Wizard of BVH runs the show
Administrative Assistant aids and connects staff at BVH
Libia DiBendetto checks the teacher and staff payroll list regularly. This very important list includes the number of hours and absences of Bonita Vista High’s staff.
In order for a school system to function properly, there is always a center of communication between all staff members present. For Bonita Vista High (BVH), School Administrative Assistant Libia DiBenedetto is the “go-to” person for nearly every single staff member.
Within Sweetwater Union High School District’s website under Classified Job Descriptions, DiBenedetto’s role and responsibilities are further described in detail. Her job description broadly includes, but is not limited to, managing Title I funds, managing payroll for teachers and assigning covers for classes whose teachers are absent.
“I get a lot of emails and I try to stay on top of it. My job is to redirect or make sure [the email] goes to the right person to take care of. It’ll start with me and sometimes I know who can help or assist,” DiBenedetto says.
DiBenedetto has been working at BVH for the past eight years. Her interest in education started from working as a substitute teacher. However, she soon realized that she wanted something that offered a “permanency and long-term” position at a school.
“The best part of my job is working with our office staff; everyone is very customer service oriented. Anything that I’ve asked for help here at our site, everyone’s willing and always has a ‘yes’ attitude. We have really good staff here and it makes it awesome,” DiBenedetto said.
During her time at BVH, working alongside staff has allowed DiBenedetto to build strong relationships and gain close friends. Health teacher Shannon Bruce has known DiBenedetto since her arrival at BVH eight years ago. Bruce shared an experience that demonstrated DiBenedetto’s character, even while in a work setting.
“I don’t really call in sick very often, never actually. But when I did one time I called in for bereavement. I could totally count on her for helping me and understanding me. I couldn’t put this in as a bereavement because it wasn’t a family member, but she’s a go-to person. If we need anything, she’s gonna know all the answers,” Bruce said.
Bruce states that DiBenedetto’s role as the principal’s assistant “is too hard” and that she would “never be able to do it” herself. Especially since DiBenedetto does so much for the staff, Bruce acknowledges that she does not go underappreciated.
“We [teachers] appreciate Libia. I mean, that’s from my own perspective. I don’t think that there’ll be one teacher on campus who wouldn’t completely shower her with adoration because she helps us so much,” Bruce said.
From DiBenedetto’s perspective, she feels that she and the other Assistant Principal secretaries are more than appreciated on campus.
“We have admin assistant appreciation days, too and our bosses every year go above and beyond. They do special luncheons, elaborate gifts and baskets. They always make us feel very special and I think everyone feels that way here, so everyone’s a pretty good team,” DiBenedetto said.
Other than close friendships with people on staff, DiBenedetto’s family notices her important work and what she does for the BVH community. Senior Zalia Jacob describes her mom working at her high school as “different from what the stereotypes are like.”
“I honestly really enjoy that she works at my high school. It’s made me really close with all the staff at Bonita and my friends closer with my mom. However, I would feel differently about this if she was a teacher,” Jacob laughed.
Without DiBenedetto’s presence, paychecks would go unenrolled, classes would go uncovered and BVH would lose a crucial bit of functionality. The role of School Administrative Assistant provides a lot of the staff and students as a whole.
“She’s such a light because she runs the show; she basically runs our whole school in a nutshell. She is the Wizard of Oz,” Bruce said.
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