Many parents wonder what their children’s lives are like at
school. Lynn Dotson was one of the few who actually knew.
Hollister – Many parents wonder what their children’s lives are like at school. Lynn Dotson was one of the few who actually knew.
Dotson, 49, has been a campus supervisor at San Benito High School since 1997, the same year her oldest daughter started her freshmen year. The job gave Dotson the opportunity not only to work with other children, but her own as well.
“We had just moved here from Sacramento, and I was looking for a job,” Dotson said. “There were three openings at the high school for campus supervisors, and since I had worked at an elementary school (in Sacramento) I had the experience.”
At first, having mom at school bothered Dotson’s three children – all of whom have since graduated from SBHS.
“It took some time for them to adjust,” she said. “My oldest was a freshman when I started, and she wouldn’t even talk to me. It would be hard for her when I was walking by a classroom and she knew I was out there. And then her friends would all talk to me, and that really embarrassed her. By the time she was a senior, she was a little more relaxed, but then it started all over again with the next one.”
However, even though her children tried to ignore her, Dotson said she was given a good look into what their school life was like.
“When we moved here, we didn’t know anybody,” she said. “I didn’t, and they didn’t know anyone. I wanted to have an idea of what it (the school) was going to be like and who would be with my kids. (Being on campus) really gives you insight into their lives.”
Eventually, as her children adjusted to the fact that “Mom” was at school with them, Dotson found that she enjoyed her job, and meeting new students each year.
“I like my job,” she said. “I like working with kids; I like getting to know the students. Things do change, but overall, the kids stay the same. They’ve gotten a little more lax with their clothes, they move a little slower some days. And there’s a little more drama than in the past, it seems. But I do enjoy it.”
Her contentment at work is reflected in her attitude towards the students – Dotson is known to many as the supervisor who tries to greet students with a smile, and avoids shouting if at all possible.
“I try not to be too… well, I try not to yell,” she laughs. “Sometimes you just have to, simply to be heard over all the other noise. But I have one girl who will tell me not to yell, so we whisper to each other. In general, students generally try to listen to you, but some days are harder than others. They all have their excuses. They are just kids.”
Besides working with teenagers at the high school, Dotson also volunteers with Job’s Daughters, a Masonic organization based in Salinas that targets girls ages 10 to 20 and “teaches them to be better people, to make better choices,” Dotson explains. This experience has carried over into Dotson’s job at SBHS.
Today, Dotson’s children are 21, 20 and 19 years of age, and two have moved away from home, one to Phoenix, Arizona and the other to Juneau, Alaska. Her youngest child recently moved back home after a six-month stay in Los Banos.
“Sometimes you worry about them, and you miss them,” she said. “But even when they were home, between school, work, friends, activities and sleeping, you never see them anyway.”
And while her original reasons for working at SBHS have since graduated, Dotson says she has no plans of “retirement.”
“I’ve thought about doing something else; I can’t really imagine myself chasing (students) around with my cane in hand,” she laughs. “But I like my job, so I think I’d like to stay with the school district somehow.”
Laurie Castaneda writes Local Stories for the Free Lance every Wednesday.
