Hi again Everyone,
School is off and running! Our main emphasis as an administrative team over this past few weeks has been to connect to students, set reasonable expectations for a safe and orderly environment and keep kids and learning first.
I thought I'd share some successes from MHS here online for everyone to see from my recent board report. So much goes on during a school year and it can be difficult to keep up! Teachers were a great help preparing this report. The report also includes some upcoming events at the end. It has been great to visit with many of you at ballgames and in person. I'm the first to admit name recognition is not a great strength of mine, but I rarely forget a face. Thank you all for being so welcoming and it has been great serving this community these past few weeks. (report follows)
Monthly Highlights:
The high school has begun enhancing their ISS – In School suspension time by causing students to reflect upon and change their behavior. ISS is now commonly referred to by the name B.I.P. – Behavior Intervention Program which reflects this new emphasis. Mr. Henry is leading this effort.
Dr. Robinson and Mr. Anderson have been actively seeking ways to improve the climate and atmosphere in the cafeteria. During the 2009-10 school year, approximately 70% of all fights at school occurred in the cafeteria.
There are now three lunch periods to reduce the number of students in the cafeteria.
Teachers now spend one lunch period per week eating with students in the cafeteria to improve the cafeteria climate and to build closer connections to students.
The cafeteria will be improved by the addition of a small stage and sound equipment for events and before and during school music. Mr. Cortez and student council will coordinate performance times and Mr. Don Fuemmeler's Industrial Maintenance class is working to build the stage and the art department will be providing paint enhancements.
Local youth leaders met with Dr. Robinson and Mr. Anderson on September 1 and again on September 15 to discuss ways to volunteer at school, support Future Christian Athletes, communicate their events and provide positive support and encouragement for MHS students. Leaders were invited to lunch periods and before school for breakfast with students. Administrators also discussed how to best support the “See you at the Pole” event on September 22 at 8 am.
Department chairpersons are leading development of continuous improvement cycles (P.D.S.A. - Plan Do Study Act) to address achievement in their respective areas. First drafts were reviewed with
Mrs. Haag and Dr. Robinson on 9/10/10 and final drafts should be completed within the next two weeks.
Seminar classes met with principals 8/31 to 9/3 to discuss dress code and other policies related to behavior. Students were also given the opportunity to ask clarifying questions and provide feedback.
College Fair: Ms. Holly Johanson and Ms. Belinda Frosch have worked prepared a college and career fair for Mexico Juniors and Seniors as well as surrounding area schools on September 17. Students will spend time visiting with college recruiters and career representatives.
A Literacy class was added to the school schedule to address in-coming freshmen having difficulty with reading. This class is being taught by Mr. Clow. Current enrollment is 10 and was based on middle school data.
An Advanced Placement American History was added to the course schedule and will be taught by Mr. Clark Winslow. Students are being prepared to take the AP test at the end of the course and could be eligible for college credit based on their score. Current enrollment is 19 students.
College Prep 101 classes (2) are attending a Cardinal Career Day in St. Louis on September 29 to explore careers in sports management and sports marketing. St. Louis area colleges will also host a college fair during the event. The students will also attend a baseball game the same day at noon. Mr. Clow, Mr. Neely and Mr. Haag will be preparing logistics and supervising the event.
Hart Career Center and MHS are working to develop closer working relationships and collaboration between the two buildings.
676 MHS students are enrolled in 1 hour classes at Hart Career Center.
90 MHS students are enrolled in 3 hour block classes at Hart Career Center. (approximately 10% increase)
178 MHS students are being served in MHS Seminar Classes by Hart Career Center teachers
Home management students taught by Ms. Bridget Bingham are working to plant flowers at the cafeteria entrances.
The MHS Science Department reported enrollment has doubled in Chemistry and AP Chemistry versus last school year. Additionally, the department is using Vernier technology to digitally collect lab data accurately and reliably. Finally, Phil Long – science teacher, attended a week-long Advanced placement Chemistry class to enhance this course offering at MHS.
A Welcome Back Assembly was held for students on the first day of school for the high school on August 25. The assembly was used to communicate school spirit and expectations, build Student leadership with Student Council and present other clubs/groups and activities.
Dual Credit Public Speaking – Ms. Given reported this class is off to a great start. There are 36 juniors and seniors enrolled in this honors class.
The Fall play, "The Further Adventures of Nick Tickle, Fairy Tale Detective" was cast after two nights of auditions. Three guest adjudicators were part of auditions; Michael Bentele, an Performing Arts major from Missouri Valley who currently works for Columbia College and a former Mexico graduate, Andrea Morrow- a communications specialist at the capital in Jefferson City and Mel Hamm – has a strong background in stage management and is currently teaching at MMS. Al. adjudicators impressed with the talent and hard work of our students during auditions. The fall play opens Friday, November 19 and runs through Sunday, November 21.
The MHS Speech & Debate team will compete at their first tournament of the season on October 15 and 16 in Sedalia. We have a larger group this year than previous years and look forward to great successes.
Sara Given has been asked to present a workshop at the Speech & Theater Association of Missouri Conference next week, September 23-25. Her workshop is titled "I'm a Fish Out of Water" and is geared toward assisting teachers who are certified in other teaching areas, but coaching, directing and teaching Speech & Theater programs. More information on her conference workshop will be available at her blog http://mhscommunicationcentral.blogspot.com
Vo-Ag and Vocational Agriculture teacher Stephanie Gutshall reported the following:
Area 4 Sports Day Champions 8/5
64 students attended the Mexico August FFA Meeting/Back to School BBQ 8/31
52 students attended Bradford Farm Field Day in Columbia, MO where they learned about various aspects on agriculture
9/14 Mexico FFA Chapter hosted the National FFA President, Levy Randolph for an afternoon. He spoke to 3 classes and got to know the students.
9/13 Mexico FFA Officer Team place 3rd at the Area 4 Rituals Contest and 20 students attended the Area 4 Leadership Conference.
Athletic Highlights
9/4 Boys Cross country - 2nd place at the Mexico Invitational
9/4 Girls Cross country 2nd place at the Mexico Invitational
9/13 Girls Golf - 1st place at the Tri-Meet (Harrisburg-Crocker-Mexico)
9/10 Boys football team won against Winfield in an abbreviated first home game 55 to 0
9/14 Boys Cross country - 3rd place at Quincy Notre Dame
Upcoming Events:
9/29 Cardinal Career Day in St. Louis, Mo - Busch Stadium
9/30 Open House and Parent-Teacher conferences
10/1 Homecoming Parade at 3:00
Football Homecoming vs. St. Charles, 7:00
Homecoming Dance will follow the football game at 9:30 pm to 11:30 pm
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Day 1, 2, 3, 4
Hi Everyone,
After many improvements and a labor of Hercules by our teachers, staff and determined custodial crews WE OPENED THE DOORS on August 25th!
As a general rule, educators love kids and yes, we go through withdrawals over the summer when the focus of our life work is delayed in getting here.
I watched all our teachers breath dust, move furniture, sweat and toil over their classrooms and common areas in the building while our custodial crews provided guidance and the professional polish the building needed to get us going for the school year.
While we are still organizing here and there, we are functional and school has begun.
You may have heard we kicked the school year off with an all school assembly to raise school spirit and remind our students Mexico high school is a great place to learn and it's ok to show your school spirit.
We are continuing to enforce our disciplinary code in order to maintain an exceptional environment for students to learn. Many times we have simply given warnings these past few days, however, there have unfortunately been some suspensions. Overall however, our building has been very safe and orderly with everyone contibuting to the solution by providing good supervision for our students.
I will be meeting with our local church youth leaders this Wednesday for a brainstorming session on how they can help us connect to youth at the high school in a meaningful way. In my personal experience growing up, I always found my youth pastors to be solid professionals with sincere hearts for students.
If you saw a red binder come home with tabs in the arms of your child, be sure your son or daughter begins to use it to stay organized or ASK THEM how they're staying organized for their classes. The NUMBER ONE reason grades are low in high school - almost any high school, is because students fail to keep track of assignments, study materials and turn in their work. We provided the binders this year to help students stay on track. There is also a copy of the student handbook for you and your son or daughter to review.
Several teachers are beginning to work on their own blogs to let you know what is happening in their classes. In the next few months we hope to update our website a bit more with links to these blogs.
I hope you find this information helpful and please provide any feedback you may have about the start of our school year.
After many improvements and a labor of Hercules by our teachers, staff and determined custodial crews WE OPENED THE DOORS on August 25th!
As a general rule, educators love kids and yes, we go through withdrawals over the summer when the focus of our life work is delayed in getting here.
I watched all our teachers breath dust, move furniture, sweat and toil over their classrooms and common areas in the building while our custodial crews provided guidance and the professional polish the building needed to get us going for the school year.
While we are still organizing here and there, we are functional and school has begun.
You may have heard we kicked the school year off with an all school assembly to raise school spirit and remind our students Mexico high school is a great place to learn and it's ok to show your school spirit.
We are continuing to enforce our disciplinary code in order to maintain an exceptional environment for students to learn. Many times we have simply given warnings these past few days, however, there have unfortunately been some suspensions. Overall however, our building has been very safe and orderly with everyone contibuting to the solution by providing good supervision for our students.
I will be meeting with our local church youth leaders this Wednesday for a brainstorming session on how they can help us connect to youth at the high school in a meaningful way. In my personal experience growing up, I always found my youth pastors to be solid professionals with sincere hearts for students.
If you saw a red binder come home with tabs in the arms of your child, be sure your son or daughter begins to use it to stay organized or ASK THEM how they're staying organized for their classes. The NUMBER ONE reason grades are low in high school - almost any high school, is because students fail to keep track of assignments, study materials and turn in their work. We provided the binders this year to help students stay on track. There is also a copy of the student handbook for you and your son or daughter to review.
Several teachers are beginning to work on their own blogs to let you know what is happening in their classes. In the next few months we hope to update our website a bit more with links to these blogs.
I hope you find this information helpful and please provide any feedback you may have about the start of our school year.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Parent Letter 2010-11 and Registration Information Packets
Parents and Guardians,
I've posted the letter I included in registration packets (folders) for your convenience below. I hope you find the information we compiled for you helpful and feel free to offer any feedback you may have about what we included and how we could improve our communication in this area of registration.
INFORMATION FROM THE REGISTRATION PACKET BELOW:
Dear Parents and Guardians,
I hope you and your family had a refreshing summer. Our faculty and staff have prepared this folder to help you stay connected and informed about the high school. If you have any suggestions for other things we could have included, please contact the high school office, or email me at trobinson@mexico.k12.mo.us. I also post a regular online newsletter (blog) at http://bulldoghighschool.blogspot.com. This online newsletter is posted to provide information about the high school.
Renovations:
The high school has undergone a great deal of building renovations and we are very pleased thus far with the progress that has been made. New windows, a new heating and air conditioning system and the replacement of very old furniture has been accomplished this summer. Our open house and parent teacher conferences will be combined this year into one event so we can ensure you have time to view the improvements and our workers have time to complete all projects.
New Seminar Class:
In addition to building progress, the high school teachers and I have been working to enhance our guidance and assistance to students so they are successful in high school. We will be implementing a Seminar Class during the last period of the day toward this purpose. Too often, students in high school can have difficulty managing several classes at once, studying for challenging classes, and connecting to their peers and teachers. They can get lost in the shuffle and become disconnected and frustrated. Our teachers and administrative staff are planning our work during the seminar class to be one of providing focus and direction to our students – to prevent the anonymity and the “lost in the shuffle effect” often seen in many high schools. We want to know our students and foster significant relationships and engagement among our students.
The Seminar Class will meet each day for approximately 30 minutes per day at the end of the day and this time will be used for the following purposes:
1. We have planned to teach learning skills such as note taking, organizational skills and memory/study skills so students are more successfully in their high school classes.
2. This class will also be a time our teachers will engage students in all-school efforts such as collecting donations to assist the needy in our community and other projects.
3. Finally, we plan to check student progress more regularly during this time to ensure students stay on-track to graduate on time and earn grades of a “C” or better. We believe that connecting to students and letting them know we care about their progress is the best way to increase achievement.
I’m looking forward to serving your child and family in the coming school year and please feel free to contact me whenever you have a question, comment or concern about the high school. We are here to serve your needs.
I've posted the letter I included in registration packets (folders) for your convenience below. I hope you find the information we compiled for you helpful and feel free to offer any feedback you may have about what we included and how we could improve our communication in this area of registration.
INFORMATION FROM THE REGISTRATION PACKET BELOW:
Dear Parents and Guardians,
I hope you and your family had a refreshing summer. Our faculty and staff have prepared this folder to help you stay connected and informed about the high school. If you have any suggestions for other things we could have included, please contact the high school office, or email me at trobinson@mexico.k12.mo.us. I also post a regular online newsletter (blog) at http://bulldoghighschool.blogspot.com. This online newsletter is posted to provide information about the high school.
Renovations:
The high school has undergone a great deal of building renovations and we are very pleased thus far with the progress that has been made. New windows, a new heating and air conditioning system and the replacement of very old furniture has been accomplished this summer. Our open house and parent teacher conferences will be combined this year into one event so we can ensure you have time to view the improvements and our workers have time to complete all projects.
New Seminar Class:
In addition to building progress, the high school teachers and I have been working to enhance our guidance and assistance to students so they are successful in high school. We will be implementing a Seminar Class during the last period of the day toward this purpose. Too often, students in high school can have difficulty managing several classes at once, studying for challenging classes, and connecting to their peers and teachers. They can get lost in the shuffle and become disconnected and frustrated. Our teachers and administrative staff are planning our work during the seminar class to be one of providing focus and direction to our students – to prevent the anonymity and the “lost in the shuffle effect” often seen in many high schools. We want to know our students and foster significant relationships and engagement among our students.
The Seminar Class will meet each day for approximately 30 minutes per day at the end of the day and this time will be used for the following purposes:
1. We have planned to teach learning skills such as note taking, organizational skills and memory/study skills so students are more successfully in their high school classes.
2. This class will also be a time our teachers will engage students in all-school efforts such as collecting donations to assist the needy in our community and other projects.
3. Finally, we plan to check student progress more regularly during this time to ensure students stay on-track to graduate on time and earn grades of a “C” or better. We believe that connecting to students and letting them know we care about their progress is the best way to increase achievement.
I’m looking forward to serving your child and family in the coming school year and please feel free to contact me whenever you have a question, comment or concern about the high school. We are here to serve your needs.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Improving Communication
Welcome Clark W. - Clark is the first official follower of the principal's corner. If you're not a regular follower, but you care about the high school I encourage you to be a regular follower and barring any major issues preventing me from doing so, I'll try and post regularly when I have information that will benefit you.
Communication has stood out as area for improvement at the high school, to begin this improvement, I started with me - I added this blog to the school website. There are a couple of questions at the end of the blog that will guide me in getting quick feedback from the community. I encourage you to use this forum to share your ideas, concerns and occasionally provide survey feedback.
Thanks to community support, the high school is in the midst of major structural improvements. If you've come by the high school and noticed unsightly debris, and the sounds of hammers you might want to call the office FIRST instead of come in person. Running into excessive dust clouds in the halls, scaffolding, and possible falling pieces of old windows are a real possibility if you decide to visit in person. Amy Lif - Principal's secretary and I will be in the main office until we need to vacate the area for improvements to our office windows, in addition we may not have air conditioning for a time as vent and duct work is completed for the new air conditioning system.
Be sure to visit with your son or daughter about classes you would like them to take in the coming school year. I visited with Mrs. Kris Turlington - Counselor, Mrs. Deb Haag - Director of Instruction and Mrs. Tina Woolsey - Superintendent this week about registration in August and how we might be able to provide better service to students during the registration process. It seems the process is very slow due to the number of schedule change requests coupled with registration going on at the same time. Our new plan will separate these two activities so long lines and some frustration from last year are eased. For this year, students will register 2 weeks prior to school at Mexico Middle School (avoiding the construction here at the high school) on August 4th and 5th from 7 am to 7 pm, and August 6th from 7 am to 4 pm. Students will receive a locker assignment, their schedule and will be allowed to sign up for a counseling appointment during the next two weeks if they need to have a schedule change request.
A few notes about scheduling classes: It is always the goal of our guidance department to meet the scheduling requests of students. However, there are no perfect school master schedules that meet every student request. One thing we are blessed with at Mexico High School are A LOT OF CHOICES and ELECTIVES. This is GREAT! It does generate some frustration and confusion however with students because they can't take EVERY class they want, when they want. As a parent, you may want to provide some guidance with your son or daughter so they sort out what electives are most important to them. Our goal remains to serve the educational needs of students by providing the state mandated core curriculum (Math, English, Social Studies, Science) and provide most additional electives they wish to pursue.
Finally, here are a few questions you can feel free to respond to by registering as a follower of this blog and then posting a response. I reserve the right to moderate all responses to keep this blog professional and in line with its intended purpose, so you may not see your post for a time until I've reviewed it.
In an effort to increase communication, some schools have begun using Twitter to send out important updates - basically Twitter is a mass text message that provides information to the persons receiving it.
Would you be interested in receiving a weekly text message with event updates?
What information would you like to access to about our classes and teachers posted on the website?
In your opinion, how can the high school BEST improve communication with the community?
I will check back periodically to review posts and I hope you take the time to provide some answers to the questions above.
Communication has stood out as area for improvement at the high school, to begin this improvement, I started with me - I added this blog to the school website. There are a couple of questions at the end of the blog that will guide me in getting quick feedback from the community. I encourage you to use this forum to share your ideas, concerns and occasionally provide survey feedback.
Thanks to community support, the high school is in the midst of major structural improvements. If you've come by the high school and noticed unsightly debris, and the sounds of hammers you might want to call the office FIRST instead of come in person. Running into excessive dust clouds in the halls, scaffolding, and possible falling pieces of old windows are a real possibility if you decide to visit in person. Amy Lif - Principal's secretary and I will be in the main office until we need to vacate the area for improvements to our office windows, in addition we may not have air conditioning for a time as vent and duct work is completed for the new air conditioning system.
Be sure to visit with your son or daughter about classes you would like them to take in the coming school year. I visited with Mrs. Kris Turlington - Counselor, Mrs. Deb Haag - Director of Instruction and Mrs. Tina Woolsey - Superintendent this week about registration in August and how we might be able to provide better service to students during the registration process. It seems the process is very slow due to the number of schedule change requests coupled with registration going on at the same time. Our new plan will separate these two activities so long lines and some frustration from last year are eased. For this year, students will register 2 weeks prior to school at Mexico Middle School (avoiding the construction here at the high school) on August 4th and 5th from 7 am to 7 pm, and August 6th from 7 am to 4 pm. Students will receive a locker assignment, their schedule and will be allowed to sign up for a counseling appointment during the next two weeks if they need to have a schedule change request.
A few notes about scheduling classes: It is always the goal of our guidance department to meet the scheduling requests of students. However, there are no perfect school master schedules that meet every student request. One thing we are blessed with at Mexico High School are A LOT OF CHOICES and ELECTIVES. This is GREAT! It does generate some frustration and confusion however with students because they can't take EVERY class they want, when they want. As a parent, you may want to provide some guidance with your son or daughter so they sort out what electives are most important to them. Our goal remains to serve the educational needs of students by providing the state mandated core curriculum (Math, English, Social Studies, Science) and provide most additional electives they wish to pursue.
Finally, here are a few questions you can feel free to respond to by registering as a follower of this blog and then posting a response. I reserve the right to moderate all responses to keep this blog professional and in line with its intended purpose, so you may not see your post for a time until I've reviewed it.
In an effort to increase communication, some schools have begun using Twitter to send out important updates - basically Twitter is a mass text message that provides information to the persons receiving it.
Would you be interested in receiving a weekly text message with event updates?
What information would you like to access to about our classes and teachers posted on the website?
In your opinion, how can the high school BEST improve communication with the community?
I will check back periodically to review posts and I hope you take the time to provide some answers to the questions above.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Taking Aim
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.
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.
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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