End of Week 1

The first week with students and second week with teachers is now complete. I've learned a lot. I'm still sitting at my desk as I write this because I know that traffic is a mess out there right now. And I parked in the front lot, so I won't be able to get out until closer to 5:00 anyway. 

So, I'll sit and reflect and think my week away to move into the weekend ready for Tuesday.

First, I love it here. A friend of mine commented that I sounded really happy when describing my work, and I am. It's great to be back in a place that feels a bit like home. It's wonderful to work with people who are warm, caring, and want to work with me. I've already had so many positive contacts and some of them related to coaching. Heck, I've already been a contributing member to several teams already. I feel like I'm having the opportunity to do what I wanted to do, which is to make a larger impact beyond the walls of my own classroom. 

I'm supporting substitutes. This has been a side of my responsibilities that I didn't really foresee. Some departments and teams are supporting better than others, but it does give me the chance to be a bit more connected to classrooms. I'm looking at three piles of Latin work and three folders of English III and IV work on my desk for my review. That's for next week. I think that the students who saw me appreciate that someone is going to be reviewing their work and giving some feedback. It appears that departments and substitutes are happy for my support. I might have stepped on a few toes in my forthrightness to provide assessments and lessons for students, but I think that I was diplomatic and apologetic enough in my follow-up that those parties understand what my intentions were.

I've also been enjoying this administration team. It's a small team, and they clearly work well together. The meetings with them run a bit long, but I do a good job of finding my way to excuse myself when it feels as though I don't have anything left to contribute. Again, they're happy for my contributions and see me as a partner. I've been getting consistent feedback and answers to my questions. What more can I ask for.

Next week is a quick week for me, but it's going to be packed. Monday - Labor Day. Birthday week kickoff! Friday - Birthday! I'm 41 and going off to gamble and eat steak. Tuesday - Faculty Meeting. I'm delivering testing training. Wednesday - Planning Period PD for the staff. I'm delivering a session on goal setting and supporting the beginning teachers in their tasks. Thursday - Support Day. Working with a teacher through a day of observation, reflection, and personalized learning.

It's going to be a great week! I also got paid! Everything's coming up Milhouse!

25 August - Day 1

It's the first day with students for the nineteenth time around, and let me just say, I can still find ways to stay busy and get my steps in. At the nearly the end of the day, we're sitting pretty at just shy of 9,000 steps. I'm projecting that I'll get to around 12k by the time I leave campus today.

The day started by showing up early, even so, I still got caught in traffic. Tomorrow, I'll investigate the route on the side streets to the back part of campus. The hallways were full of energy this morning, which was wonderful. There were alumni, parents, students, teachers, administrators, district officials, and a lot of smiles. I was struck by how respectful and polite the students are - a bit of a shift from where I'm coming from. The first day of school is always filled with students who need assistance, don't have a schedule, or don't know where they're going, so morning duty ran a bit late. I did really appreciate the sharing of duty and the presence of my colleagues in the hallways. 

From there, I spent time getting my website put together. I've got some information related to testing, AP, and professional learning here at school. I like how it looks so far. If I can ever get my Canvas page set up and running, then I'll transfer the information. For now, the site is live at this link.

I still need to get office supplies. I figure I'll order them just to keep things simple. This afternoon, I did my lunch duty, ate my lunch, and then met with substitute teachers to provide them lessons and materials for the first week of school. We're not 100% staffed, so getting substitutes support and some instructional materials is key to ensure that learning is happening in all of the classrooms. Hopefully their colleagues will be able to provide more materials and we'll have positions hired soon. I was happy to participate in an interview this morning for a potential Math Coach.

Tomorrow, I'm sure that I'll continue to be busy and find things to do. For now, I'll look ahead to my Leadership Team meeting after school and my eventual return home.

22 August - First Week: Teacher Workdays

Well, it's a bit of a different beast this year. For the first year in nineteen years, I'm starting the school year without a group of students ahead of me. This leaves me feeling a bit different - there's some anxiety for sure but for a whole host of different reasons now. It's going to be a good year as Curriculum Facilitator.

So far, during this opening week of Teacher Workdays, I've been focused on getting to know people, the culture, and the way of doing things at Dudley High School. It's nice to be in a building where there are already some policies and procedures that guide instruction. I'm looking forward to activating those more thoroughly and with more fidelity across the school to support teachers and students. I've also been doing a lot of work so far this year on planning the professional development and learning for the school. It'll be nice to have a focused and aligned plan for the year that focuses on building good instructional habits, collaboration across and within content areas, and that builds capacity for teachers.

I'm happy with what I've been able to do with the space so far. There are some items I still need, but that'll probably be a trip over to Wal-Mart or Office Depot this weekend. Having a calendar and some items for my whiteboard will help a lot, especially when it comes to testing. The Teaching and Learning Center is one that is open for business, and I'm glad that I've been able to have some meetings in the space to begin coaching and collaborating.

The main headache right now is related to technology. I don't have my account for NCEdCloud, so I can't do much on Canvas or any of the other technology services. I've also not received codes that I need from College Board, so completing some of my AP Coordinator tasks is on hold until that is resolved. Like so many, we can't escape the flux that comes at the beginning of the year. I've got my eyes locked on the issues I can impact, and I try to move those outside of my control to the back burner.

I should be able to have a weekend where I'm not focused on work to be ready for Monday. It'll be good to feel the energy of the building with everyone here. Off to year nineteen!