Week Ending June 7th, 2019

I wanted to start today's Blog with this quote, because we are all going to be engaged in, and touched by the concept of Turn Around Plans and School Improvement as we begin our work next school year.  I know that the district office and schools have been very busy looking at student growth, curriculum, benchmarks, assessment, discipline, attendance and other data as they plan for next year.  This is important stuff, because it's this "stuff" that will be what we are constantly thinking about, planning with, and using to drive the work.  So, what is the work?  

From my perspective, our work that lies ahead is to make sure that we take a solid look in the mirror every day.  How do we plan, what do we plan and why do we plan it?  Our kids come to us, many with deficits in their learning, gaps and other components that make our work EVEN more of a struggle, but all the more necessary.  As schools wrap up this year, many meetings are focused already on how we will achieve better results for kids, with higher standards, and more supports.  And again, you may be asking yourself, what might this mean for me?

The struggle an athlete (like Joe Rogan, above) talks about is that space- past discomfort, where and only where growth happens.  That no pain, no gain philosophy is what makes competitors faster and stronger, because we all know, without struggle, there is no improvement.  

So, in faculty meetings, department meetings, common planning meetings- you will hear words like "assess performance, specific feedback, monitoring, systems, vision, targets.."  Know that these will and do relate to all of us.  As we begin the last week of the 2018/19 school year, know, too, that we are all in this together, and that for me, the work of a Turnaround District is misrepresented in it's namesake.  We should see ourselves as not turning around, but turning it UP.  

You think your lessons you plan for our kids are already great?  Make'em GREATER.  

You think the work students produce in your care is valid?  Make it ESSENTIAL.  

You think you're at the top of your game?  Make 2019/20 the year you OUT PLAN, OUT TEACH and OUT DO the current YOU.

Sounds great, right?  Well, it will be- because we will commit to our kids, our community and each other as we all struggle and grow and 

TURN AROUND IT UP.

Thanks,

Jackie

“Once you understand what excellence is all about…you see how excellence manifests itself in any discipline.” – Joe Rogan