Eighteen Days Until SPLOST Vote

We are eighteen days away from the SPLOST vote. I dread the morning of September
16th and I anticipate the morning of September 16! On that day we will know if we can move forward with the selection of architects and plans for new schools or if we will have to renew our thoughts on how to take care of over 4000 new students without any additional brick and mortar buildings. Either way, there will be plenty of work to do! My hope and desire is that anyone who has not yet decided how they will vote will make their decision based on the facts.

I hope that this vote will be the line that separates the angst and distrust of the past and the sunrise of the future. I hope that we are truly entering an era when we earn more and more of the community's trust by the way we conduct our business in the school district.

It is amazing that every day we transport, feed, and teach over 32,000 students and many days without a single, frightening incident. Our bus drivers get their children to school safely day after day. Our teachers prepare and deliver their lessons consistently day after day. Our food service staff prepare and serve countless meals in a safe environment day after day. Yes, there are complaints that make their way to my office, but the percentage of complaints compared to the number of people we serve is minimal. Yes, we can improve on all of our processes and the way we deliver instruction. Continuous improvement must be our constant desire.

We have increased our sense of urgency in every building. The principals are focused on student achievement. As I have visited PTA Open Houses throughout the district, I have seen families coming into the schools by the hundreds eager to support our work and their children. We are moving in the right direction. I will be glad when September 16 gets here. The results of the vote on the 15th will define where we go from here. I can hardly wait!

Four-Day Week?

I have had many bloggers ask me if the school district has considered a four-day week. The answer is yes, some board members have expressed interest and some employees have expressed interest. We must think very carefully about the impact of this before we seriously consider it. The State Board of Education passed a rule last year stating that school systems had to have school the equivalent of 180 days. This means that you don't have to go 180 days but you must go the same number of hours. This frees local school districts to be more flexible with their calendars. Peach County and Murray County have lengthened their school day and trimmed some days off of their 180 day calendar. Yes, this saves a lot of money as far as transportation costs and operating costs in the district, but where does it create expenses?! It creates child-care expenses for the families. In the case of Muscogee County, there are 32,000 children and thousands of these are under the age of 12. Most of their mothers and daddys and guardians work. The burden of day-care expenses for these children would be difficult for many of these families. The other issue to think about is how productive would we be in that last hour of school if we extended the school day? Could five and six year olds continue to learn at high levels another hour a day? Would teachers have the energy to be creative and continue to engage students for one more hour? Many of the excellent teachers that I know are exhausted at the end of the current day.

A four-day week is certainly something to consider and if the current economic crisis continues to bring budget cuts, this solution may certainly be one that we study with interest. We need to think of all of the issues that surround it. It will be interesting to see how things work in Peach and Murray.

First Week of School

Tomorrow is the first official day back for teachers although many of them have been coming in for several weeks now to get their rooms ready for the students. Thursday is the big day! First day of school. Get to meet your new group of students. Students are nervous and are wondering how it will be. Guess what?! Teachers are a bit nervous, too! I have shared my story with many teachers through the years and most of them begin laughing and nodding their heads because they have done the same thing! Let me tell you about it!

When I taught first grade I would work all summer on lesson plans and units and think about how I would do things differently in the new school year. I would work hard during pre-planning to make my classroom as inviting as possible. The night before the first day of school, I could not sleep. I would stay awake and go through everything I was going to say the first morning back. I would rehearse how I would greet the children, how I would gently usher their mothers out the door so I could have them all by myself, and what I would say on the important first day of school. I would go over my plans in my head, rehearsing, retooling, and working on it. The morning of the first day I would be so excited, yet worn out from lack of sleep! I would get in the classroom and try to make that first day the day of all days - the tone-setter for the rest of the year!

Several years later as I reflected on my career, and by that time, had children of my own, it dawned on me one day! What was I thinking?! Those first graders were just six years old - I could have said anything! I could have made stuff up on the spot! Would they have known the difference?! It's funny now that I look back on it, but even though I laugh, I know how important planning for that first day is. Yes, they were only six, but it is so important for the teacher to be ready for them! I guarantee you they are ready for the teacher!!!!!

I hope all of the teachers who greet students this Thursday will be ready for their students! What a great opportunity to have a fresh start! I pray for safety and that we begin our school year with a sense of urgency that lasts 180 days!