June 28, 2010
Dear Staff,
In a few short weeks we will open our doors again and welcome the 734 students that call our building their school. One day, like you and I often do, they will think back to the days that you have planned for them and remember things one of two ways. They will reminisce with smiles about the friendships they gained or wish they could relive the year with you all over again because of the inspiration you gave them to do their best and be their best no matter what the challenge is. They will remember you more than what you taught them. They will remember what you stand for and sometimes what you fell for. Most importantly they will remember that you cared for them.
On that first day, and hopefully each day after, they will walk into our rooms eager to learn, eager to please, and ready for the challenges that you put in front of them. Those first few days will set the tone of how your year will go. I know that each of you have been thinking about what has gone well for you in the past and what revisions you will make in those first few days of school this year, remember this race is not a sprint, but a marathon, be consistent in your delivery, be creative in your planning, and be caring in each one of your interactions with each student. Work hard in those first few weeks to establish that relationship with each student and create a positive home-school connection with their parents. A friend of mine said recently that parents are quick to forgive when you make a mistake if you have worked to involve them, and see you as more than their child’s teacher. Reach out and make your daily routine one that involves the parents of your students. I promise you will see great results when your students know you care about them and their parents do as well.
Last year we launched a campaign to increase the structure, consistency, while accepting no excuses. This was a great initiative and we saw great results in the performance of our students. The growth we made at each grade level was higher than I have seen in a very long time. These gains were in no doubt attributed to the hard work you put forth each and every day, the consistency you showed and the attitude that no matter how difficult the task, excuses would not be accepted. We will continue this campaign and also build on it. I am convinced that the greatest difference we can make in our school starts with the teachers, and furthermore, it starts with the first teacher each student has. Our focus will remain on early intervention, but more importantly making our K, 1st and 2nd grade teachers the best teachers our school and our system has to offer. We cannot afford for our students to come to 3rd grade unprepared to meet the challenges that current legislation puts on them. We will be working very hard in team planning sessions and professional development sessions to share the expertise and knowledge that so many of our staff members have at how to help students learn and the best pedagogy we can offer our students every day. This will be an endurance challenge, but one that I know many of you are ready for!
We will be spending our first workday together on July 20th. We will be meeting at the PDC and beginning our morning session at 8:00. There will be light refreshments served for breakfast, as well as a full lunch. Please plan to be there all day, however if we end early the building will be open for those that wish to come back and work.
We will spend a portion of our day working on the new Teacher Evaluation Instrument for North Carolina Public School Teachers. We will share our test data and review our school improvement plan, we will begin to set new goals for our school as well as define the shared mission and vision we have for our school of the ARTS. This day is sure to be filled with our mantra for this year: “Engagement, Enrichment, and Excitement”. This is something I want to challenge each of you to be thinking about for this year. Since the majority of our time will be spent on the new Teacher Evaluation Instrument, Teacher Assistants will not be required to attend. We would like for all staff members to join us for lunch and fellowship at 11:30.
How can you turn up the engagement? Will you use the arts, movement, technology, more group discussion, less teacher talk, more student questions than teacher questions, more student talk than teacher talk, more of what they know and less of what you know? Why do we spend time memorizing facts when we can find it on Google, how will you teach your students to be thinkers, problem solvers, and leaders for this rapidly changing world?
How can you make each learning experience full of enrichment? Will you show your students things they have never seen before, read those things they have never heard before; will you explain to them and let them discover the wonders of numbers, words, and science? Will you put the pencil down and enrich them in the arts and challenge their thinking beyond the regurgitation of facts? These are the things that will get us the greatest results on any assessment piece. Challenge your students to be thinkers by enriching them in a classroom that ignites their imagination and creativity.
Lastly, how will you get your students excited about school? How will you keep them tuned in when they enter your room that is already 20 times slower than the world they live in? Will each day be like a field trip day, will each day be filled with an excitement of who they will meet, or who they will get to talk to on another side of the world? Will you make your classroom the exciting place where learning happens because your students race to your door to see what the day holds for them? Excitement comes from enlisting the resources that others hold. Take that lesson you have done for the past five years and ask one of our essential teachers to assist you in making it exciting, watch the difference in what your students will be able to do at the end of the year.
For now though, let your excitement be the chance to enjoy a good book, a chance to watch your son/daughter or grandson/daughter run through the sprinkler, the opportunity to tend to the garden, the peace of swinging on the front porch, walking the beach in the morning, hiking the path up the mountain, playing a game with the family. Let your engagement be nothing more than a nap on a hot day. Let your enrichment be the chance to visit a place you never have before. These are the things that will help to prepare you for the challenge of another school year. This year’s challenge is the challenge that you were chosen for, the challenge that you are here for, if there was somebody better for the job I would have asked them, you are who we need, you can provide what we need, and together all of us will continue to meet the needs of those 734 students that will run through our doors excited to meet you on that first day of school, enriched with the hope of a new school year, and engaged in the opportunity to start it all over again!
Respectfully,
