings? Seriously, we fixed one deadly problem because we chose to do so, but school shootings those numbers have skyrocketed. Come on, adults. Like I've said before, if we know better, then we should do better. For the love of gormless goonies, get it together, america.

Speaker 1: 11:53

Now where was I? Oh yeah, I don't remember doing fire drills until I was the run running them, which is probably why I handled this next school fire incident the way I did, because I wasn't in charge yet. So picture this it's a warm spring day, years before I would become a school administrator and I was stuck doing one of my favorite things Lunch duty. You know the magical time of day when you stand around like an underpaid security guard while kids inhale questionable cafeteria food. Anyway, I'm standing there just counting down the minutes until I could release a batch of chicken nugget fed younglings back into the wild halls of middle school when I suddenly smelled smoke.

Speaker 1: 12:59

When I suddenly smelled smoke Now, at this point in the story, I don't know if the school cook scorched the tater tots again or if some 12-year-old decided to dabble in recreational arson. Either way, something was definitely burning and I needed to find the source. Of course, like any responsible adult, I took a deep breath probably not my brightest move and poked my head into the school kitchen. Nothing, well nothing, except a couple of very irritated lunch ladies who looked like they were one broken freezer away from a full-scale meltdown. I shrugged it off and returned to my very important job of lunch duty. But that smoke smell it was definitely getting stronger. I became a bit concerned as the smoke smell continued to grow. So I finally said to myself screw it, and I left my lunch duty post to track down the source of that growing smoke smell.

Speaker 1: 13:59

Now I know abandoning lunch duty is technically a major offense in the eyes of certain principles. You know the ones who act like they rule over their own tiny educational kingdom. Yeah, I'd already been yelled at more than once by those royal figures for straying from my sacred post. But I figured better to be scolded than let the whole school burn down. So I followed my nose to the school stage, which was attached to the cafeteria. There had been some construction happening on the stage, so I figured maybe the workers were doing something that created a smoke smell. But to my surprise, there wasn't a single construction worker in sight. But what did I find? A knocked over construction light still on and literally burning a hole straight through an old wooden door. The hole was about two inches wide and getting bigger by the second as the glowing embers began to spread and work to ignite. Now this is the part of the story where most normal people would pull the fire alarm, but me, nope.

Speaker 1: 15:23

I ran back to the cafeteria, grabbed my favorite paraprofessional and dragged her back to the scene so she could witness the slow-motion disaster unfolding on the school stage, because, you know, if I was going down for this, I was definitely taking a friend with me. So there we stood, staring at this burning door, and we started laughing, not because it was funny, but because, apparently, in a crisis, both our brains decided to short circuit and instead of, you know, saving the children and evacuating the building. We had a full-on rational discussion about our options. Our brilliant conclusion why interrupt lunch if you don't have to? I mean, technically, the door wasn't fully engulfed in flames yet. We probably had a solid 20 minutes before it became a raging inferno. So, like the highly trained professionals we were, we shut off the construction light, found some tools, popped the door off its hinges and carried it out the stage exit and dumped the burning door in the parking lot where we finally put out the fire. Crisis averted Somehow, and after all that work, saving the building. Well, we just went back to the cafeteria and finished our stupid lunch duty like nothing had happened.

Speaker 1: 17:00

And here's the wildest part of this story no one even noticed. I mean not a soul. The cooks kept slinging mystery meat and the kids kept shoveling food into their faces, completely unaware that their hot lunch almost became too hot to handle. Keep in mind I was a whole lot younger when the great door barbecue went down. These days I'd have to pull the fire alarm, mostly because I'd probably throw my back out trying to carry a flaming door.

Speaker 1: 17:37

Plus, I actually know way more about fire safety now. I mean, I do have my FEMA certificate. As for my paraprofessional friend. She gifted me a little plastic firefighter helmet, the kind a five-year-old would wear, and you better believe I kept that thing for years. Oh hold on, I bet you have questions on me having FEMA certification.

Speaker 1: 18:12

You see, when I became a school administrator, would you believe that I was literally sprayed in the face with a fire extinguisher by a fellow school administrator? Yep, true story. I was sprayed in the face with a fire extinguisher during my school district's required school administrator FEMA training. Administrator FEMA training. I'm not kidding. The school district I was working for got a grant which meant all the school administrators in the district had to go through FEMA training. Sounds like a great use of federal money, don't you think?

Speaker 1: 19:02

Well, one day the trainer gathered up all the school administrators in the school parking lot. We were then taught how to toe tag dead people in a disaster like the collapse of a building. Yes, I swear I learned how to do this. My brain isn't twisted enough to make this shit up. Anyway, we were also taught how to handle a fire extinguisher and then how to douse a fire as a team of two, like firemen.

Speaker 1: 19:26

The trainer then had each team march in, spray out a small fire burning in the middle of the school parking lot and then retreat backward to safety Sounds simple, right? Well, apparently not, because instead of aiming at the fire like a normal human being or fireman, my ding-dong partner had a genius idea to do the complete opposite. That dumbass turned the fire extinguisher nozzle around and blasted me straight in the face. Fire extinguisher foam filled my eyes, nostrils and mouth, and let me tell you that was not a fun experience. What a jerk. Of course my fellow administrators laughed. I don't even think I got a, are you okay? Which is fine, whatever. But the FEMA trainer, that dumbass, didn't even blink an eye. He just carried on like nothing happened, choking on chemicals, wiping white foam out of my eyes, nose and mouth.

Speaker 1: 20:39

And guess what? That stuff isn't exactly harmless Because, according to Dr Dominguez who, by the way, is an actual certified specialist in poison information, inhaling fire extinguisher chemicals can irritate your nose, throat and lungs, causing shortness of breath, coughing, dizziness and headache, all of which my teammates found funny. So if you're thinking of trying this at home, please don't. Long story short, I did not go home that day. I stayed, and I did get my FEMA certification, despite my chemical-ind induced fire extinguisher training. Don't believe me about the certificate. Check out my vice principal on office Instagram and you can find the picture of my FEMA certificate. I am officially FEMA certified, which is why I decided to title this episode Accidental School Fire Marshal. Of course I really wanted to call this episode. I was just trying to survive fire safety week like a normal person, but apparently when grown-ups set off more fires than kids, someone has to become the school fire marshal, human smoke detector and lead investigator of who might rape the foiled burrito again. Just wait, you'll soon see what I mean.

Speaker 1: 22:01

Before I move on, I have to tell you, in case you didn't know, every K-12 school should have solid procedures in place for fire drills. This would include pre-evacuation plans, like teachers knowing exactly where the evacuation map is in their classroom and having designated zone leaders to help account for everyone. Zone leaders are usually equipped with a bright yellow vest, clipboard and walkie-talkie, because communication during a drill is everything. Oh, and schools are also supposed to notify the town's police chief and fire department about the drill. In fact, the fire department typically comes to observe at least one drill a year just to make sure everything's up to code. And let's not forget the custodians because, honestly, they're probably the only ones who actually know how to reset the damn alarm after the drill is over. The hope is when a fire alarm rings, all the pre-planning and training kicks in and the school building is evacuated smoothly without a hitch. But that's not always how it goes smoothly without a hitch, but that's not always how it goes.

Speaker 1: 23:23

No-transcript, and I'm not proud to say it, but my very first fire drill, yeah, it was a total disaster. The fire chief actually failed my school and had to come back for a redo. The whole thing looked like that scene from the movie Kindergarten Cop, you know Arnold Schwarzenegger trying to control a classroom full of kindergarten chaos while the class ferret scurries around waiting to be scooped up. I love that movie. It's one of those films I always stop to watch when it pops on TV. And yes, during that first fire drill, kids were running amok along with the teachers, minus a poor class pet waiting to be rescued. But hey, my school passed on the second try and I'll take that win. Who knew a simple fire drill could come up with so much red tape and chaos? Well, apparently everyone, except for me and one of my fellow vice principals, because he didn't have school fire safety very high on his to-do list either. So before I start this next story, I just gotta say the odds of a person being in a school fire-related incident twice in their life is probably slim to none is probably slim to none, but for me the accidental career as the unofficial school fire marshal was just getting started. Okay, folks, bundle up, this one's a good one.

Speaker 1: 25:05

It was one of those bitterly cold January mornings when school was canceled because it was so cold. The buses wouldn't even start. But as a vice principal, I still had to report to school, which honestly felt like a mini vacation, because any day without kids and teachers felt like a vacation. Anyway, on this extremely cold day, I was upstairs in my office keeping warm in my favorite winter sweater and working with a colleague. We had shut the door to my office because, well, schools aren't very warm in the winter, especially when you're on the second floor surrounded by windows. And while my colleague and I were working away upstairs, my dear friend and fellow vice principal was on the first floor holding down the fort in the main office.

Speaker 1: 26:00

Suddenly, the fire alarm went off. My colleague and I started to get up, but the loudspeaker crackled on and announced please ignore the alarm. So we did. What I didn't know was that the school administrator downstairs had told the secretary to cancel the fire department response. You see, every time a school fire alarm goes off, it automatically alerts the fire department. And since false alarms can happen in a school, we often tell them never mind and school life goes on. But that day, not. Five minutes later the alarm blared again. So my colleague and I stood up ready to exit the building, only to hear the loudspeaker say once again please ignore the alarm. A bit confused, but not worried, we sat back down, which was a big mistake, because when that alarm went off for a third time, we opened my office door and stepped into the hallway where we were hit by a cloud of smoke.

Speaker 1: 27:13

The entire upstairs office area was filling fast. My colleague and I knew we had to get out immediately, but the smoke was pouring from the main stairwell, so we made a break for the back stairway instead. When we reached the exit door, we couldn't open it, but a crack. I peeked through the crack in the door and saw the problem. A custodian had parked their frickin' right along floor scrubber directly in front of our only way out. My colleague and I began pushing and shoving that door like our lives depended on it, because they kind of did. We weren't waiting around for firefighters to discover us. Finally, we forced the door open, just enough to squeeze through, and on the other side of that stupid door we found the entire student commons completely filled with smoke, hampering our ability to find the exit. Luckily, we ran straight into a few firefighters who very professionally yelled get out. No problem, sir, you don't have to tell us twice.

Speaker 1: 28:26

Once the chaos settled, we found out what had really happened Earlier that day. The custodians had opened up a wall to solder a leaky pipe in the home ec room and, instead of waiting for the pipe to cool down, these wonderful but clueless custodians slapped the drywall back on immediately, which caused the fire and the administrator who kept waving off the fire department. Yeah, that guy nearly got me killed and ruined my favorite warm sweater in the process. Do I still give this administrator crap about almost killing me? Absolutely? Do I like him Absolutely, but I haven't forgiven him for ruining my favorite sweater. As you probably already know by now, I worked in multiple schools across several districts. I worked in multiple schools across several districts and somehow I ran into fire issues at almost every single one, but one of my all-time favorite fire incidents if there can be an all-time favorite the popcorn incident.

Speaker 1: 29:45

Very dear friend and colleague, who shall now and forever be known as the Popcorn Princess, decided to make popcorn in the staff lounge microwave. Now, if you've ever burned microwave popcorn, you already know where this is going. Yep, she scorched the bag of popcorn and, sure enough, it set off the fire alarm, because of course it did, and of course this happened on an extremely cold day in winter. And, yes, the kids were in school. So the fire alarm blared and, as trained, teachers and students marched outside to their designated spots to wait for the fire department to give the all clear and if you're thinking, at least they had time to grab their coats, let me stop you right there. Nope, when the alarm goes off, you get out. No coats, no detours, unless, of course, you're the administrator who occasionally pretends not to hear the alarm, not naming names.

Speaker 1: 30:52

Anyway, once the all clear was given and everyone had thought out just enough to feel their toes again, I told the popcorn princess she owed us Her punishment. She had to bake cookies for our next staff meeting and let me tell you, those cookies were amazing. I'd give anything to eat just one more of those delicious cookies, Totally worth freezing for. Also worth noting, after that day, the district officially banned microwave popcorn in all buildings. Yep, one burnt bag shut it down for everyone. As for the popcorn princess, I promise to tell you her story someday. Okay, let's see. What am I forgetting? Oh yeah, how could I forget the time the fire alarm kept going off in the middle of the school day?

Speaker 1: 31:53

The district operations department thought it was a brilliant idea to fix a leaky sprinkler head that had done quite a bit of water damage to the school while students and staff were actively trying to teach and learn. You know normal school things. Now, keep in mind, these geniuses had plenty of other options Before school, after school, weekends, a whole calendar full of holidays when students and teachers would not be in school. But nope, why do something logical when you can create a little midday chaos? And if you're thinking well, maybe it was an emergency and the sprinkler had to be fixed right away, let me stop you right there. That sprinkler head had been broken for ages. It had already caused water damage on multiple floors, so this wasn't urgent, this was a hey, we finally got around to fix it. Situation Now, the moment I found out about the leaky sprinkler head, I reported it and asked for it to be tracked down and fixed.

Speaker 1: 33:07

But the custodians kept telling me they couldn't find the source. So eventually I took matters into my own hands. I followed the trail of water-stained ceiling tiles and soggy floors all the way up to the top floor, and there it was the leaky sprinkler head. Sprinkler head Found it in drumroll please 20 minutes, true story. And then I waited. I should have known better than to think the operations team would show up outside school hours and fix the thing quietly. Nope, these Einsteins not only fixed the sprinkler during class time, but they also tested it multiple times. And what happens when you test a sprinkler head during school? That's right, the fire alarm goes off again and again and again and again, interrupting student learning every freaking time. What in the actual hell? People who in the school district thought I'd better make sure the fire alarm goes off while kids are in class just to keep things exciting Apparently the same people who couldn't follow a trail of water damage to find a leak. I used to think K-12 schools put student learning first, but apparently I've been wrong this whole time? Wait, no, I can't be wrong. I'm always right. Ask anyone, especially the popcorn princess. Now, before I wrap up this episode, I've got one more story for you.

Speaker 1: 34:58

As a vice principal, part of my job often involved wandering the building looking for things Like extra desks, chairs or some weird piece of equipment no one could ever find. One year I headed down to the school basement to track down something. I honestly can't remember what, and what I found instead were the charred remains of an actual campfire Yep, a campfire. Actual campfire Yep, a campfire. You know the kind that usually happens outside, with people sitting in a circle telling ghost stories and roasting marshmallows. Yeah, that, except this one was smack in the middle of the school basement A neat little pile of burned wood and ashes, surrounded by a ring of human footprints in the school basement. I'm still amazed the whole damn building didn't go up in flames. After my discovery, I did what any responsible adult would do I reported it directly to security. Their response Eh, probably just some homeless people camping out down there. That was it. No follow-up, no visit, no inspection. Just okay then. And I can promise you nobody was roasting marshmallows or singing camp songs at that fire, roasting marshmallows or singing camp songs at that fire.

Speaker 1: 36:29

For the love of gas and gunpowder. I swear you can't make this shit up. Of course I've got some student stories about fires in school. You know the classic stuff Smoking in the bathroom, accidentally setting something on fire in the family, consumer science kitchen or chemistry lab, or sneaking out of class to test a fire extinguisher in the hallway. Kids do dumb stuff. I mean, that's part of their job. But here's the thing I've never had a student actually catch the school building on fire. Building on fire. That honor always seemed to belong to the adults Either way.

Speaker 1: 37:16

I think the Tramps sang it best when they wrote the song Disco Inferno. You know that great 70s discotheque song. Burn, baby, burn the school's in inferno. Man, am I glad I'm retired from that hot mess. Oh man, am I glad I'm retired from that hot mess. Well, kids, the dismissal bell is ringing. So until next time on. Vice Principal in Office, push in your chair, put your name on your paper, be kind to your classmates, put your phone away and use your indoor voice or not.

Speaker 1: 37:47

Thanks for listening and I hope you enjoyed the tales from Vice Principal and Office as much as I enjoyed sharing them, and it is also my hope that you were not only entertained by this episode, but that you walked away with a little nugget of knowledge that gave you some insight on how working in a school is not for the faint of heart. But, as I've said before, life is short, so you gotta do the best you can to leave the world in a better place than when you got here and, of course, for the love of God, see the humor in life. It's a lot more fun and a little easier to get through the ick in life with a smile on your face. Trust me, with what I've experienced throughout my career, I'd be like a mean-spirited matron who could handle chaos just like another Tuesday if I hadn't smiled through the ick. Catch you next week on Vice Principal in Office.

Speaker 1: 38:38

Next time on Vice Principal in Office. Join me your host, Lisa Hill, as I share the nicotine nonsense that happens during the school day, whether it be in the school bathroom, classroom or office. Vaping and smoking in school happens on a daily basis. Seriously, despite it being illegal to smoke anything in a K-12 school, there is always someone who sneaks a puff or a drag during the school day. So tune in July 15th for Vapequakes and Cigarette Breaks.

Speaker 1: 39:13

Hey students, I mean listeners thanks again for tuning in and if you've enjoyed today's show, please leave me a review. It really helps grow the show. And don't forget to hit the follow button so you don't miss an episode. Trust me, you don't want to be late for this detention. And listeners, if you've got a school story of your own that you'd like to share with Vice Principal on Office, I'd love to hear it. Just head over to my podcast website and fan mail or email me. Your story and, who knows, your story might even get a shout out on a future episode. Thanks so much for listening and for your support.

Speaker 1: 39:48

Vice Principal on Office is an independent podcast with everything you hear done by me, lisa Hill, and supported through Buzzsprout. Any information from today's show, along with any links and resources, are available in the show's notes. So if you want to do a little homework and dive deeper into anything I've mentioned, head over to my podcast website and check it out. And a big thank you to Matthew Chiam with Pixabay for the show's marvelous theme music. And, of course, a huge shout out to my mother. This podcast is for the purpose of entertainment only, like the recess of your day and not a platform for debates about public education. Though you never know, you can learn something. And just a reminder that the stories shared in this podcast represent one lens which is based on my personal experiences and interpretations, and also reflect my unique perspective through humor. Names, dates and places have been changed or omitted to protect identities and should not be considered universally applicable. Until next time, keep laughing and learning.