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! This week, I've been reminded of the simple JOYS of elementary school. We've been working at a fevered pace the past few years. And, there's just something about this school year that is different. I feel calm. I feel like the kids are calm. I feel like YOU are calm. I even feel like the parents are calm...for the most part.
My calm has helped me notice the simple JOYS of spending my days with children. I've noticed skippers in the hallway. I've taken the time to look for smiling faces. I've had relaxed conversations with parents about how much their kids are loving school. And, I've spent time with many of you, laughing about funny things that happen here! The past couple nights we've had playtimes on the playground. These low key events have also reminded me that LESS IS MORE. Parents and kids don't need elaborate events or elaborate emails and newsletters from us. They just appreciate a simple connection and to know that their kids are in a place that is fun and safe. I hope you all take the time to appreciate the simple JOYS this school year is offering us. I'm so happy to write this first blog post of the 22-23 school year. As I opened my weebly site for the first time since May, I saw the post I shared with you on the last day of school. I was reminded about what a tough year it was last year. It was the perfect reminder for me about the gifts of hope and opportunity that new school years bring.
Yesterday was an amazing day. The building was full of energy, JOY and positivity. I felt renewed and I could tell you all did, too. We are embarking on a new journey. The past is in the past so, let's focus on today and the days ahead. Our ONE WORD this year is TEAM and yesterday that team spirit shined through as you all pitched in and helped one another. You put others before yourselves. I was able to see examples of that selflessness, time and time again throughout the day. As the school year moves forward, we will all have our turn to be the person who NEEDS the TEAM or the person who is part of the TEAM helping SOMEONE ELSE. Take the help when you need it, give the help when you can. As we move into DAY 2 of this school year, remember to continue to take things slow, build relationships and give grace to others AND to yourself. WE ARE GOING TO DO BIG THINGS TOGETHER AS A TEAM THIS YEAR! Many who are not in education have no idea the fights we have to fight each day, no idea how vilified we are by the community and have no idea the ridiculous accusations that parents make against us….
-you told my child he lied -you wouldn’t let my child go to the bathroom -my child said you told her no -my child is being bullied by you -you’re picking on my kid -but my kid’s food needs heated in the microwave -my child wouldn’t do that -you forced my child to confess to that -my child isn’t doing well in school because of YOU -your school is terrible These are just the minor things Then we have… -you can’t read that book to my child -I want to opt my child out of this lesson -my child can’t participate in social emotional learning -you’re teaching critical race theory -stop teaching my children that some people have 2 moms -you read a book to my (white) child about a black ballerina and now she thinks she (white child) can’t be a ballerina -I want a list of all of your “diversity” books -why are you telling my child about Ramadan -why do you make a list of kids who need to fast for Ramadan that’s not fair to the other kids (These are all real examples from this school year—-this post could be way longer but I think you get the point.) And, even with all of the negativity we get from parents, all the times they question us, vilify us, post about us on their “community Facebook groups”——WE’D STILL TAKE A BULLET FOR THEIR CHILDREN. The next time you’re on one of those FB groups or at the soccer field or in your neighborhood and that one mom or dad starts trashing teachers, please remind them of what I said above. WE’D TAKE A BULLET FOR YOUR CHILD. But, of course most think we are trying to push some liberal political agenda when in fact we just want to teach children to be accepting and kind to everyone, learn to read critically, understand different opinions and be problem solvers. And, we do this all while watching our backs and the backs of our students for potential active shooters. And that is the day in the life of an educator. WITH MUCH HOPE FOR THE FUTURE, Jacki Before my grandmother passed away a few months ago, I walked into her bedroom and from her hospital bed she looked up at me and said “you’re the director of this whole trip, aren’t you!”
My aunts and cousins laughed because they knew it was true-I’ve always been a “take charge” kind of person. For me it’s not about trying to be the boss or be in charge though. I’ve always felt like I have this ability to motivate and bring out the best in people. As I finish this, my 10th year as the principal at JW Reason, I’ve found myself reflecting a lot. I’ve spent 10 years as the “director of this trip”. In fact if you’re reading this post, it is likely that I’m the person who hired you! We’ve had many ups and downs together over the years. And, I certainly have not done everything right. I’ve tried to learn from my mistakes and successes. Most importantly though, I’ve learned from all of of you. As the “director of this whole trip” I have learned that I don’t have to have all the answers and that the best things happen when I let each of you lead in your own ways. The “director” should never be the smartest person in the room! Thank goodness, because I am definitely not! But, the “director” needs to be able to create conditions that allow everyone to use their own strengths to benefit the entire team. I hope THAT is what I do. As you reflect in this school year, I hope you feel a sense of pride for what you’ve accomplished; a desire to keep learning and growing; and the motivation to bring your skill set to the team so we can all be better because of you. May you rest and rejuvenate! May you enjoy some quiet and peace. And may you laugh and play and enjoy your well deserved break. Thank you all for being leaders and giving the best part of yourselves each day to this “trip” we’re on together that I get to “direct”! We all have hard moments here at school, whether it's with a tough student, a parent, a behavior situation, or maybe looking at our test scores (like I did yesterday). Sometimes it's hard to even feel like it's okay to stay positive when things are not going so well or when you're feeling defeated and frustrated. But, this quote helped me remember that I don't have to be happy all the time, and even in the face of adversity I can still be POSITIVE because I have HOPE and I'm holding onto the belief that better days are coming!
When things get rough in these last few moments, days and weeks remember that better moments, days and weeks are coming. We have the gift of starting fresh every school year! We worked together to make changes that will help us all grow! Also, we have accomplished so much together this year. In the hard moments that we are all sure to encounter in the next 12 days, remember that better ones are coming. Look for them and you will find them! |
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