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By DEREK REDD
Luke Hladek has an official title at Wheeling Country Day School -- assistant head of school for culture and advancement. He's also known as chief storyteller.
But within that role are many duties that range from the big picture to the tiny details. Throughout, Hladek keeps the mission clear -- to help the school grow as an entity and its students grow as people.
The 37-year-old Wheeling native has been with WCDS in some capacity since 2010. In the ensuing 13 years, Hladek has worn many hats, including many at the same time.
"Right now we broadly describe my role as 'anything that helps advance Wheeling Country Day School', which has quite the wide range of interpretations," he said. "Sometimes that means making a video, sometimes that means fundraising, sometimes that means speaking at a conference, and sometimes it means…let's call it 'demonstrating our willingness to try hard and fail forward', which often includes singing on stage or falling down publicly.
"But it's always with the goal of picking heads up and keeping a healthy perspective that our job is to care for children, something that should be earnestly, and actively, filled with joy," he added.
Hladek said a typical day for him at WCDS can send him in several directions. He'll greet students as they're dropped off in the morning, then prep the social media and content calendars with the rest of the team. He'll often engage in what WCDS head of school Liz Hofreuter calls "10,000 feet thinking," like imagining ways Wheeling Country Day can be a better more equitable community leader, or planning the next steps for the school's virtual literacy and math expansion, now called Edge.
At other times, he can be seen teaching a class or bandaging a student's knee.
"It's a balance, keeping both a forest and trees mindset simultaneously," he said. "Luckily, anytime it feels overwhelming, I can walk right outside and find a kid to share a story or play a game or just sit and talk, and I'm reminded of what I really do. It's hard to express what a blessing that is.
"Plus," he added, "I'm dominant at recess kickball. So my confidence, in that department at least, is absolutely through the roof."
Hladek wants to serve every aspect of Wheeling Country Day School, from his coworkers to his students to their parents. That spirit of helping and care comes through in a quote from CS Lewis that he said guides him -- "It will not bother me in the hour of death to reflect that I have been 'had for a sucker' by any number of impostors: but it would be a torment to know that one had refused even one person in need."
One day, the students Hladek sees throughout WCDS will become member of the workforce. For those young workers, he has a piece of advice, though he admits it's more of a "do as I say, not as I do" scenario. His advice? Don't finish other people's sentences.
"Listen, then allow yourself time to process and breath so you can respond with kindness and honesty," he said. "Oh, and resist assuming you're always right or that things are simple. You're allowed to laugh at yourself or admit when you're wrong, even apologize when you should. All of that stuff breeds empathy, which is the nearly best trait one can have, in my opinion."
Hladek sees the future of Ohio Valley education as one that he hopes has relationships, not content, reigning supreme.
"I hope that teachers begin to get the respect and compensation that they deserve," he said, "and that we reduce the reliance on credentialism by more fully embracing authentic learning experiences, not just for children in their earliest educational years but for higher education as well.
"We know how valuable close relationships and one caring adult can be to the physical well-being and predicted future success of children," he continued, "and I believe that schools have the unique opportunity and responsibility to provide both."