Yeah, you could be the greatest
You can be the best
You can be the King Kong banging on your chest
You could beat the world
You could beat the war
You could talk to God, go banging on his door
You can throw your hands up
You can beat the clock
You can move a mountain
You can break rocks
You can be a master
Don't wait for luck
Dedicate yourself and you can find yourself
Standing in the Hall of Fame
Partnership Educators,
The song "Hall of Fame" by The Script describes the spirit I have seen all over our district these first few weeks. You are all Hall of Famers in my book. I say first weeks because we have been working hard for some time now. Teachers, administrators, cooks, instructional assistants, and others have been working on their craft with training and planning sessions for some time. It is certainly reflected in what I had the pleasure to witness these first three days. Did you see the Sycamore cooks and the pride they showed for their school and students? Wow, rock stars for sure. Check it out at KRCR TV Did you know that all of our cooks went to knife skills training together to better serve our kids? Well, thank you, cafeteria staff, for your dedication and pride in what you do.
The classrooms look amazing. I see teachers who thoughtfully made the design of their classroom and proximity a priority with inner loops. I see teachers and entire schools helping students perfectly practicing those procedures, policies, and routines. We need to continue to practice these things until they get it right. One of the teachers I spoke with said, "It is really about teaching the routine and then stopping every time we go to use it and doing it again if they don't apply it right." Thanks for taking the time to help those classroom environment routines become solid by reteaching and practicing every time you don't see them use it at your expected level. It will pay off. I also heard a teacher say she is really focusing on making sure that she is using the "input-output-input-output" teaching. She wants to make sure the kids are doing all the learning and she isn't just practicing things she already knows. I literally laughed out loud with joy for her kids. If you need some ideas for improvement here are some pages for a start. Engagement Strategies Gestures Handbook Classroom Management (Behavior Narration) Teaching Matix
The campuses are nothing short of beautiful. Thank you grounds, custodians and on-site staff who know the value of coming to a place of learning that has the look of a loving touch. These things make a difference for kids. They notice that you care about where they go to school.
My big buttons aside, AJ, I want to thank the schools for really looking at attendance and making it a top priority. We are going to work on flow charts and processes to make sure we are doing all we can. The more we can get our kids in seats the higher possibility that they will learn at greater heights. Teachers call those students who miss a day and let them and their families know that you and the kids miss them. I secretly like my buttons.
William Bradford, speaking in 1630 of the founding of the Plymouth Bay Colony, said that all great and honorable actions are accompanied with great difficulties, and both must be enterprised and overcome with answerable courage. History teaches us that mankind has always had a quest for knowledge and progress that is determined and cannot be deterred. We choose to work on our skills and improve outcomes for all of our students, not because it is easy. We chose to do it because it is hard and because that goal will serve to measure the effort, energy, and skills that we are working on improving. These difficult challenges are one that we are willing to accept and unwilling to defer to another time or year. If we are to do it, we are going to have to be bold in our efforts to make shifts in what we do with kids. How we do our work and how we work together to find the finest most productive way of doing things so kids are the ones that win will get us there.
Dream it, Believe it, Dare to make it happen and do the impossible. Don't let anyone say it can't be done. It just isn't done yet.
Rob
Superintendent
Redding Elementary School District
New Millennium Partnership
5885 East Bonnyview Rd.
Redding, Ca 96001