The Best Seat in the House

On Friday night, the Montpelier High School Class of 2017 paid their final visit to the school they've called home for the last four years.  They entered the gymnasium as students and left as alumni.  It was a fitting tribute to a class of talented and gifted individuals, who sang, danced and orated that night the way they sang, danced, and orated while they matriculated through our high school.

I had the best seat in the house - sitting on stage, alongside Mike McRaith and Michele Braun (the high school principal and Board Chair).  I was able to see the delight and pride in the eyes of family and friends as the graduates walked in.  I was able to see their eyes shine, at time with tears of joy and at time with tears of sadness, throughout the night.  The iPhones and cameras were held aloft as people scrambled in front to capture the perfect moment: while walking in, while speaking at the podium, while mid-dance step, while singing, while receiving their diploma, while walking out.

A few weeks earlier, I was invited to a similar ceremony in a classroom at Union Elementary School.  Once again, there were parents with cameras and tears, students who entered the classroom as members of one cohort, only to leave as another, and a group of teachers reading about accomplishments and handing something to their students.  And again, I had the perfect vantage point to witness all that.  That day, we celebrated pre-kindergarten students completing their year together.

Such similar emotions for families fourteen or fifteen years away from high school graduation. This week, I will again have the opportunity to witness a moving up ceremony and a middle school graduation.  I will be in the presence of the culmination of emotions for families and teachers as they pause to honor the students who have been a part of their lives.  It is bittersweet as we recognize the people who have walked alongside and will remain behind while students move ahead to the next educational level.

Congratulations to the MHS Class of 2017, the Eighth Graders from MSMS graduating and the Fourth Graders from UES moving up this week.  Know how proud we are of all of you!

Last Friday night, I watched a mom and a dad fight back tears while their son spoke articulately and beautifully from the podium.  I cannot imagine the feelings of pride they must have had, while they replayed in their heads (I'm guessing) the first eighteen years of this young man's life.  I wondered how I will feel the nights Our Sons graduate from high school and what will be running through my head when I see them walk down the aisle, receive their diplomas, and walk out of the ceremony as alumni.

I wonder who will have the best seat in the house.  

So What Have You Learned This Year?

As we approach the last two weeks of school, it is natural to start asking these questions of our students to assess their growth and progress.  For adults, it's equally as important to reflect on our year to see what are the lessons we can take away and grow from.

This has been one of the hardest years I've experienced in quite some time, perhaps the hardest year of my life.  My Wife had a routine surgery on February 3, and ended up with two emergency surgeries three and four weeks later.  The lack of control that I felt was something I never want to experience again and I am grateful for the amazing care that was shown to her and to me throughout this process.  To this day, people in MPS still come up to me and ask how she is doing.  I am truly touched by each and every person who reaches out.

Still I have learned a lot, through this ordeal.  However, two things stand out.

Be humble.  The turning point for My Wife was when her surgeon anonymously shared her case with her colleagues, asking for help from others.  The surgeon recognized the limitations of her medical specialty and turned to her colleagues for assistance.  We all have blind spots, we are all limited by our natural abilities, our learned skills, our humanity.  We are surrounded by amazing people on a regular basis who we have the opportunity to learn from, if we allow them to teach us.

Be kind.  It may sound trite but it is really true.  While I felt a great deal of anger and frustration from the lack of answers in My Wife's medical case, I knew nothing would be gained if I was not thoughtful in my interactions with the various medical professionals we were interacting with. Intuitively, I knew it would not help My Wife at all and it may have hindered her care.  This New York Times article was shared with me and validated my thinking.  One of the hallmarks of my time in education and educational leadership is that I would rather be kind than be right.  And while I don't get there every time, it is the standard that I strive to attain.

Please, if you are reading this blog post take a minute - literally one minute - and respond.  Post your comment below.  Share your learning from this year.  One or two words - no explanation necessary.  I would love to see what we have learned collectively as educators, as people, since August 2016.

So what have you learned this year?

So You Still Think Twitter is Just for Celebrities?

I've been on Twitter since 2011, when I started serving Montpelier Public Schools as Superintendent.  It's been a tremendous opportunity for professional growth, for making contacts, and for continuing to learn from others.  As my MPS colleague Mike Martin (@Mike_MPS) told me a couple of years ago, Twitter is a way to connect with others based on the merit of the idea. It is not about age, job titles, or roles.  It isn't even necessary to meet in person, because the connection is about the idea!

Recently I was humbled to be a part of a panel at the VITA-Learn Dynamic Landscapes Conference about the relationship between school librarians and administrators.  One of the members of the panel was Michael Berry (@MichaelBerryEDU) Director of Curriculum, Communication & Innovation for MMMUSD-CESU Schools.  We work less than a half hour away from each other, follow each other on Twitter, live in the State of Vermont and up until that panel conversation, had never met in person.  Once we did speak after the panel, it was an easy conversation because we had mutual admiration for each other based on what we posted on Twitter.

However, the real highlight for me this year was an invitation to the First Grade Play "Wing It," and it came through Twitter.  Here is their invitation.  The invitation was from UES Teachers Susan Koch (@SusanKochVT), Linda Dostie (@LindaDostie) & Samantha Funk (@TheWiseMusician).  I have never been invited to anything via video on Twitter and was proud not only to respond via video on Twitter (my very first) as well as go to UES for the wonderful play which was an amazing culmination of the collaboration between our Music, Art, and First Grade Teachers.  A wonderful time was had by all and it was another very proud moment for me as Superintendent.

Yes, there are people who waste time on Twitter.  Yes, there are people who tweet ridiculous things.  Yes, there are people who post nonsense.  But you can choose not to follow these people and trust me, Twitter is much, much more than this.

This platform can do so much for education and educators.  It is free and allows us to connect with other people, honing our skills, learning new ones, and growing in ways that traditional professional development simply cannot approach.  Most importantly for me, it is about relationships.  That is the basis of what we do in education.  I would have never seen Wing It if not for the Twitter invitation, and I would have missed a tremendous, student-centered event in person!

So you still think Twitter is just for celebrities?