Month: August 2022

Yesterday, after a multi-year break, we were able to host our district’s convocation morning. It was like a family reunion.

No need to recap all that happened over the last 3 years. It was a rough stretch, by any measure. Our educators persevered and kept the needs of kids front and center.

Yesterday felt different. It felt ‘normal’. That word has lost a lot of meaning, but yesterday had people smiling, relaxed, laughing, hugging. We are people people and people needed people yesterday.

I’m proud to work in a place where the superintendent, in his remarks to the entire staff of the entire district, said, “We keep the main thing the main thing.” And the main thing is a focus on kids and educators.

Year 39 is on deck for me, all in this wonderful place. School starts tomorrow. And here’s what I know will happen. Kids will be nervous, adults will welcome them with big smiles and reassuring words. And day by day, young people will take steps to becoming successful older people, with the gifted people in our schools leading and supporting them. That sure feels like ‘normal’.

Let’s go!

Been a minute, as the kids say, since I hit the ol’ blog. August is now in full force, which for some, might not seem like prime school time. It is. We’ve hired two new, excellent principals. Also hired two new, excellent assistant principals. Also hired a number of new, excellent teachers. So, the district office crew is busy dreaming, scheming, designing, and planning for our kickoff leadership retreat. Actually we’ve been doing all the aforementioned verbs since the spring, but we’re in the home stretch now. The retreat is next week. For some reason, as I was thinking about the retreat, George Couros popped into my mind. And specifically this quote:

I love this quote. I love the challenge of this quote. If kids don’t see/feel/experience anything different as a result of our PL days….what the heck were we doing? The good thing is that I know, as a fact, that kids do see/feel/experience difference after our work. We have such a solid group of teacher/building/district leaders, all of whom keep kids front and center in our work.

Really looking forward to next week and firing up the 2022-2023 school year!