Opening Doors to Sharing

Growing up, I remember some key phrases my mom and dad would tell my brother and me, the most common being, "Amy! Share with your brother!"

Today, as a parent, I find myself using that same phrase daily. Whether it be telling my boys to share their toys, share the game, or share a crayon, I am always teaching them the concept of sharing.  During this past holiday break, I felt as though I had been teaching this element of sharing every waking hour of the day!

In theory, the concept of sharing is not difficult. By definition, the Merriam-Webster dictionary simply defines sharing as, "to have or use something with others; to divide something into parts and each take or use a part; to let someone else have or use a part of something that belongs to you”.

In our own terms, sharing is the giving of one's item to another to use themselves. We share in order for others to borrow an item or even an idea. From an early age, we teach our children to share. Share toys. Share books. Share pencils. Share games. We even teach our children to share their learning. Turn and talk to a partner to share your thinking. Share your thoughts in your reading journal on this chapter we just read. Show your math work to share your thought process while working through the problem.

Sharing is a two-way process. One gives, and another receives. Many times, this is reciprocal, going back and forth between two individuals. Think of a conversation between two students who are sharing their writing. One reads his piece while the other listens, giving feedback after he is done. Then they switch. They share their work and their learning, deepening thinking and ideas, helping each other through the process. Sharing is an imperative part of learning.

Let’s even go back further. Think about two preschool children learning how to play together. They both want to play with the toy truck. Through sharing, they each learn to take turns. While one plays, the other may look on with a bit of anx but will eventually light up and smile, enthused to see the other imagine the road the truck is driving along. And then they switch! The first child gives feedback, sharing the story of the road the truck was just on, while the other child continues the journey.

Students are expected to share daily. And this must be the case for adults, for all educators. Right?

As a connected educator, I am surrounded by adults who share every day. While we are not physically sharing “our toys”, we are sharing our ideas, articles, resources, and our thinking. The sharing that occurs in my PLN on a daily basis is sometimes overwhelming, with so many great thinking being shared with me. I grow because of this, helping me to become a better leader.

But it is not just about being a consumer of all of this information. Yes, it is being shared with me, but what am I sharing with them? Will I be able to contribute anything of value to the group? My perspective might be different, my experiences might be another adventure altogether, but they are worth sharing, as the conversation that ensues because of it will deepen my understanding of those happenings, shedding new light on how I can grow and push myself to be better. In the long run, all parties grow because of our sharing back and forth, give and take.

We no longer live in an adult world of just taking and consuming. When we view our students in our classrooms as only our students, we seclude our ideas to our four walls, never sharing what we are doing to help our students grow. We become isolated in our silos, only consumers of information and ideas, and thus abandoning the deeper meaning that can be derived from conversations with others. We are stuck with our own ideas and thinking, never being pushed by others, ultimately hurting our students.

Sharing our instructional practices and ideas as well as our philosophies, barriers, and opportunities are not just saved for those who are physically nearby either. We must grow our sharing network, with every educator becoming connected, building networks of thought partners who we can always lean on and share with in order to grow and learn. And not only is the learning for ourselves important, but the ideas and thoughts we gain from others who share with us, that give and take, will result in better opportunities for our students, giving us ambition to transform what we do in our classrooms, innovating and creating new experiences for our students so that they will learn and grow as well. We want to be models for our students. In doing so, we must model sharing.

So, how can we share more throughout our day?

• First and foremost, EVERY educator needs to join Twitter and be ACTIVE. It is fine to lurk on Twitter to start, but follow new people each day, and then start jumping into the conversation. Join a Twitter chat. Share an article or video. Build your PLN daily so that your network of sharing grows. You will never run out of ideas.
• Open the doors to your classroom. Invite colleagues to pop in during a lesson and seek feedback from them. Start a conversation. What did you see that went well? What was one thing you might change or do differently? What have you done in the past to teach that topic? May I see that lesson? When we open the doors of our classrooms voluntary, we invite sharing and feedback. We share our experiences, which will break down so many barriers of isolation in the long run. Start with a trusted colleague and set parameters for the visit. Be the initiator. It will reap rewards in the end when you can visit another classroom to do the same for someone else.
• During a grade level or department collaboration/meeting, share a lesson plan, including the ready-made activity, assessment, and the data that follows it. This is in true PLC form. When our data becomes transparent for others to see, we share. We share what went well and what didn’t, seeking ideas of how to make it better so we can make those adjustments for our students benefit. We must set our pride aside during these moments, humbled by the feedback we receive so that we can grow.
• Participate in a book study. It is so wonderful to find time to read a book, particularly one that can push your thinking or your practice. While reading by yourself is wonderful, we can only glean so much insight on our own. When we share our thinking, our “aha’s” with others, we deepen meaning within our own minds and also in others. There is nothing better than sharing the ideas from a great book.

We ask our students to be vulnerable when sharing their thinking and their learning. We ask children to be vulnerable when they are asked to let the other child play with the toy truck first. As adults, we must be vulnerable too in our efforts to share, putting ourselves out there so that we can grow and learn too, becoming better for our students and our schools. We are no longer isolated consumers of information and ideas. We must be contributors as well.

That is what true sharing is about. Give and take. Let's open these doors of sharing.

Image credit: http://www.searchenginemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/social-sharing.jpg

FOCUS - My #OneWord for 2016

2016. A new year. It is a time where many set goals, make resolutions, and aim for something more. I am no different, although, over the years, I have come to despise this annual tradition.

Most years, I make promises to exercise, eat healthier, rest more, read more, do more than the year before. By mid-January, that is all lost as I find myself back in the same old situation. I am not upset that I did not attain my goal or resolution. How could I do more than before when my plate was already full? I needed to find a different outlook on the new year, one which would not add to this plate or take anything away, but just reorganize it.

Last January, I saw a lot of wonderful blog posts and tweets, all with the hashtag #OneWord. One word to concentrate on during the course of the year, to center one’s energy toward, originating from Jon Gordon’s book One Word that Will Change Your Life. A simple concept, yet so powerful. No more goals or resolutions. Just One Word.

So, when the clock struck 12 this year, I started to ponder my #OneWord. So many to choose from! What was one word that would help me shape my year, focus my attention to become better than the year before, harnessing attributes I want to see in my leadership as well as in my school? One word that would define it all for me this year.

As a former English teacher, I had a lot of words swirling around my head. Passion. Determination. Positivity. Perseverance. Grit. Fortitude. I looked up definitions, synonyms, searching for a word that would clearly define where I wanted to go this year. While all of the words I looked at, read from others’ blogs, and thought about are truly wonderful words and meanings I resonate with, these words did not strike that deep chord that I wanted to feel when thinking of my #OneWord.

So, I put the idea aside for a while.

However, before I could completely change my train of thought, my #OneWord hit me like a ton of bricks.

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines focus as: “...a state or condition permitting clear perception or understanding; a point of concentration; directed attention”. In essence, focus is an emphasis on clarity, honing in on one particular task or attribute.

In another definition, focus is not simply just an emphasis on a particular task, but it is also about a visual perception of being clear. For instance, I am as blind as a bat without my glasses or contacts, the world of fuzz surrounding me. While I can see movement and objects, they are not clear until I use my lens to focus on my surroundings. So, with my lens, I now can focus on what is around me, bringing clarity to an otherwise fuzzy world.

With my fast-paced life as a principal/lead learner and a mom of 3 growing boys, there is quite a bit that swirls around me daily. I want to be my best at all I do, but often times, I feel pulled in so many directions that I am not doing anyone any service, including myself. I enjoy being busy. I enjoy learning and dabbling in many projects at one time. However, if I am to be my best, I must focus in the moment, working through the task at hand well before moving on to the next moment. Thus, my #OneWord for 2016 must be FOCUS.

Focus At Home

There is nothing quiet about my home, but that is what I love about it. A high school principal husband, and three loud, wrestling boys are always busy at home. With that said, I will focus my attention more this year on what is happening when my boys are awake, giving my full attention to them instead of trying to multitask all the school business that awaits my attention. My focus needs to be on their needs in those moments, being full present in their happenings. That will mean I will be grabbing a Nerf gun for a family Nerf battle from time to time and being the wrestling dummy for the new moves they just learned at practice. My family is most important in my life, and I want to remain focused on this while I am with them.

Focus At School

So much has changed and has been changing in education in recent years. While it is always important to be moving forward, using your vision to guide and drive outcomes, it is also important not to be trying to implement so many changes at one time that the transformational efforts are lost at sea. Growth and change in what we do for the betterment of our schools and our students comes with time and does not need to be done at once, nor is it effective to try to accomplish all tasks at once. So, my focus at school will be clear - use our school’s vision to implement a clear action plan, focused on instruction and growth efforts for all. We will focus on one action step at a time, building our own questions and seeking our own answers with discussion and using our resources. And with this focus, I hope to bring more clarity in our mission throughout our school, streamlining to our staff, students, parents, and community what our school is all about.

Focus Professionally

As a leader, I am continually trying to grow, learn, and be better than the day before. Yet, this can pull me in multiple directions because there are so many great books, blogs, articles, and resources out there to read. Right now, I can honestly say I have started 7 different books. None of these I started in the last few months are finished. So, I must remain focused. I want to focus on one growth aspect at a time, one book a month. In addition, I will remain focused on building my PLN, using social media to guide me through my journey of becoming a better leader. Instead of trying to do as much as possible in my growth, I will focus on one attribute, one path at a time so I can continue my journey, but keep focused while doing so.

Focus Personally

With all that I continually work toward, I must find time for myself. I pride myself as a multi-tasker. Yet at times, I wear myself too thin, taking an emotional and physical toll on my body. There have been moments in the last year where I have attempted to tackle too much at once. Thus my real intention behind the word FOCUS. In keeping focused on the tasks for others, I must keep focused for my own sanity as well, being intentional with building whitespace into my daily routine, and keeping myself focused on one task at a time. If I cannot focus personally, none of my professional focus will ever be attained.

To Begin...

My first task to remain focused will be to update my Google Keep lists, creating one for each area I have listed, then keeping only one item on each list at a time to stay on track. It is time for me to stay focused!

“Focus, Amy.”

Keep your eyes forward, glancing back for reflection, but using that compass to guide your path, one step at a time. Focus Forward.

Finding Whitespace

It was a Thursday evening, and there was nothing special about it to start. I was late getting out of school because I needed to take care of a few things. The tension was high, I felt myself internally snap a few times, and my attitude was quite poor. I knew I needed to leave because my anxiety was only going to make matters worse, which it did, and so I fixed the problem I created, running out of the school later than I had hoped.

I told my boys we unfortunately had to do our homework in the car as we ran to get my youngest son from daycare, because we had wrestling practice at 6:00, and we weren't going to make it. They were amazing, working as we drove, reading aloud to me and helping each other out.

When we got home, we quickly finished our homework, ate a quick dinner, changed for wrestling, and we were out the door.

My husband met me at wrestling, where he took the oldest two, and I went home to get things done around the house. I cleaned up my children's dishes, all the while thinking that my husband and I are not going to eat dinner until at least 8:30, which is fairly common. All the school work I wanted to get done at night might not happen as I had hoped. From start to finish, I knew I was not giving the time to my family as I had wanted and I felt my anxiety continually rising.

While folding laundry, I decided to multi-task and catch up with the voxes from my LeadUpNow PLN. This tribe always puts out amazing words and ideas throughout the day. The topic was “Whitespace”.

Whitespace is that time we intentionally build for reflection and rejuvenation. This was pretty foreign to me. I have a hard time sitting down. If I sit, I'm typically plugged in or I'm running around with my kids. Time for myself is rare. And so, I listened to the wisdom of this group, vox after vox. And I began to cry. I finally stopped, sat on the bench in my bedroom and sobbed. All of the feelings of the day and week came rushing over me. The constant desire to work to be my best for my school. The wish to be a better mom and wife. And I knew that I had to make a change or I was not going to be my best for anyone in my life. If I aim to be a leader, I must give myself time to process, think, reflect, and rejuvenate. This is not healthy.

After I calmed a bit, I let my LeadUpNow tribe know how much their words resonated with me. I was emotional and raw, but I needed to be vulnerable in order to change. I needed to put myself out there as I was in that moment. The beauty of this group is that they accepted me for who I am, allowing me to be vulnerable, and I felt their words impact me more than ever. I want to be leaders like them. They inspire. They affect change and see a bigger picture. They have changed me, and I am truly grateful.

So, now I write, once again vulnerable, writing about my internal journey and the importance this reflection has had for me. If I want to be a better leader, I need to take better care of myself and the time I have. I need to be intentional about my whitespace. I always believe in leading by example, and if I want others to reflect and rejuvenate, I must do it too.

Since then...

It has been a couple weeks since that Thursday evening, but the feelings still stir inside. I have been more intentional about my whitespace, making sure that I find even 5 minutes in a day to enter a quiet space to do nothing. Just sit, close my eyes, reflect, and then get up to go about the next task. A few evenings, I have unplugged, not opening a computer, but sitting and watching a cartoon with my kids or talking with my husband. Instead of constantly multi-tasking, I have tried to focus on one task at a time so that I am not overwhelmed and my mind can focus. This intentional whitespace has helped me reclaim my sanity, thinking more clearly and focusing my attention on the things that matter in the moment and in my life.

This whitespace hasn’t just been about me either, though. I now need to build more whitespace for my staff. Instead of filling every meeting with “stuff”, I am going to intentionally build time for my staff to reflect, giving them time. We created whitespace by celebrating our accreditation, having a lunch carry-in, eating and laughing together. I need to model this for my staff so that they too find the whitespace in their lives, rejuvenating for a moment, bringing clarity.

Our Whitespace

Our whitespace is critical to our emotional health. We all feel the need to fill time with all of our to-do lists, but filling every moment is not going to yield better results. In fact, we will be less productive, innovative, and clear in our tasks. Reflection and rejuvenation are critical to be our best. We should never feel bad for taking a moment to breathe, taking a moment to stop and sit, taking moments to spend quality time to reflect, taking even more moments to enjoy each other’s company in a relaxed atmosphere.

Whitespace is important.

As a leader, I must create whitespace for myself, model it, give time so my staff can create it for themselves and understand its importance. More importantly, this will then filter to our students. We are better educators because we have clarity and focus, and then we build that whitespace for our students to reflect and innovate as well.

We must value the critical nature of whitespace, being intentional about it daily. This cycle of whitespace must take hold in our schools so that we can be better for our students. In turn, they will grow into the creative thinkers we wish them to be. But it all starts with our own whitespace. It is time we ensure it happens.


Image credit: https://pixabay.com/en/hand-solitude-touch-background-218705/

Paralyzed?

Every day when I open a new tab in my Chrome browser, I am greeted by the Momentum Chrome extension - a beautiful landscape, a friendly message, and an inspiring quote. Today’s quote was this:

Whether it was the meaning behind the quote, the particular word choice within the sentence, or even the person who said it, this quote has stayed with me all day. I’ve been preaching this mindset for a while, and believe in it so much, that it has become a message I internalize daily, while also publicly sharing it with other educators and leaders.

While this might be easy to say, fulfilling this mindset on a daily basis can be more difficult. I believe every educator pushes themselves, but it is the fear of being “paralyzed” that stops us from taking more risks than we do.

Paralyzed

I’m particularly struck by the word “paralyzed” from this quote. Images flood my mind - frozen, stuck, unable to move or speak, wide-eyed with fear.

As educators, we do not typically associate ourselves with the concept of being “paralyzed”, and yet, many days we are just that. Our anxiety may take over us, filling us with fear of the unknown or the risk of failing in front of our students and colleagues. We may not want to try a new approach or a new tool, acknowledging that we do not know all there is to know or this strategy might not work.

We work in the learning business, and so we want our students to always be learning. If it worked last year to help students learn, then it must work again, right? We are perfectionists, always striving to do our very best for our students, so we must be on our “A”-game all of the time. The risk of trying something new may not be worth the anxiety, or being paralyzed, in the middle of our lesson. We become paralyzed with a fear of failure, because if it doesn’t work, then somebody might be watching.

Beyond our classrooms, as learning professionals, we also do not want to “sound” like we do not know what we are talking about in front of other educators, particularly educators we may not know well, and so we are paralyzed to step forward, paralyzed to jump onto social media to share our insights, paralyzed to reflect publicly in a blog post. It is not that we can’t. It is not that we don’t have valuable insights and ideas to share. It simply is the anxiety of the unknown feelings after these acts of sharing.

What if I shared an idea EVERYONE already knows?

What if I jumble what I really want to say?

What if…?

What if...?

At any moment, we all may be “paralyzed” with fear of something. But, we cannot allow this to control our abilities to take risks, try something new, and put ourselves out there. We must overcome these fears, follow great examples from other educators, and simply not be afraid to try.

In fact, we ask our students to try something new every day. Why shouldn’t we?

Lead by Example

I strive to lead by example, every day, not allowing myself to be paralyzed by fear of failure. I will take risks, teach myself how to do something, put myself out there on social media and in my blog, and strive daily to share. Daily, I push myself to grow.

Do I fail?

Yes!

And I do so publicly.

I will not allow the fear of failure get in my way.

Do I have anxiety about failing?

Yes!

Every day.

However, I will not allow this anxiety to take control of who I am and what I am trying to accomplish in my school.

I have taken many risks in my career. I have started this blog, for instance. Pushing the publish button for the first time was a HUGE risk. The “what if” scenario played in my mind continually. My vulnerability was public. Yet, I knew if I wanted others to reflect through a blog because I have seen the power of it, I had to push that publish button, leading by example.

Many would say I am a little “Twitter-crazy”. To put myself out there on social media was a risk, but it was definitely one worth taking. I learn daily from my PLN, share the great happenings of my school, and have an amazing tribe with whom I rely on for support, ideas, and growth. My PLN tribe pushes me to be better than the day before. This collaborative field of amazing educators has opened the doors of growth, pulled me out of the isolated silos that can be found in our schools, and empowered me to find my voice in the educational field. I am blessed and humbled by the inspiration this venue provides me daily.

Push Yourself

The most exciting part of any given day is when I see educators pushing themselves to be better as well, taking risks, not allowing that fear of failure to paralyze them from trying something new for their students. The mindset of being paralyzed is starting to wane, and I see a new rise of risk-taking, choice, and control over learning take hold in our schools. It is beautiful!

I see many of my teachers on Twitter, sharing, lurking, learning, and growing. Educators are collaborating, opening their doors for other educators, building their own professional learning networks, and setting their goals on growth and learning. I see teachers trying new tools with their students, feeling out of their comfort zone, but giving students control, empowering them with choice. Teachers are starting blogs, now leading a book study about becoming a connected educator. Classrooms are filled with new ideas, a hook to the lesson, inquiry and research.

By saying “yes”, “give it a try”, “take a risk”, and actually modeling what we wish to see, we aim to remove the paralyzed barriers from our teachers, so that they can create the learning environments they wish to see for their students. Teachers can feel the autonomy and empowerment needed to develop spaces and opportunities for students to explore, to create, be curious, to inquire, and take control of their own learning. If we do not push ourselves from our comfort zones, we cannot expect our students to do this either.

Every educator must move beyond the fear of failure, and push themselves to grow and try new strategies and ideas for the betterment of their students. Our students’ futures depend on our willingness to model this mindset in all we do.

Moments

Blogger’s block. I fully intend to write in my blog at least once, if not twice a month, but it has been over a month since I have written anything. I have felt completely out of my element, struggling to find words or even a coherent topic, despite my mind racing thousands of miles per hour daily. I have, from time to time, jotted down quick notes or even written that blog post in my head while getting ready in the morning. But inevitably, by the time I sit down to write, my thoughts are jumbled and my notes lack the clarity I need to form cohesive thoughts.

So here I sit, writing about the lack of knowing what to write about. I’m hoping by sitting and typing, the epiphany will hit.

With that said, there have been many great happenings and accomplishments so far at school. Our district had an impressive professional development day at the end of September, starting with a keynote from Matt Miller, author of Ditch That Textbook, followed by fabulous learning about blended learning and collaboration among grade levels and departments district-wide. I was so fortunate to be a part of the planning process alongside fantastic technology leaders Kelly Clifford and Lance Yoder. Even more than that, in just this past week, I have witnessed our classrooms moving toward blended learning, literally overnight, and my teachers rejuvenated with new ideas and sharing, something I haven’t seen at this level in quite some time. It is definitely something worth sharing and celebrating!

And yet, I have felt stuck. Why?

I started to look back through old blog posts, searching for inspiration. Nothing hit me, but I did begin to see a pattern, soon realizing that my past reflections were grounded in one thing, moments.

I have finally come to this conclusion. Through it all, I have been searching for these profound, deep thoughts to reflect upon, and yet, the moments have been right in front of me. The everyday accomplishments are those to celebrate, reflect on, and write about. I have clearly been searching for the wrong thing! The moments all around me, occurring daily, ARE the profound, thought-provoking happenings to share. We need to grab every moment and share it!

The interactions, continual learning, and growth among students and staff are to be celebrated and shared, something I preach and strongly believe in, but I somehow got off track in doing. These moments happen every day, and while they may seem ordinary at the time, are truly the extraordinary and profound to reflect upon later. I’ve been searching for the research, the culture-shifting statement, the thought-provoking analogy, only to find that the best practices have been staring at me in the face, the culture shift I seek to build is happening all around me, and there are no thought-provoking analogies I need to find because my staff and students are taking the amazing journey daily to grow and build a foundation of life-long learning opportunities.

In my reflection, I need to take a moment to stop, look around, and then celebrate and share the adventures of learning happening in front of me. I feel back in my element again, and am ready to get back to what I know and can share.

Even more than that, it is EVERY EDUCATOR’S job to celebrate our work with students. We need to share the fabulous activities and growth of our students daily, posting pictures, making phone calls to parents, and being the positive voice of our schools. It is not ONE person’s job; it is EVERYONE’S job. It only takes a moment to share a moment. This is how we will create a culture of sharing, celebrating, and growth.

Image credit: https://pixabay.com/en/photos/letter/

The Letter

It was March 2007, and I was in Iowa helping my dad go through my mom’s belongings. My mom passed away from cancer in February of that year. My mom kept EVERYTHING, so it was quite a task to go through it all. From birthday party napkins and cards, to pictures and every outfit I wore as a baby, it was a very long week and emotionally tasking. As we went through the boxes of pictures, I came across an envelope.

I showed it to my dad, he shrugged, and so I opened the envelope to find this letter, written on August 25, 1983, my first day of school. It was written to me. This was the first time I had ever seen it.

Dear Amy,

This is just a little note to write down some of my feelings on your 1st day of school. You are so excited. You can hardly sit still. You’ve packed and repacked your purse for 2 weeks getting ready for school. I’m so glad you’re excited for this new adventure in your life. I’m sad too. It’s hard for me to let go...

I hope and pray they are good to you at school. I’ll miss you at home. Things will sure change around here.

You’re happy and that’s what matters. You’re excited too. This is a big step in your life...

All my love,

Mommy

Every school year since I found this letter, I open and read it on the first day of school. While my mom’s words still bring tears to my eyes, it is a heartfelt reminder of the excitement of the first days of school.  There is so much joy that fills our children’s hearts as they start their new school year, so much excitement and anticipation as the enter the school, ready to learn. I remember this feeling as a student, and I still have this feeling as I enter the hallways each school year.

My school has been in session for a couple weeks now, but each day is an exciting adventure. I want students entering the doors of our school eager and ready to learn every day of the school year, not just on Day 1, but on Day 180 as well. And so, each day we create an adventure. Each day is a journey worth waking up for. We have amazing teachers who do amazing work each day to keep our students excited and eager, and I am so proud to be a part of the forward movement in education.

My mom knew what a big step it was for me, as she not only experienced my excitement on my first day of school, but she also knew the possibilities and experiences that I received in my own education would be life-changing. She knew it was an adventure and one that would change my life. I am thankful for every day I have stepped into a school and the journey I have experienced.

In my role as principal and lead learner of my building, I use this letter as my reminder of the excitement school brings to our children and our duty to ensure it never stops. It is my reminder of the changes our families experience at the start of school and how we can ease them into the routines and joy of learning. It is my reminder to never stop being that “excited Amy” who packs and repacks her “purse” as I get ready for school each day. We have an awesome job. Let’s celebrate it!

The Best Start...

This was our first week of school. It was busy, exciting, and filled with positivity. On Thursday and Friday, I had a lot of different people come my way, and all said the same thing. “This has been the best start of the school year since you have been here!”  I quickly said thank you, but at first was taken aback by the statement. This is my third year at the school, so this is our third start together. Has it really been that bad in the past?

I will admit, the first student day three years ago was not my best. Within 30 minutes of starting, the school was in a non-emergency lockdown due to a disgruntled person in the parking lot making threats. And dismissal was a disaster, as I was trying to roll-out a new dismissal procedure on the first day of school and I did not do a very good job making sure all parents knew what was happening. Lesson learned. So, I do admit, the first student day I was in the building was not the best. And along with that, I was new to the building and was sharing my vision. My staff didn’t know me and I didn’t know them. There was definite anxiety with the excitement at the start of school that year. I was following a well-liked and good school principal, who literally started that school in 2001. He had been the first and only building principal before I entered the doors. So, we were supportive of each other as we got to know one another. Nevertheless, it was a tough start. But, my staff stayed with me, and that year, we built trust and communication throughout the school.

Last year, our first student day was much better. We knew what to expect of each other. There were a lot of initiatives going on, so I know my staff was overwhelmed with it all. Along with that, our incoming kindergarten class was large, and so we knew we had a lot of routines to learn. The beauty was that all my staff was returning with only a couple exceptions, and so we built on what we started in the first year. Together, we redefined our purpose and direction through one of the most exciting collaborative discussions I have been a part of in the past few years. We established stronger procedures together, created more in-house professional development opportunities and discussions, which led to 3 summer book studies. It was a fantastic school year with abundant growth opportunities for both staff and students.

This leads me to this school year. We only have a couple staff changes again, so we are building our third year together as a team. The first staff day was one of the most positive exchanges I have experienced. We did team-building exercises and shared our common, collective vision. We all agreed on our goals for the school year, supporting one another to build a strong school community and reclaim the joy of education within our school. There was so much positive energy during our first staff meeting that the room physically became quite hot! The first staff days were exhausting, but adrenaline was pumping so high, the positivity could be felt everywhere in the school. And the first student day was exactly the same! Our students walked in excited, energized, and the routines fell into place very quickly. It has been outstanding! Our dedicated staff, parents, and students made this the best start of our school. Their hard work and preparations made a difference, but I know it was that vibe when walking into the school that had the biggest impact. The positive, welcoming, and energetic vibe has truly set the tone for an amazing school year ahead.

So, after a couple days of reflection, I would also admit that this start to our school year has been the best yet. Digging deep, I ask the question, why? Why has this been the best start yet? It all comes down to one element, but a very powerful one - our school culture.

I remember back to the days when I was working on my master’s degree in educational leadership, and my mentor shared with me that it takes at least three years to build and/or change a school culture. This is not to say the school culture I entered was bad, but I’m a different person, and so with it I bring a different culture to build. I have been fortunate to have a supportive administrative team and an amazing staff who have stayed with me during these changes in the past couple years. My staff has shared their thoughts and ideas to taking our school and our students into the future, and it is exciting to be a part of these changes! It has truly been a team effort, built over time, with open doors and conversations.

The start is important, but the journey is lasting. We did not let the first start determine our journey. We kept the vision at the forefront, and continued to have conversations to drive us toward the future of our school. We built communication and trust, empowering teams and collaboration to become the norm in everyday interactions. This takes time. And the ultimate compliment this week was, “This was the best start of the school year since you have been here.” Our school culture meshed, came together with all of our routines and procedures, but more importantly, it was our vision and positivity, coming together for our students on the first days of school. That energy that has pulsated throughout every classroom has been transformative. This is the ultimate reward.  

Our journey has been great, and the adventure ahead will be even more exciting. Thank you to my staff, our parents, and the awesome students of our school for making this the best start since I have had the privilege of being the principal and lead learner at Ryan Park Elementary!

Image credit: https://pixabay.com/en/back-to-school-bus-back-school-40597/