What Do You Need?

For two and a half days in February, I participated in the American Association of School Administrators National Conference on Education, virtually, of course. While we were scheduled to be in New Orleans, the pandemic had other plans for us. While it was certainly not the same as being in person, it was still a wonderful learning experience for me. I was humbled to be invited to participate in a panel discussion with superintendents around issues of equity and inclusion. 

Yet, the highlight for me was the keynote presentation by George Couros (@gcouros). I have had a Twitter crush on George since I started following him years ago. As one of my former colleagues pointed out, Twitter is where you can connect with people based on the merit of the ideas. Needless to say, I love George's ideas. 

One of the points he made during his remarks was this: 

And so, with all sincerity, I ask the employees of the St. Johnsbury School District, what do you need? I can't promise that I can deliver, but I desperately want to know. In addition, I commit to ask this question more regularly as we go forward together. 

My ask of the employees in our district is that you, in turn, as our students and those you serve with, what they need. In the same spirit that I cannot promise that I can follow through with every response I receive, I ask that you bring that same honesty when you ask that question. Please also commit to asking this question regularly, not just during a pandemic. 

So please, let me know what you need. Call me, e-mail me, tweet at me, come and find me in an appropriately physically distant way. If you're not comfortable letting me know who you are, here is a link to a Google Form, just for St. Johnsbury employees that is fully anonymous. I'll leave this open for a week, review the results, and share how I see us moving forward. Please do the same for your students and those with who you do your work within our district. 

Often people ask me what I get out of going to conferences. Since the emphasis in my work has always been relationships, I usually point to that. In this case, though, I have a new way to connect with the people I serve with, and hopefully, find a way to serve them better. 

And none of it happened in person. 

Photo courtesy of www.matttenney.com