On April 19th and 20th I spent a lot of time gathering information in Mexico High School and the Career Center to take AIM at areas for improvement in the high school. In reflection, what was so refreshing was finding school teachers and leaders aiming along with me -- remember: I've only been in the district for 5 days, one of these was to be interviewed. I've found so many ready to move so quickly and so late in the school year and it is, well, UNCOMMON. If there's one thing I've picked up on at Mexico High School among faculty and staff it is this: There is a strong desire to AIM to reach and teach students, and adopt a path to make a stronger positive impact in the lives of students -- TOGETHER. This is refreshing. It isn't found in every school. A quick look at Mexico neighbors to the east in St. Louis inner-city schools and the west in Kansas City inner-schools would find an extremely high drop out rate and loads of disengaged, off-track students. Couple this fact with scores of teachers that avoid working in schools like these because job satisfaction and life meaning are lost in an environment where students struggle to learn in the face of many factors outside the schools' control.
I also had the opportunity to meet with students in a focus group setting which proved to be exceptionally revealing. A focus group is a moderated conversation with open-ended questions which allows information (data) to be gathered about a particular topic, in this case Mexico High School. In particular, the overall climate of the building came up as a major theme in our group. In fact, it was eloquently described by nearly all the 15 students. The students that met with me provided valuable insight into how teaching and learning was occuring in the building - some very positive insight and some areas that will need to be addressed early-on for our coming school year. I can't remember a group of students with more meaningful comments and observations in a focus group setting than the group that participated April 20. I appreciated all their respectful, and very honest appraisals. Rest assured, their comments and observations are valuable to our faculty and staff as we begin to look for ways to improve Mexico High School and our work as professionals.
My next trip to Mexico will be on graduation day May 24. I believe it's important to see this event even if I'm not "officially" the principal until July 1. Graduation ceremonies are about a community's best hope and young people reflecting on their purpose. The community launches them into full-fledged adulthood in a celebration of success. Mexico's seniors are the end-result of a community's effort to launch them into a competitive, sometimes tough world. I want to be a part of the celebration, even if this time is only as a spectator. See you all on May 24.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Mexico Community: Welcome to my blog!
Technology has changed the way many people receive information. That's why I'm posting here.
Blogs do an interesting thing: They allow you to communicate in a frank and honest way and allow you to reveal more than the typical website might reveal about an entire organization like a school. A wise superintendent once told me this: "You can never have enough communication."
Blogs are also more personalized. I value straight-talk and writing and hopefully you'll read my blog from time to time to see what's on my mind. Also, you'll find some of what your local teachers and support personnel are doing to improve your high school. My goal is to provide the principal's perspective on the work of your local high school and keep members of the community, students and parents better informed.
Right now, I'm preparing to serve this community. Preparing starts with building relationships and getting to know people. I'm interested in the challenges that impede learning at the high school. You have to know where to AIM your efforts first. In March, I spent two days with the building leadership team, assistant principals, superintendents, secretaries and students to learn about their work at the high school. Ms. Richter, your current interim principal, has been very helpful guiding me toward data and information I will need to serve your community well. I will be visiting with high school personnel and students again on April 19 and 20 to conduct a student focus group, spend time with counselors and visit the middle school (there are 8th graders getting ready to turn into freshmen over there!). It can be a difficult task to sort out where to AIM. There are many people to learn from when a principal takes a new position. If I'm going to provide the best service possible, it's important I spend a lot of time listening. In this profession, you have to be a great communicator, but you had better be an even better listener.
If you have a student in the high school this coming school year, please feel free to call on me if you have a concern. Please don't let things fester and go on for weeks when you believe they aren't going well for your son or daughter at Mexico high school. I promise you, I want to hear your concerns and your reasonable requests to help your son or daughter if they need additional support. Sometimes what you feel they aren't receiving from school is as important as what they are receiving from school. In the near future I plan to meet with parents in focus groups to learn more about their experiences as parents when dealing with the high school. I hope you will offer to be a part of contributing your perspectives, praises and concerns to our faculty and staff. It is very important to me that your high school reflects what the community of Mexico wishes it to be. For me, it should be the place that makes a difference in your son or daughter's life for the better. Mexico High School should make your son or daughter's critical thinking skills 1000% better because they found a caring professional learning community committed to their well-being and educational progress.
I'm committing to regular posts once a month, but plan to write more if time allows. Let me know if you find this site helpful. :)
Blogs do an interesting thing: They allow you to communicate in a frank and honest way and allow you to reveal more than the typical website might reveal about an entire organization like a school. A wise superintendent once told me this: "You can never have enough communication."
Blogs are also more personalized. I value straight-talk and writing and hopefully you'll read my blog from time to time to see what's on my mind. Also, you'll find some of what your local teachers and support personnel are doing to improve your high school. My goal is to provide the principal's perspective on the work of your local high school and keep members of the community, students and parents better informed.
Right now, I'm preparing to serve this community. Preparing starts with building relationships and getting to know people. I'm interested in the challenges that impede learning at the high school. You have to know where to AIM your efforts first. In March, I spent two days with the building leadership team, assistant principals, superintendents, secretaries and students to learn about their work at the high school. Ms. Richter, your current interim principal, has been very helpful guiding me toward data and information I will need to serve your community well. I will be visiting with high school personnel and students again on April 19 and 20 to conduct a student focus group, spend time with counselors and visit the middle school (there are 8th graders getting ready to turn into freshmen over there!). It can be a difficult task to sort out where to AIM. There are many people to learn from when a principal takes a new position. If I'm going to provide the best service possible, it's important I spend a lot of time listening. In this profession, you have to be a great communicator, but you had better be an even better listener.
If you have a student in the high school this coming school year, please feel free to call on me if you have a concern. Please don't let things fester and go on for weeks when you believe they aren't going well for your son or daughter at Mexico high school. I promise you, I want to hear your concerns and your reasonable requests to help your son or daughter if they need additional support. Sometimes what you feel they aren't receiving from school is as important as what they are receiving from school. In the near future I plan to meet with parents in focus groups to learn more about their experiences as parents when dealing with the high school. I hope you will offer to be a part of contributing your perspectives, praises and concerns to our faculty and staff. It is very important to me that your high school reflects what the community of Mexico wishes it to be. For me, it should be the place that makes a difference in your son or daughter's life for the better. Mexico High School should make your son or daughter's critical thinking skills 1000% better because they found a caring professional learning community committed to their well-being and educational progress.
I'm committing to regular posts once a month, but plan to write more if time allows. Let me know if you find this site helpful. :)
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