Guest Post by Chris Capehart
If you’ve ever spent more than five minutes with Jody, you’ve likely heard her two distinguishing sounds: her whisper and her laugh. (The camera flash is a close third!).
During my recent two-day visit to her newest school, Grace Academy, I had the privilege of hearing both…multiple times!
Her laughter can be heard often in the halls at Grace. And whether you are the one laughing with her or hear her down the hall, the only possible reaction is to smile, outwardly and inwardly.
Outwardly, her laughter is contagious and compels you to laugh along with her, even if you don’t know the joke. Not to worry, though, Jody loves to share with others, so even if she doesn’t bring you into the joke immediately, you will probably hear about it in an email, a staff meeting, or the Grace Gazette.
Jody’s laughter is for everyone, to help them feel joy during the school day – something that is so obviously lacking in far too many schools today.
Inwardly, Jody’s laughter puts you at ease and makes you feel warm, like Christmas morning. The impression you get is not of someone who prefers to joke around rather than work but someone who jokes around while they work. Isn’t that a much better way to approach life, especially the school life?
When you hear Jody laugh, you know you’re allowed to laugh, too. Perhaps that’s the greatest gift of all: a boss who doesn’t just crack you up – which she often does, so be careful! – but wants you to laugh throughout your day, whether it’s with your students, your child, or your coworkers.
Yet the infectious laughter is not the only memorable sound Jody makes. She also carries with her the opposite auditory stimulus: a whisper.
Now, this isn’t just any old whisper. This is a soft way of speaking that forces you – and the students, she would add – instantly to become quiet in order to hear what she’s saying.
It was because of this whisper that I first gave Mom the name “The School Whisperer.” Just as Cesar Milan can simply enter a room and immediately every dog there knows this guy is in charge, so, too, can Jody quietly walk down a hallway or enter a classroom and command everyone’s attention, from age two to eighty-two.
The trick is, she does it without ever raising her voice.
Some drill sergeants use toughness and intimidation to get these kind of results. Some educators, wanting the same results, mimic those drill instructors. And for many of them, it works. Or at least it shuts the kids up.
The problem is that schools are not military institutions; they are places where children are meant to develop, grow, and blossom.
You do not yell at a flower to make it bloom. You water it, provide it with sunlight, and surround it with healthy soil (you might even talk to it if you’re Jody Capehart!)
Jody takes the same approach with children. Her laughter makes them feel at ease, and her whisper gently leads them to the behavior necessary to make school life succeed: quiet, focused, attentive, and respectful of others.
No one knows how she does it, but somehow Jody simultaneously makes people laugh like a comedian while remaining engaged and diligent in their work, and display manners and respect like a drill sergeant yet without fear or anxiety.
The result is amazing: the entire school reflects her demeanor.
From Marianne DeWree’s Pre-K kids engaged and excited for circle time to Cindy Gibson’s use of humor, patience, and encouragement to reach each first grade student to Ann DeSantis’ soft, gentle spirit while reading and answering her second graders’ questions about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to Heather Burgess’ simultaneously humorous and insightful Bible lesson for third and fourth graders to Angie Zeuhsow’s incorporation of music into her fifth grader’s daily life to Sarah-Graham Turtletaub’s Latin lesson that included learning opportunities for every learning style to Stewart Kouba’s entertaining and instructive chapel message for the entire student body – Jody’s presence can be felt even when she wasn’t in the room.
And that’s exactly what her teachers told me when I got the chance to speak with them individually. Many of their insights will be part of the School Whisperer book I am helping Mom write, so I’m saving them for now.
But I will share my favorite moment from my two days at Grace. While observing Mrs. Burgess teach about the Fruits of the Spirit, the trait “gentleness” was discussed. Mrs. Burgess asked the class, “Who at Grace Academy do you see displaying gentleness?”
Before she even finished the question, every hand had shot up.
“Mrs. Capehart,” said the first girl. So did everyone else.
The reason for this is simple: they had all encountered a Head of School who hugs them whenever she sees them, shakes their hand as they exit chapel, and tells them every opportunity she gets how much she loves them and how much God loves them even more.
These kids feel safe. They experience joy on a daily basis. And they know they are loved.
Not just by Jody, either. The entire staff and faculty exemplify these traits. As second grade teacher Ann DeSantis said so perfectly, “It trickles down from the top.”
The entire school climate is one of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
The most amazing thing is that Jody’s schools exhibit this spirit regardless of size. It’s not just the smaller ones that do. As long as she is there, the family feel is there, too.
Unfortunately, often when she leaves, that spirit leaves, too. Some former parents, teachers, and students have seen it firsthand, and they always say, “It’s just not the same without Jody.”
I have to admit it was quite a treat for me to experience that climate again. Having grown up in Jody’s first Grace Academy as well as taught at Legacy Christian, being there struck a deep chord within me. Her schools are unlike any other, and I’ve been in quite a few successful schools in both Dallas and Austin.
As I spoke with each teacher, it became clear to me that I was not the only one who had realized how special Jody is as an educator. One teacher even stated an almost exact quote of something I said when I gave a tribute to Jody once while she was still at Legacy:
“When you walk around the classrooms and hallways here, you are walking inside Jody’s heart.”
If you ever have the privilege of visiting Jody’s schools, teaching in one, or enrolling your children, you will likely have to lower your voice to hear what she has to say.
But once you do, you’ll be glad you did. You might hear the kindest words of encouragement you will hear all year. Or you might hear a story that sends you running for the nearest bathroom before you pee in your pants with laughter!
Either way, you’ll know you were in the presence of The School Whisperer, an educator unlike any other.
The reason I want to help Mom put this new book together is because I believe that all this – and all that she is – needs to be captured for those who never get to be a part of her schools.
Of course it’s impossible to capture all that Jody is, but if we can get even a fraction of her ‘magic’ on paper, it will inspire other educators and serve as a lasting example of her legacy as a Christian educator – one that will stand long after she is gone from these hallways and classrooms.
That is why I want as many voices to participate as possible. Jody’s voice will be the foundation, but even as self-aware as she is, it is only in combination with the many students, families, and teachers that she has touched over the years that a complete, HD, full-color, 3-D picture can begin to form to show the readers what it takes to create a successful school climate, whether in start-up mode or forty years into existence.
As one of Jody’s colleagues who has worked with Jody at five different schools wrote to me, “Jody is the whole ‘package’! She has been gifted with a gentle, kind spirit which comes from her deep personal faith and her obedience to the Lord to use the talents He has given her. She has an authentic love of children, parents and teachers that cannot be faked or taught – kids especially can sense the truth of this!”
Since this book is not simply Jody-on-Jody but others-on-Jody, I hope you will add your own voice to accompany her wonderful, joyful laughter and soothing, soft whisper.
