One Thing

Happy 2017!  We are one day in to the new year, with all the hope and possibilities it will bring for us, for our students, for our families, and for each other.  I have never been one for new year's resolutions, regardless of how seriously I take them.  Sometimes it seems overwhelming to make a commitment for a brand new year, one that is less than twenty-four hours old.  

Yet when I put that into the context of education, it seems less like a resolution and more like a commitment or a promise.  Since I've been serving as superintendent, when someone new is hired on the Leadership Team, I ask them to set one goal for their first year.  Just one thing they want to commit to in their first year in their new position in Montpelier Public Schools.  

In my experience, this is harder for folks to do than to set a whole array of goals.  I have also found that it is incredibly inspiring to listen to the one thing new leaders want to accomplish in their new position.  It is humbling to walk with them on their journey in MPS.  

So tonight, with 2017 being less than twenty-four hours old, I ask you all the same question.  What is one thing, only one thing, you want to do better in 2017?  What is one thing that will better serve your students, their families, or each other in our work?  Can you pick just one thing?

My one goal for 2017 is to communicate better on behalf of MPS, the wonderful things we are doing on behalf of our students, the values we have as a school district, and the commitment all adults have to professional growth.  I am inspired on a regular basis by the work we do for students, and I want more people to know about it.  Whether blogging, using pictures from classroom visits, or using social media more purposefully, I want to be able to better articulate what we do in MPS.  

It's 2017 - what is your one thing?