Dear Students...

Dear Students...

You may not realize this, but the reason we come to school each day...your principal, your assistant principal(s), your teachers, your counselors, your paraprofessionals, your custodians...is because of you. We wake up early, stay late, and study hard just for you. We talk about and plan for your success, your goals, and your aspirations. We talk about your future, our belief in you, and the fact that you matter and will make a difference. We work hard to plan activities and a curriculum that is customized to your needs, even though it is extremely challenging for us. We love you, we respect you, and we give all we can each day so you can be successful.

Dear Students…

We see you hiding in the back of the room, don’t think we don’t...We know school doesn’t come easy, and we know you come to school hungry, tired, and desperately needing support. We know some of you leave school and go to work to support your family, we know that many of you are homeless, coming to your fifth school in three years, or are far more focused on surviving....let alone trying to pass the class. But guess what? We won’t let you fall, we won’t give up on you, and we will never stop believing in you.

Need food? We can get that for you. Need help? We are ready to support you. Need someone to hear you? Listen to you? Guide you? Provide school supplies? Counseling? Technology? Access to the whole world? Yup...we can do all of that too.

Don’t see a future? We do, and it is one where you are successful, impactful, and is a future filled with stories of perseverance, challenges conquered, and a life worth living.

Dear Students…

We see you getting all A+ grades without even trying. We know school comes easily for you…We know you are bored, and are even willing to get in trouble just to change the pace of the day. We have challenges ready for you, we have a plan for you...here is the truth, we want you to grow and be challenged just as much as the student who is struggling next to you. Are you ready? Are you willing to fail? Are you willing to focus on the process instead of just the results?

Here is the truth for all of our A+ students...while we are proud of the effort, the grades, and the success...we want more for you. We want you to feel challenged, pushed instructionally, and feel you are learning something new each and every day. So much so, we would bet every teacher you have ever had, if given the choice, would trade your A+ grades for a new learning moment each day...in the end...we are hoping for both.

Dear Students…

We know you are stressed. We know the pressure to be the best is always on your shoulders...perfect grades, honor roll, class rank… We know you want to do it all, but please don’t forget that you are only a student for one season of life. You will blink and graduate elementary school, blink again...high school, and before you know it, college.

Working hard is a great thing, getting great grades is a great thing, trying to be the best is a great thing… Just remember this: It’s not the ONLY thing. You matter. You have purpose. You make a difference, whether at the top of your class or not, you can be successful, and make the world a better place.

Dear Students…

We are not perfect. Believe it or not...we are only human. There are times we won’t understand what you are wanting us to hear. There are times we may seem tired, may seem exasperated, may even seem a little lost… Here is the truth, we - the educators in your life - work hard to look like we have all the answers, have it all together, but in the end...well, we want you to own your learning. We want you to take responsibility and join us on the journey to your educational success. We will always be prepared, always ready to welcome you at the classroom door, always ready to give you our best lesson...but, you need to be ready to learn something new.

Dear Students…

As you grow up, as you go out and change the world, cure diseases, become teachers, athletes, mechanics, engineers, architects, nurses, lawyers, firefighters, police officers, counselors, graphic designers, store managers, food servers, veterinarias, custodians, web designers and so much more...don’t forget us. Don’t forget we believed in you even when you struggled, and we knew that one day you would do great things.

Thank you for giving us a chance to watch you grow, watch you learn, and watch you become the amazing person you are today. We might have only been a small piece of your journey, but we are so proud to have been a part of the ride.

Sincerely,

Well, you know who we are…

The educators who are so very proud of you!

The Problem with Soapboxes

I love a good soapbox - there is nothing like going off on a tangent for a long time as passion builds and frustration kicks in because you KNOW what you are saying is right, and anyone not following your belief is clearly off the mark.

I have a great soapbox for all types of topics...Library vs. Learning Commons, makerspace, special education, curriculum, planning, student support, family support, team support, and on, and on, and on…

It's funny how quickly a soapbox can kick in as well, and it doesn’t take much...don’t believe me? Go up to any teacher and say this: “I think teachers are overpaid babysitters.” --- Then sit back and wait, trust me, a soapbox lesson will shortly follow.

I was talking with a parent the other day and she pitched me a soft ball right over the plate when I thought she said…”You know, I think the problem in education is kids just can’t learn these days, everything is just handed to them so they don’t know how.”

I couldn’t help myself...I couldn't just leave a statement like that sitting out there, so I respectfully disagreed with a 10 minutes soapbox speech that would be been up for an Academy Award had it been filmed. I made my point, the parent seemed to agree with my thoughts.

We finished our, admittedly, one sided discussion, and as she left she said this: “I love how passionate you are about these kids, maybe parents giving kids everything these days isn't the problem.”

I sat there, silent. Wait a minute, I just gave this lady a phenomenal soapbox speech about why kids can learn. I thought we were debating the idea that kids today can’t learn...not questioning parenting today. I ran back through the conversation in my mind and realized I made a mistake. What I chose to hear was, ”You know, I think the problem in education is kids just can’t learn these days, everything is just handed to them so they don’t know how.” Yet, what she said was,“You know, I think the problem in education is kids just can’t learn to do things on their own, everything is just handed to them by their parents so they just don’t seem to know how.”

Slight difference, she was sharing her thoughts on parenting today, yet got a friendly lecture from me about why our kids can learn.

Soapboxes are driven by passion, by beliefs so strongly rooted that we often find reasons to share these thoughts. Truth be told, until that moment I never saw anything wrong with a good soapbox. But I decided to do an experiment…

I asked 10 teachers what their biggest soapbox topics were - Admittedly, I did ask people who I knew may have different opinions - something very interesting happened as they were as follows :

Teacher 1: Special education students need to be in the general education setting at all times

Teacher 2: Special education students need settings and supports built for their specific needs

Teacher 3: Departmentalizing elementary is key to student success

Teacher 4: Non-Departmentalized schools are most effective

Teacher 5: Students must have choice in order to have ownership

Teacher 6: Problem based learning is the future of education

Teacher 7: Everything in education is cyclical, keep doing the same thing long enough and you are doing the right thing again

Teacher 8: Change in education is vital to student success

Teacher 9: Instructional technology is the fastest growing, and most important, part of education today

Teacher 10: Technology is nice, but nothing is more important than a paper book and a great teacher

It doesn’t take long to notice a glaring issue...Not all soapboxes match.

For most people, when it comes to sharing a soapbox moment the mouth moves and the mind turns off. Look back to the example I shared above, I spent 10 minutes talking about why kids can learn, yet never did I stop, think, or even reflect on the actual conversation/comment. Soapboxes are usually created on core beliefs, beliefs we will fight for, argue for, and stand for. Yet, for me, when a soapbox begins, the learning stops.

The learning stops...that is the problem with soapboxes. In the world of education things change constantly - in order to truly be a successful educator, you need to be learning constantly. In essence, if you want to have a soapbox, it needs to be fluid.

Look at the examples above...I have a counter soapbox speech for at least half.

Maybe, for those of us with soapboxes loaded and ready, we need to step off the soapbox and shift to a seated conversation. After all, if our goal is to be successful educators, and we know we need to learn constantly, we might as well listen and share, as opposed to lecture and stand.

Full circle...think back to my parent moment...what if, after she said: “You know, I think the problem in education is kids just can’t learn to do things on their own, everything is just handed to them by their parents so they just don’t seem to know how.”

I simply responded with - “I think you make an interesting point...let’s talk about that more.”

Imagine what I might have learned...

How Do We Reach All Students?

It’s 1:13 a.m.

I’m lying in bed and watching the blades of my ceiling fan spin.

As my eyes rotate with the fan the same question continues to repeat itself in my mind...How?

As a campus principal, how do I ensure we are reaching the entire student body? How do we create an educational experience that is individualized to the needs of every child?

There are only so many hours in a day for a teacher...in those hours they have to plan, assess, analyze, manage, support, care for, adjust, change, create, and ensure every child gets what he or she needs. So much to do, so little time.

It’s 1:17 a.m.

I am sitting on the edge of my bed staring at the clock in front of me...thinking...thinking… How? What’s the answer? How do we reach every single child?

Is the answer programs? A one-size-fits-all program?

No, would never work. Our kids range from non-readers to gifted and talented all in the same room. There isn’t one program that will reach every child…

Maybe if I change the schedule, maybe if I change the routine, maybe if I can grow our parental involvement, maybe if we adjust our positive behavioral supports...maybe...

It’s 1:21 a.m.

I am now pacing back and forth as the faces of my teachers begin to flash across my mind’s eye. Classroom, special education, specialists...The faces of the amazing people who are working so hard each day to try and answer the questions that keep me up at night. The people who give everything they have...every single day, to each other, their kids, and to me.

The truth of the matter reaches me in the early morning hours...there is only one answer to the question: How do we create an educational experience that is individualized to the needs of every child? That answer...love, support, and trust my outstanding teachers.

I could create the best schedule, invite the most parents, buy the most expensive software, even provide the best professional development money could buy - all good things...yet, if my teachers are not successful, if my teachers aren’t willing to take risks in the name of reaching everyone, if my teachers aren’t willing to plan effectively...well, than in the end every child won’t be successful.

Love, support, trust - repeat. These are the key ingredients to the question that keeps me up at night…

This is my second year of being a principal - I have made mistakes and have taken risks… For some, this would be seen as a recipe for disaster. Yet, I work with a community of teachers that all share the same passion and the same desire...we want our kids to be successful.

Love. I tell my teachers I love them. That’s right, I said it...love. We don’t hear that often in education. Well, actually we do, all the time...we hear it in classrooms all over. Our teachers tell their students they are loved, they are cared for, they matter. Why shouldn’t teachers receive the same sentiment back? The parallel couldn't be more perfect...as much as my teachers love their kids, I love them.

Support. From supporting the risk a teacher wants to take, to providing that much-needed professional development, support comes in many different forms. Regardless of how it is provided, our teachers need to know they are supported. I have their back, I am in their corner, and I want the best for them. I might raise the bar high, but I will help them reach it in anyway I can.

Trust. In all honesty this is the hardest one for me. For a long time I lived by the idea: I will trust you once you show me I can. This of course means I didn’t trust anyone at first...in essence, a recipe for a negative school culture. It was my first year in administration, in middle school no less, when my principal modeled and demonstrated something I have tried so hard to embody. She gave trust freely, and it stayed there until proven no longer possible. It was the opposite of what I knew, yet was the most freeing idea that I have come to believe in. I trust my teachers, all of them. I trust they are here for our kids, trust they are doing all they can, and trust they understand they are an important part of something larger than themselves.

It’s 1:32 a.m.

I lay back down - close my eyes, and for the first time, in a long time, I am able to sleep.

More Than Title

I have a great friend who doesn’t work in the field of education, yet loves to stay on top of what is happening in schools today. While he lives in the business world, he understands the importance of the educational one. For the last several years, every time we get together he throws out several questions that are complex in nature, and always underlined with the need for more opinions that factual evidence/data. Questions like: Why do you think our educational system needs to change? Why it is that schools in this city outperform those of the surrounding cities? What is school culture? Why do I keep reading that teachers are leaving the profession faster than ever? What does great teaching look like? Etc…

Educators are funny - whether we are at school or not, we can’t help but enjoy a great conversation about what we do. Yet...it was my most recent conversation with my friend that hit me to the core...it all started with this question: “How do I make sure my child isn’t going to be attending a Title 1 campus?”

My response: “Why do you ask that?”

My friend answered: “Everyone knows that Title schools are the bad ones.”

Before I move on let me make one thing clear --- I am a proud principal of a Title 1 school, my kids are amazing, my teachers are outstanding, my community is my second family...and we are more than “Title” ---

For those who are not sure what makes a school Title 1….Here it is: 40% or more of the student population qualify for free or reduced lunch/come from low income families.

That’s it...the only qualifier, yet somehow...in the minds of many...Title 1 means: A school with families that don’t care about their children’s education, kids that misbehave/bully/fight, sub-par educators that don’t really care about kids, lack of parent involvement, lack of community support, lack of ability, and an overall horrible place to go to school. I have to ask...Why is this?

Here is what I know - here is what I believe - The amount of money a family makes does not dictate the level of care or support they offer. The amount of money does not dictate what a child can or can’t do. More money does not translate to more love, more desire, or more ability.

Let’s be honest: Title 1 schools do have challenges - In fact, according to the Marzano Center the three largest challenges facing Title 1 schools are the following: RTI interventions are not sufficient to prepare struggling students for college and careers, new standards require whole-school alignment, and lagging indicators of student achievement are too little, too late.

Bright Hub Education suggest teachers in Title 1 schools face students with multiple distractions. They point out that some students are working part time jobs to support their families, are facing real world challenges, may feel it is impossible to break the chain of events they see in life, know someone in jail, use food stamps to buy food, often go hungry, or lack parental support thus requiring the teacher to often act as a cheerleader or confidant.

There is no question there are challenges in education, and that many students from Title 1 campuses do come with less than those in more affluent situations. There are heart-breaking stories, families just trying to get by, parents working multiple jobs thus missing time with their children, as well as family members at home unable to read/write.

Yet, in the end...regardless of the struggles, regardless of the challenges, remember this….we are more than Title. The response “Everyone knows that Title schools are the bad ones” breaks my heart. There isn’t a soapbox large enough to support my belief that Title 1 or no, our kids are amazing, our teachers are nothing short of phenomenal, and our community is one built on the belief that we are all in this together.

So to anyone with the same question as my friend, let me be clear. The decision to have your children attend your local school should not be based on whether or not it happens to be Title 1. Visit the school, talk to the community, contact the principal, and be ready to learn about the amazing things that are happening...because I assure you - this country is filled with schools that are much more than Title.

A Post for Sharing

I simply wanted to share: http://www.niusileadscape.org/docs/ChangingtheOdds.pdf

Above is a Changing the Odds issue by Bryan Goodwin

Only Getting Started

As educators, we are always “Only getting started” … It doesn’t matter the grade, subject, or time of year - from kinder to twelfth the same rule always applies...we are only getting started.

There is often a thought in education that everything happens on a yearly cycle… In fact, the story problem looks something like this: Child X needs to learn amount Y by the end of the year. If Child X is able to learn Y before the state test than Child X was successful. Then, the next year, Child W needs to learn the same amount Y by the end of the year...and so on…sound familiar?

There is a fallacy in this thinking. Why? Because it implies the job is done once the test is over...but here is what I know, what all good teachers and school leaders know...we are never done teaching, never done moving forward, never done learning - because we are always only getting started.

Now don’t get me wrong (amazing grammatical line) - I am not saying that we are always starting over, always discounting the progress made, always having to hit the reset button - always getting started doesn’t mean from the beginning...but it does mean the journey is one where we are always looking ahead…

This theory works beautifully when we know all students learn differently. Pick a school, any school. Pick a class, any class, and I promise you this...not every child is or needs the same. The challenge of education is that every child needs to learn, yet no two students are the same.

The magic of always getting started goes something like this….Eric is a student in Mr. Pelosi’s class. Eric has struggled with division as long as he can remember. 32 divided by 8 equals...who cares? Eric would always shout out comments in class like, “When are we ever going to need this? Why does this even matter?” But like all great teachers do, Mr. Pelosi pressed on, never gave up...and then one day, something clicked, something happened, and Eric could divide.

What was Mr. Pelosi’s response? Was it...Way to go, you did it, you are all done? - Nope, it was simply this…”I knew you could, now get ready, because we are only getting started.”

For many, this is a mindset shift - after all, the idea of only getting started could be viewed negatively… One could read into a statement like that and assume I am discounting all the progress made, all the hard work from the past, all the effort put in...that of course couldn’t be further from the truth.

The journey of learning takes place on a long road, full of rocky moments, exciting stories and steep hills. Rarely is it perfect, rarely is it easy...but it is always worth it...and no matter how far you go or how much you learn, remember this...you are only getting started.

First Two Weeks

We are two weeks in - two weeks into the school year. Ten days of planning instruction, building relationships, implementing routines, and getting to know our students.

As the year begins, as I walk the hallways, peek into classrooms and sit in planning meetings...I can’t help but take note of how much I love my teachers and staff members. There is an excitement in the air, a hint of what’s to come, and a feeling that something amazing could happen at any moment.

It is clear we have a building filled with educators who love their children, are willing to work painfully hard preparing for each day, and all share a willingness to collaboratively reflect on the process of ensuring every child receives the best education possible.

I left the classroom four years ago, this will be my fifth year away - I would be lying if I said I didn’t miss it, because I do, almost every day. To me, there was nothing more exciting than the first two weeks… Meeting my students for the first time, creating a first impression that would last the entire year. As I walk the hallways I see teacher after teacher creating a memorable first impression, one built on love and respect.

For most administrators, most district leaders, and instructional specialists...leaving the classroom is about hoping to make a larger impact. I was no different, I wanted to be part of something larger than myself, work hard to help the greater good, support teachers, and ensure students were successful. I love being a principal, I love coming in each day hoping to make a difference, hoping to serve all those in need, and hoping to learn something new around every corner…

But...there is something about the first two weeks of school that always gets to me. I miss the overwhelming feeling of nervousness as I prepared for that first day. I miss looking over my lesson plans to ensure what my students experienced for the first time would be memorable. I miss trying to imprint each student's name into my brain before lunch. I miss planning with my team, welcoming new families, and trying to identify the need of each student who walked in the door.

There is nothing like being a teacher. It is hard, it takes time, it is exhausting, emotionally draining, and a daily challenge. Yet...I miss it.

The first two weeks are a wonderful time of year - So, to all teachers completing their first two weeks of the school year let me just share this: Enjoy these moments, cherish the excitement of the first few days, and embrace the difference you are making...because I promise, you will miss these days when you are no longer teaching.