The sound of the golf cart whirring around the Palo Alto High School campus from classroom to classroom has become a familiar one, but some students don’t notice the woman behind the wheel — Campus Supervisor Mayerly Short — who is hard at work ensuring their safety. 

As one of Paly’s campus supervisors, Short plays a critical role in maintaining a safe and secure learning environment for students by monitoring school grounds, enforcing policies and responding to incidents on campus. 

With over one and a half years of experience as a full-time campus supervisor, Short brings a wealth of knowledge to her role, which she initially held as a part-time position.

“I love helping kids and I love helping people,” Short said. “This is a place where I can help people grow and learn from the mistakes I made in high school.”

Short said the most common issue she deals with is students skipping class. While she said she understands that students crave freedom and enjoy spending time outside, particularly during long 90-minute periods, she encourages them to attend classes as much as possible to ensure their safety. 

“We have weekly meetings [with administrators] to bring to attention what’s going on in the school and try to make sure that our safety is the number one priority,” Short said.

According to Short, a big part of ensuring campus safety and security is communicating with other campus supervisors. 

“As a team, we communicate,” Short said. “I talk to Carl [Hubenthal], I talk to Norma [Hymes], I talk to staff members, I’ve talked to admin about what we can do better. We’re all still learning as we grow.” 

Outside of other Paly staff, Short said she draws inspiration from other schools by attending classes about school safety.

“I go to classes that I like to attend and see what safety [practices] the other schools are using, even if it’s a college kind of school,” Short said. “But I can implement some of those strategies.”

Short’s passion for helping students extends beyond her role as a campus supervisor. Leading the Peer Tutoring Center allows Short to have interactions with students and build relationships. 

“I think being the head of the tutoring center has really helped me get to know hundreds of kids,” Short said. “Also just walking by somebody and being like, ‘Hey, are you okay? You look tired. Do you want a snack?’”

Short highlights witnessing and facilitating students’ growth — both as campus supervisor and leading the peer tutoring center — as the most rewarding part of her job.

“Being around kids and seeing them grow up and learn and support each other and to … continue to do that to the best of our abilities,” Short said.