Priorities a Focus for President

As president of Chaminade College Preparatory, Jim Adams has helped minimize the effect of the economic downturn for students and staff members while also boosting technology and school programs. Adams has served as president of the school since 1996. During the past year, the school has minimized its annual tuition rate increase by adjusting the school’s budget, it has maintained a salary increase for all personnel and it has launched a staff reward program. One of the even greater changes under Adams’ leadership was the addition of $1 million to the school’s tuition assistance program for families impacted by the slumped economy, Adams said. Since 2007, the assistance fund has tripled. Adams said he and his staff were able to add the funds by changing the school’s five-year strategic plan and delaying the construction of a new library student center by a year. Making such decisions requires knowing which good cause is most needed, Adams said. “It’s easy to choose between good and bad, but it’s not always easy to choose between good and good,” he said. “You can’t do everything, so you have to make sure you focus on what your real priority is.” In the past year, the school has also equipped its freshman and sophomores with tablet PC laptops, increased technology training for staff and added new technology managers to its staff. “I think it’s essential,” Adams said. “(Students) are very at-home with technology. … The only place you can’t use that technology is when they’re in the classroom, and it doesn’t make sense. That’s how kids learn now.” The school has also added and enhanced programs, such as robotics, journalism and speech and debate, in recent years. Last year, Chaminade was the first Catholic school in the United States to earn the “Model Schools” award from the International Center for Leadership and present a workshop at its annual Model School Conference. Adams said his trick for being an effective leader is choosing good advisors and staff members. “One of the things that I’ve always tried to do is gather the best group around that I could,” Adams said. “I like to hire the smartest people I can find, most of them smarter than me, and then get out of the way and let them do their work.” Treats: Tobinworld’s founder and executive director, Judy Weber, behind the counter of the Glendale school’s Baskin-Robbins store. Students Get the Scoop Developmentally disabled and emotionally disturbed students learn job skills at a Glendale school one Baskin-Robbins ice cream scoop at a time. Tobinworld, a nonprofit Glendale school that specializes in working with disabled students, has a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop on its campus where students learn how to scoop ice cream, use a cash register, sweep floors and properly interact with customers, said Judy Weber, the organization’s executive director. “They actually learn how to fill out an application and how to get a job,” Weber said. “Hopefully Baskin-Robbins will hire them after they learn the skills.” The partnership began about 10 years ago when Baskin-Robbins donated signs, decorations and other materials to help make the store feel like any other one of the company’s ice cream shops. “Baskin Robbins donated a lot of the equipment initially, and we still help them for whatever needs they have to keep the program going,” said Varuzh Tirityan, owner of a Baskin-Robins store on Victory Boulevard in Burbank that sometimes helps train the school’s staff. About 10 students are trained each semester at each of the school’s campuses, which are located in Glendale and in Antioch, Weber said. Other students use reward tokens they earn for good behavior to purchase ice cream from the store, and they can order anything that would normally be on a Baskin-Robbins menu, she added. The ice cream shop is located in the midst of the Glendale campus’ “Dream Street,” a mock street located indoors that serves as the vocational program’s hub. The organization also started Toby’s Café, where students learn how to prepare and serve meals. —-Jessica Selva