The types of schools our children need and deserve

For me, the majority of the 2011-2012 school year has been spent thinking about, working on, and preparing for, the beginning of the academic cooperative. I knew when I applied for and accepted the superintendent position for the Lind and Ritzville school districts that this would be the case. I also understood that this process would require me to make many difficult decisions and that there would be some discomfort in both communities and districts.

Although the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year will undoubtedly bring additional structural decisions related to the academic cooperative, I am looking forward to putting the planning behind us and to giving our full attention and efforts toward what matters most in education, teaching and learning.

Currently, I am reading the book, “Every School, Every Team, Every Classroom,” by Robert Eaker and Janel Keating. In recent years, I have been fortunate to work with and learn from Janel on several occasions, and I really enjoy the consistency of her message and her focus on doing the right things for all students.

Generally, when I read a book I skip the dedication and introduction and head straight to chapter one. However, I read both of these sections prior to beginning chapter one of “Every School, Every Team, Every Classroom.” I am extremely glad that I did. Bob and Janel begin their book by stating in the introduction, “This is a children’s book. More accurately, this is a book about children and the kind of schools they need and deserve” (Eaker and Keating 2012).

Think about the importance of their statement – placing our focus on creating the types of schools our children (all children) need and deserve. That is where my passion lies. As I mentioned, I know that I was hired to help create and lead our cooperative effort in the best way possible (the structure). In doing so, as I make decisions and think about our future work, I am constantly thinking about creating schools that are good enough for my five children and all of the children of the Lind and Ritzville communities.

Recently, I shared that we were considering utilizing either a weekly late start or early release. As districts, we decided on a weekly late start, which will occur every Monday morning. Thus, beginning in the fall of 2012, school will begin one hour later every Monday morning. The purpose of this weekly late start is to provide our staff members with team time that will be dedicated to creating the types of schools that our children need and deserve. These late starts will allow our staff to focus on state standards (what we teach), creating and analyzing assessments that align with the identified standards, utilizing assessment data to create on time interventions for students who need extra time and assistance, and creating extended learning opportunities for those students who have shown mastery of the identified standards.

It is my belief, that in order to create the type of educational systems we want for our children, we can no longer do business the way we have traditionally done business in education. As professionals, we cannot isolate ourselves in our individual classrooms or offices. We must begin to work collaboratively, thinking, discussing, and working on our individual and collective practice. We must be increasingly intentional with our efforts and our work to meet all of the various needs of all of our students.

In closing, I want everyone to know and understand that my desire is to create the best educational systems for both the Lind and Ritzville communities and school districts. Our students and communities deserve our best efforts. Every child in our system deserves the same type of education that I want for my five children. I commit to you that we will continue to work hard, intelligently, and with an intentional plan that leads to the types of schools our communities deserve.

As always, if you have any questions related to this article, or any other issue related to our school systems, please feel free to call me in Lind at 509-677-3481 EXT. 418 or e-mail me at [email protected], or in Ritzville at 509-659-1660 or by e-mail at [email protected].