Let me start by saying that I know that some educators out there will say “This is easy for you to say.  You’re in an “A-rated” school and you’re in an affluent community.”

And those people would be correct.  It is easy for me to say.  That’s the point.

Because it is easy for me to say, I need to say that school grades based on a single test measure do not and will never accurately portray the true value of a school.  There have been many opponents to standardized testing in the past but those of us who have benefitted from these assessments and the subsequent school ratings have to stand up for our colleagues in the education field.  Because while my school staff and community will be celebrating how well we performed, there are friends of mine throughout education who are crushed right now.  Devastated because the perception of their school will change because of a single letter grade.

This is wrong on so many levels.

Florida released school grades a few days ago.  This time the scores are based on the two-year comparison of the FSA (Florida Standards Assessments) that was first implemented last year.  These school grades are the first “official” grade to be given with our new assessments.  The school grades that were released for the previous year were termed “Informational Baseline” with the preposed caveat that there were no consequences for those grades (I will get back to that in a moment).

So the grades came out and my school is “A-rated” once again.  But what does that mean? I honestly don’t feel that this tells anywhere near the complete story of what my school is.  Walk through our halls, talk to our students and staff, ask the community.  I believe you will hear about a school filled with love, happiness, a desire to help all students, and individuals seeking to innovate so that our students are always exposed to the best possible practices, strategies and technologies that help make their lives better.

And I believe that most schools are filled with the same love and happiness, the same desire to do whatever it takes for kids.  But, unfortunately, so many schools are living under the fear of the almighty school grade.  Numerous schools are forced to deliver curriculum and strategies designed specifically to raise test scores.  And yes they are forced, because there is always a consequence for school grades, whether the State says so or not.  The biggest consequence is public perception.  We are so conditioned to believe in school grades based off of a test that only measures how well students do on the FSA in English Language Arts, Math, and Science (for elementary schools).  Schools that don’t perform well on these accountability measures aren’t always afforded the opportunities to innovate and try new ideas like those of us who do perform well.

I have been talking to educator friends of mine, both teachers and principals, from different schools these past few days.  Some are so distraught because their school grade “dropped”.  One of my friends, who is one of the best teachers that I have ever met, said “Does this really mean that from last year to this year we just sat around and did nothing to educate our kids?  We still have the same passionate and dedicated teachers.”  All of our schools are filled with caring, compassionate educators who are relentless in their pursuit of helping make kids’ lives better.  All of our schools have students who deserve the best each day.

This madness needs to stop.  We need the general public to wake up and realize that we are demoralizing entire school communities and reducing their efforts to nothing by placing a grade on them.  While some of us have freedom and are highly regarded because of these grades, there are so many more educators who don’t have that opportunity.  We need everyone to talk about this and spread the word.  Our schools are so much more than a letter grade.

 

 

 

 

I have been contemplating a lot about life recently and how fleeting time can be.  I often wish I can grab time and hold it still but I constantly feel it slipping through my fingers.  Music is a big part of my life and I often get swept up in the emotions and my connection to the lyrics and the sound.  Two songs that have haunted me since my childhood have come into my mind recently.  Our school family was shattered this year as we lost several individuals connected to our school due to car accidents, including two little girls who were students here.  These tragedies make you question why something like this can happen to those who are so young.  There is a line in Neil Young’s Rockin’ in the Free World that always hits home to me when I hear it:

“There’s one more kid that will never go to school.  Never get to fall in love, never get to be cool.”  

I always get choked up when Neil sings this because of the lost opportunities for a child who will never get to experience so much of life.  We can never make sense of losing young people.  All we can do is hug each other a little bit tighter and love each other a little bit more.

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“When you comin’ home, Dad
I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then son 
You know we’ll have a good time then.”

I can’t really explain how the lyrics to Harry Chapin’s Cats in the Cradle have affected me for pretty much my whole life.  I mean, how is it possible that I internalized the meaning to that song and held it within me even at a very young age?  But I can promise you that I cannot listen to that song without tears welling up in my eyes.  I can’t even read the lyrics without getting emotional.  As long as I can remember, I made a silent promise to myself that I would never be the Dad in the song, the one who is too busy for his son and then watches his son become exactly like him, too busy for family, too consumed with work.

My wife and I were walking to the park with our two boys the other day.  Along the path to the playground, each of the boys took turns doing a different stunt, whether it be climbing on monkey bars or simply walking along the edge of the path.  Throughout the walk, Maddox and Jagger went back and forth calling for my attention.

“Daddy, watch this!”

“Did you see that Dad?”

If I tell you they said these things about twenty times in a minute, I would be lying.  It would be so easy to get frustrated and exhausted with always having to see what the boys are doing.  Luckily though, I caught myself and remembered that these moments don’t last for long.  I can remember when Maddox wouldn’t do anything on the baseball field without first looking to make sure that I was watching.  But those times aren’t as frequent anymore.  They won’t always call for me to watch them so I want to see everything they want to show me.

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I connect these stories and songs because I feel compelled to promote the messages of “be here now” and “now is good” at every available opportunity.  Our families, our students, and our colleagues need us to appreciate and to be fully present in those moments that we are together.  While what we do in education is important, we must also remember that our families are more important.  Give of yourselves each day while at school but then go home and engage with your families.  They are the motivation to keep on giving.  They deserve your undivided attention.

I think this message that a parent emailed me at the end of the school year says it all:

“The years move too fast.  I’m still trying to find a way to slow it all down,                                   because it’s so good and so much fun.”

What if we could…appreciate each moment; not worry about the past or the future, but simply treasure the present?

Another year is upon us and I couldn’t be more excited for our students to return.  This week with our teachers has been filled with positive energy and good spirits.  This promises to be an amazing school year.

I rolled out the following unofficial motto for our staff for this year – Feedback, Support and Growth.  My question to my staff is “What do you want to do and what do you need from us to make that happen?”.  Our focus needs to be on the learning and teaching in the classroom above all else.  Teachers’ roles are to make students’ lives better.  Those of us in support positions are here to help make our teachers’ lives better so that they can make students’ lives better.

I also brought up some “What if” questions based on my summer reading and my interactions on Twitter.  Questions that I feel that if answered the right way, can take our school from very good to great.  These questions are not mandates.  However, just imagine the type of school we would have if we could make each of these a reality:

• “What if” – every teacher presented their best lesson on the first day of school and waited until the second day to discuss the rules?
• “What if” – every teacher called the parents of each of their students within the first two weeks to say something positive about them?
• “What if” – each of us started simply each day by greeting each other with a smile and by saying “Good Morning”?
• “What if” – every teacher identified areas where they wanted to grow and worked with an administrator or coach to improve in these areas?
• “What if” – every student had the opportunity to direct a portion of their learning?
• “What if” – every teacher used technology in the classroom to allow students the opportunity to create rather than consume?

Finally, our official motto this year is “All In”.  When you play Texas Hold-Em Poker, there is a bet called “All In”.  There are many ways that this bet can be used.  It can be because you only have a small stack of chips left and you are desperate.  You might also use it to try to convince your opponents that you have a great hand when you don’t.  Finally, you can use this bet when you have confidence that you have the absolute best hand.  I truly believe that we have the best staff and that we are going to do amazing things together this year.  Please know that I am “All In” on each of you.  I want you to try new things without fear and with all of the feedback and support that you need to be successful.  Each staff member will receive a poker chip like the one above.  By accepting this chip, we are creating a bond that I am “All In” with you and that you will be “All In” with me and with each other.  This means that we uplift each other, only speak positively about our profession and each other, and agree to constantly learn, collaborate and try new things.  So please join me this year.  Let’s be “All In” with each other.  Make this the best year ever!

We didn’t build schools to give people jobs; we built schools to educate children.

I’m not sure where I first heard that statement but it has definitely stuck with me and helped to guide me during some seriously difficult decisions.  My belief is that my primary role is to help make children’s lives better.   My secondary role is to help make teachers’ lives better so that they can, in turn, make children’s lives better.  It is a pretty simplistic view at what can be a very complicated process.  At times it can turn decisions that I have to make into dilemmas that can truly twist my soul.

In order to properly fulfill my primary function, I have to work as best as I can to ensure that every student in my school has the absolute best teacher in the room with them.  This is sometimes very hard to do because not every teacher can be just like the best teachers in a school (and some teachers really have no interest in doing so).  So we have to work to build people up and provide the support and guidance that they need in order to improve every day.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the question in the title of this post.  Part of this is because our school district has repurposed several schools recently, which has forced the staff at those sites to reapply for their own jobs.  I have also been interviewing candidates within the past few weeks and I find it interesting how differently people think to sell themselves for a teaching position and what qualities they choose to highlight.

I have had to interview for several positions many times myself in the past ten years.  I find myself constantly updating my mindset as I progress in my journey to become a better educator.  Interviewing and building a resume of accomplishments is a regular occurrence for administrators and educators who seek advancement.   But what about those teachers who stay at one location their entire careers?

What would you say at an interview in order to obtain your current position?   What qualities do you possess that you would choose to highlight?  How have you grown since you first took your job?  How have you grown in the past year?  How do you stay connected to the current trends, strategies, and ideas that are being implemented in schools throughout the world?

What it really boils down to me is this – do you possess the requisite passion to facilitate learning at our school?  I believe that we can help anyone become a better teacher through coaching, modeling, professional development, and feedback and reflection.  What I can’t instill in you is passion.   You either have it or you don’t.   I can look no further than one of my very own teachers who is retiring at the end of the next school year.  One might think that someone in this spot would be winding down, ready to head to retirement.  Pleasantly however, this teacher has reinvented herself as a leader in technology integration and social media connectedness.   The bar has been set for me.  If someone near the end of her career can do these things, then all teachers must be able to do so.   Constant learning and reflecting are non-negotiables to being a quality educator.  The challenge before each of you is to continually self-reflect, learn, grow, collaborate, and share.   And think, do I see myself as someone worthy of my current position?

It hit me sometime during the performance from Ecuador.  I looked across the school’s cafeteria and saw all the joyous faces, smiling and dancing.  We were all one.  A feeling of immense pride came over me.  Pride in how our wonderfully diverse school community came together on this evening, the night of our Multicultural Festival.
The brainchild of one of our amazing parents, our 1st Annual Multicultural Festival was a combination of culture, education, music, food, friendship, and celebration.  About 25 countries representing the make-up of Gator Run Elementary put on display booths in which attendants could learn a little bit about each country’s heritage, play a game, do an art activity, or eat some food.  Each student who attended received a luggage bag (a decorated brown paper bag) for collecting souvenirs and a passport that they could get stamped at each country.  There was an awesome representation of our over 1300 students and their families, which caused our building to be a little cramped and slightly warm, but that was a small price to pay for the rewards that were gained that night.
I believe that for the first time ever, every member of our school community felt welcomed and valued for their heritage and culture.  It was an evening of respect for each other; a night to celebrate our differences and that which we all share in common.  It is amazing to be at a school where parent volunteers coordinated the presentations, decorated the school and then worked tirelessly that night to ensure that everyone had an amazing time.  Our school staff who attended and volunteered really rocked the house by donating their time to work the door, serve food, and help to clean the school at the conclusion.  Being a Principal is the best ‘job’ ever but getting to do this ‘job’ at a school like Gator Run Elementary is unbelievable and inspiring.  A night like this makes me want to do more for our kids and community.  Thank you to everyone who participated in making this a most special night.  You have transformed our school forever moving forward; for on this night, all cultures truly became one as the Gator Run family.