This week, I've been busy. But, it's that kind of "GOOD BUSY" that you feel when you are accomplishing things. I've been able to sit in on several data teams, parent meetings and our Mental Health and Wellness supported planning meetings. Jim, Amanda, Michael and I did our Commitment Plan presentation on Wednesday and it was so nice to take time to share all of the amazing things we do around here. I ate my lunch while doing 5th grade recess duty today and I didn't mind because the kids are so fun to be around. So, while I've been busy, it's been that fun kind of busy when you feel like you're in the "zone".
I always say that September is a whirlwind and things start to calm down when October gets here. I think I'm feeling the beginning of that October calming. Oh, no, I hope I didn't just jinx it. Have a great end of the week!
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We have been working hard for the past 26 days. That's right, it's only the 26th day of school. It's easy to forget how fresh and new this school year still is; and it's even harder to see all the progress we've made.
Today, I challenge you to "stop and smell the roses." By this, I mean, think about the growth that has happened so far this year. Give yourself a moment or two to recognize and celebrate the successes you have had so far. Maybe, there are some that you haven't even noticed, because you haven't given yourself time to really see all you've accomplished! Thank you all for the work you do and for living out our ONE WORD: TEAM This week, I received what I can only describe as a shock to the system, when I attended the Board of Education Meeting for our school district. I knew the meeting would be slightly contentious as the main topics were around release time for religious education and LGBTQ+ issues in our schools. But, I never imagined that we lived and worked in a community the spews so much hate and misinformation about what is happening in schools. I do not share this with you to break your spirit or bring anxiety your way, but I do feel like many of us, me included, are not aware of what is going on right under our noses.
If you walk into any school in Hilliard, but especially ours, you are greeted with happy kids who love their school and their teachers. You work with staff who are in education for all the right reason and who are advocates for all kids. You live by the mantra that LOVE IS AN INTERVENTION and that we are here to serve EVERY STUDENT WITHOUT EXCEPTION. But, many members of our community are believing and preaching a false narrative about our schools. This includes some of elected officials who are making decision about our schools. On Monday, the Board of Education passed a policy that will allow for the school district to release children from school during the school day to attend religious instruction. The elementary principals reached out to the Board of Education in the form of an email explaining the extreme disruption this would have on the teaching and learning in our schools. Three members of our Board of Education disregarded our concerns in support of the policy and the policy passed. It is clear that we are in a place in our schools in which we have elected leadership that does not support educators. This is where we come in. We must use our voice. We must not let people who are listening to extreme ideologies and extreme false information make decisions that so greatly effect our schools. We cannot sit back and be the silent majority any longer. We must continue to do the positive work we do each day and we must share that work with our community. I will be attending all Board meetings from this moment forward to ensure that the Board sees that the people doing the work in schools are present and aware of the decisions being made that truly effect the work we do. Keep fighting the good fight. Your work matters and it IS respected by many, we just need to make sure those people are the ones whose voices are heard. I attended my Thursday administrator meeting on this morning. And, as I'm sure you know, meetings can be overwhelming. Meetings often leave us feeling like we have work to do and things that we could do better. When we feel like that it can cause a feeling of anxiety. I'm sure you've been there and I have too. At the end of our admin meeting today, our Superintendent Dave Steward stood up and took a minute to be very vulnerable with all of us. (I love it when leaders are vulnerable!) Dave shared that while he was sitting in our meeting he had a flashback of when he was in the same meetings as a principal in Hilliard. He shared that he would be in awe of the great ideas from the teammates and it would leave him feeling inadequate. What I liked best about what Dave shared was that he also thought back about when he did his best work. He said that he was at his best and did his best work came from the times that he leaned into the anxiety that he felt and used it to drive his work. He said, "when I allowed myself to say 'I do that already." or 'We can't do that in high school.' or 'I don't really need to do that.' are the times I was at my worst." Dave's willingness to stand up in front of his staff as the Superintendent of Hilliard Schools and share times he was at his worst, motivated me to bring that same self-awareness to the work I do. I am reflecting on my mindset and actions when I am at my best and when I am at my worst. Here is what I came up with: I am at my best when I: Take my time Get ideas from my staff Am honest with myself about the task Laugh and enjoy the work Don't take myself too seriously I am at my worst when I: Rush Let my emotions take over Get negative/complain Let myself believe that the work is not important I hope you take some time to reflect on yourself and when you're at your best and worst. If the leader of our district can do it, so can we. Everyone has their "thing". I have come to realize that my "thing" is that I just can't walk away from chaos. In fact, I run towards it. Maybe that's why I somehow handle life working full time with four kids, one of whom creates his own chaos on an almost daily basis.
This morning I was reminded of my inability to walk away from chaos as I was driving down Fishinger Road in Upper Arlington. I was happily drinking my iced coffee when I noticed a big golden retriever walking back and forth in the middle of the four lane road. I said out loud to no one, "Great, I have to save this dog." So, I stopped my car. Opened my door and attempted to lure this big guy inside. In the meantime, I realized that I had caused 4 lanes of traffic to stop, but NO ONE WAS HELPING ME. Finally, a nice man also got out of his car and was able to grab the dog's collar. We began looking around hoping to find the dog's owner when we realized that there was ANOTHER DOG who was also wandering around on the road behind us. At this point, I was laughing to myself thinking, how is it possible that there are four lanes of traffic stopped on a busy road and only two people are trying to save these dogs. Finally, the dogs' owner pulled up on a side street near Fishinger Road and the dogs happily ran to him and hopped in his car. All of the traffic began moving again and everyone went about their day. As I began driving to school again while picking the dog hair off my coffee cup, I couldn't help but laugh thinking about how many times I have saved dogs. For some reason, I just can't walk away from the chaos of a lost dog. As I pulled in to school and saw the three Hilliard Turkeys hanging out in the grass on the side of the road, I laughed out loud again and asked myself the question that Anna Deri used to ask me every morning, "What are we going to do for fun today?" I hope it's comforting to know you have a principal who is addicted to chaos and runs towards it instead of away from it. Have a great day and know that I have your back! |
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