“As an Italian/Lithuanian woman, I very much look up to other female leaders in our organization. I am one of many women on our regional leadership team and do not take for granted the fact that in many organizations this is not the case,” said Amanda Lanfré, Director of Regional Operations at KIPP SoCal Public Schools. “I hope to continue to set a positive example for other female team members who are hoping to grow as individuals and professionals.”
And Lanfré is doing just that by building strong relationships with our school communities and showing strength in the collective. “I’ve seen that 100% of [Mrs. Lanfré’s] decisions are guided by love and equity and a deep desire to do right by our students and communities, whether that was figuring out how to safely distribute over one million meals to our most vulnerable families, continuing to work with our Operations teams on health and safety precautions, or participating in Teacher Task Force meetings to ensure that she is hearing teachers’ questions and concerns and thoughtfully incorporating them into our planning,” her team members shared.
As our former Chief Operating Officer added, “To put it simply, Amanda is a KIPPstar.” Indeed, she was honored with KIPP SoCal’s 2021 KIPPStar Team Member of the Year award.1
7:00 - 8:00AM — HAPPY MORNING
My morning starts with getting my 9-month old son up and fed and ready for the day! As a new mom I'm still adjusting to this morning routine but my mornings with Thomas are the best part of my day :) After I drop Thomas off at daycare, I'm ready to start the work day!
8:00AM - 12:00PM — PLANNING SCHOOL OPERATIONS
The Regional Ops Team is mostly working remotely so the majority of my meetings are virtual. The first half of my day is spent checking in with our team, both as a whole group and individually. We discuss and plan for all things related to school operations, including the school nutrition program, emergency preparedness, and student health. At this point in the year, we're working on closing out this current school year and already planning for Fall 2022! I love working collaboratively with our regional ops team members and couldn't ask for more amazing people to be supporting our schools.
12:00 - 12:45PM — POWER LUNCH
Time for lunch! I typically eat lunch quickly between meetings, or sometimes even during meetings :) (fun fact about me, I eat a turkey sandwich just about every day for lunch.) Some days you may find me supporting meal service at one of our schools — I love interacting with students whenever I can!
1:00 - 2:00PM — CONNECTING WITH THE DEPARTMENTS OF PUBLIC HEALTH
I typically join a daily phone call with California Department of Public Health, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health or County of San Diego Department of Public Health to talk about COVID-19 guidelines for TK-12 schools. Topics may include COVID-19 testing protocols, COVID-19 quarantine protocols, and COVID-19 vaccination. Guidelines change often and this is one of the ways we stay up-to-date on all information related to COVID-19!
[In fact, this partnership led to glowing DPHLA audits, and they were so impressed with our safety initiatives that the department added some of our tactics to their best practices.]
2:00 - 5:00PM — HEALTH AND SAFETY MATTERS
My afternoons are spent working on KIPP SoCal's COVID-19 guidelines — either individually or collaboratively with other team members across regional and school teams. Our goal is to have health & safety protocols in place that keep our school communities safe and to avoid transmission of COVID-19 at our school campuses. I am so grateful for all of our school-based team members who are working hard every day to implement our safety protocols and to our students and families who follow protocols day in and day out!
5:00 - 8:00PM — TREASURED FAMILY MOMENTS
My work day is finished and mom duty kicks in again! Thomas is learning to eat solid foods so dinner time is messy for us :) A bath is always a must before my husband and I have story time and put Thomas to bed. My family means everything to me and I always look forward to ending the day with them!
Fun Fact: I taught English in Tanzania for a couple of months after college — it is the most amazing place with the most amazing people!
LEADING FOR LIBERATION
Though her work is still mostly remote, she said, “I am excited about the fact that schools are now able to plan in-person events and celebrations for students and families, including field trips and end of year events — we recently provided guidance to schools about how to hold these events in a safe way!”
Mrs. Lanfré stays committed to meeting the challenges of this moment for each of our KIPPsters. It’s clear that she always stands strong, guided by her instinct to protect our schools, team members, and families, all while taking courageous steps every day to reinvent the possibilities within our public schools in pursuit of meaningful impact, and pushing for equity across our KIPP SoCal community.
1. Each year, we celebrate and honor our inspiring KIPP SoCal Team & Family at the Karsh Family KIPPStar Awards, named in honor of champion supporters and education advocates Martha & Bruce Karsh. In alignment with our mission, KIPP SoCal awards Teacher and Team Member of the Year to individuals who embody the values that ground us as an organization: Lead with Love; Equity. Excellence; Strength in the Collective; Courage and Integrity; Learn and Grow.