The Pursuit of Excellence

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit (Aristotle). 

In the five months, I have served in East Greenwich as superintendent of schools, we have talked a great deal about academic excellence. At our School Committee meeting on Tuesday, November 15, Michael Podraza, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, shared a comprehensive breakdown of our RICAS and SAT scores. There will be additional information shared by our principals on Tuesday, December 6, specific to each building. Our foundational mission as schools is to work with our students to learn and grow as scholars. 

And, just as importantly, is ensuring that our students learn and grow as people. The work of relationships is foundational to our humanity. When we look around, we see far too many examples of humans finding ways to reduce another's humanity to skin color, gender identity, political affiliation, religious beliefs, or any other way to separate us from each other. Once that separation is created, humans can find ways to inflict harm, violence, or even worse on one another. Even when the reality remains that we all laugh when we think something is funny, we cry when we feel something is sad (or deeply joyful), and when our skin is broken, we bleed. 

As we look around our world in 2022, it is clearly crying out for people who know how to be in relationship with others, especially with others who don't see the world in exactly the same way. We need critical thinkers, problem solvers, bridge builders, and those committed to finding ways to connect. We don't want to be academically excellent at the expense of others. Then we would be like the doctor who can accurately diagnose a rare disease but has no empathy (nor sympathy) to communicate appropriately to the individual who contracted it. 

Since we first heard the word COVID, we know that the last two years have impacted us as human beings. All of us. The disease transcends skin color, gender identity, political affiliation, religious beliefs, or any other way we separate ourselves as humans. We know that adults and students have been affected by our choices due to COVID, even the ones made for us. We know there is still healing that must take place. That work is not done. 

Neither is the work of teaching and learning. But the social-emotional work must be done together with the academic work. They cannot be done in isolation from one another; they must be done in tandem. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit. 

Both in academics and in relationships. 

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is one of my most favorite holidays. From my perspective, it gets the short shrift because of the recency of Halloween and the forward-looking toward those we celebrate in December. I recognize that part of the origin includes a celebration of when we took land from Native Americans, which we need to reckon with as a country. 

Still, when we see holiday decorations and gifts displayed in grocery stores, pharmacies, and around our neighborhoods in November, it feels to me like we are looking past this celebration. It is a day for food and family, recognizing that family is not easy for everyone. I've yet to meet the perfect family or even one that resembles the Normal Rockwell Thanksgiving painting. Still, this Thursday, we sit down with those who are important to us, pause, and give thanks. As someone new to East Greenwich Public Schools, these first five months have been a gift, and here are those whom I am thankful for: 

Our students - despite being a relative stranger, I have been welcomed into classrooms, science labs, hallways, and lunch fields. Whether in early elementary or in high school, the EGPS students have engaged with me thoughtfully and meaningfully.

Our teachers - every day, these professional men and women pour their entire selves into planning, lessons, and assessments. They, too, have opened their classrooms and professional spaces to me asked me questions, partnered with me, and collaborated in a way that makes me very proud to serve EG with them. 

Our paraeducators - these men and women make it possible for some of our students to fully access the education available in East Greenwich. Some students would not be as included in our classroom environments without them. Our paraeducators assist with some of the most basic functions for our students, and they do so with love, empathy, and compassion. 

Our administrative staff - always with a smile, they welcome me into each building when I visit. They answer the phones, coordinate schedules, and ensure that each school runs smoothly. Their professionalism ensures that the most minor details are not overlooked, that our students go home on the correct bus (or in the right car), and that the school functions as it should. 

Our facilities staff - when I think about this team's work, the word stewardship comes to mind. With an eye toward the future, and one on the present, our buildings look and feel taken care of, down to the shiny floors we all walk on. I've often observed members of our facilities teams interacting with our students, building their own relationships with them. We never know which adult will be the one that makes a difference in the life of a child. 

Our technology team - no one calls the Director of Technology to say "thank you - today, the internet is up and running." Often a team that lives in the background (until something goes amiss), and yet their attention to the critical infrastructures that support teaching and learning cannot go unnoticed. Their commitment to growth is only matched by their curiosity and desire to maintain smooth operations throughout our district. 

Our district staff - a combination of department heads, district leaders, and administrative staff have warmly embraced me with all my quirks. Whether it is joining me in my celebration as I announce that we finally hired a school psychologist, ensuring that my schedule is balanced, or quietly supporting my sweet tooth, I am so fortunate to be surrounded by excellence at 111 Peirce Street. 

Our town leadership - from the manager to the councilors to the staff at 125 Main Street- has demonstrated a willingness to partner with the school department as we look to the future. I'm proud of the conversations we have had so far, as well as those that are to come. Their collaboration and leadership are genuine and the hallmarks of meaningful relationships.  

Our local media - the two things I look for in a media outlet are fair and balanced. The EG News has been nothing but that since I was named superintendent. It is undoubtedly not something I take for granted, so I appreciate their work on behalf of our schools. 

Our school committee - seven professionals who take the time twice a month, and many hours in between, to come together to better serve the students and families of East Greenwich. As superintendent, I cannot ask for much more. I'm proud to lead with them and thrilled to inherit a strategic plan entitled "All Means All." The power in that simplicity has been a north star for me. 

On behalf of My Family, thank you for welcoming me to East Greenwich. All the Riccas wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!

Photo courtesy of https://medium.com/@zookkini/on-gratitude-640df0a8d62

All Votes Count

On Tuesday, November 8, I spent the evening watching both the Twitter feed of East Greenwich News (@egreenwichnews) as well as keeping an eye on WPRI. It was my first election in East Greenwich, and I was unsure what to expect. At 8:42 PM that evening, this tweet caught my attention: 

Two votes. 

Our democracy is founded on the principle of voting, and while the United States votes more than most of our peer countries, it is a right that is fundamental to who we are. Other countries don't allow their citizens to vote or have what would charitably be considered sham elections, complete with strong-arming, intimidation, and crooked election officials. Even given all this, according to the Pew Research Center, the United States ranks thirty-first when compared to developed world peers for voting-age population turnout. 

Two votes. 

I learned at a young age how important voting was. I remember going to my elementary school with my parents, watching the curtain close behind us, and being fascinated with the buttons. With the pull of the handle, we were done, and the curtain automatically opened. From my awe and wonder of the machines themselves, I also remember distinctly registering for my mail-in ballot so that I could vote while a first-year student at Holy Cross in the Presidential election in 1992. 

Two votes. 

I have voted in every election I've been eligible for. I talk about voting with my students. I talk about voting with my friends and family. I believe in the power of our democracy, even when the result is not how I voted. 

Two votes. 

More often than not, I hear something to the effect of: "My vote won't matter." Or "I can't impact the election." Or "No one will know the difference if I've voted." 

Two votes. 

While serving as the Superintendent of Schools in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, we had a special election for a bond project in the fall of 2019. The School Board (called Boards in Vermont) proposed reconfiguring the front hallway and connecting an environmentally friendly heating, ventilating, and air conditioning system. The measure passed by nine votes. If five people had voted differently, the bond would not have passed. 

In the case of East Greenwich, the final margin was more than two votes. But at 8:42 PM, on Tuesday, November 8, the election for School Committee was that close. Every voice is important. 

Thank you to every resident of East Greenwich who voted last week. 

Photo courtesy of the Classroom Law Project

A Crummy Six Letter Word

I first heard this word in the fall of 1982. I don't remember the details, just the upshot. My grandfather was diagnosed with it and had approximately six to eight months to live. If you were wondering, that doesn't land well with a third-grader. 

I LOVED my Grandpa, and he loved me. I have distinct, down to the smallest detail, memories of some of my most cherished moments with him. Before I went to school, on Fridays, I would watch Sesame Street, then go outside and wait by the corner for his car to come up the street, with him and my Nana coming to pick me up. We would go to the nursing home where my Omar (great-grandmother) was living. Just the three of us - not my parents, brother, or sister. Just me. 

While at the nursing home, I was the king of that castle. Seriously, I must have thrown off the average age of the people there by a factor of ten. I had the run of the place. Even to the point that once, when I got a hard candy stuck in my throat, I was told at least three nurses came to my aid, turned me upside down, and whacked my back until it was dislodged. 

Then, the ride home to get hot dogs, from a truck on the right-hand side of the road, right off their exit. Allegedly, I once said, "You can drop off Nana first," wanting to have him all to myself. I really was in love with her too. After hot dogs, I spent the rest of the day with him where he worked. 

Then that six-letter word: cancer. And in the spring of 1983, he passed away. As a third-grader, it made no sense. It still makes no sense to this day, and this spring, it will be forty years later. 

Even superintendents were little once. 
Can you pick me out of the two rumble seat boys?

I was reminded of that twice this week when two different e-mail messages came into my inbox. Both had that six-letter word. Both brought me back to the spring of 1983. 

The first was a staff member telling me they needed a day for a follow-up visit. The day was next to an existing non-employment day, and while permission was not required, this individual wanted to ensure I knew why the absence occurred. During the message, this person stated the reason for the follow-up, and it had to do with cancer. 

I couldn't write back fast enough to acknowledge receipt of the message. I shared how unnecessary it was and my gratitude for sharing part of their story with me. Also completely unnecessary. After clicking send, I sat back and thought of my grandfather. 

One day later, another message came in from a different staff member, also including that six-letter word. This time it was letting me know someone in their family had been recently diagnosed, and while again unnecessary, letting me know they would need some of their sick days to be with his person. I again acknowledged their message, expressed my empathy and gratitude. Clicked send and, once again, thought of my grandfather. 

One word. Two days in a row. Changing lives. 

The truth is neither individual needed to share their stories with me. Sick days are not only for the individuals themselves but for families. I'm humbled that they did. It gives me a little more of a window into who they are, both because they chose to share with me and to ensure that I can have the whole picture. Sometimes because I'm the superintendent, I'm entitled to that, but in this case, both employees chose to share with me. I'm proud of that. 

It also reminds me that we all know so little about the lives of others. We see their behaviors when they come to work, and we have no idea what else they're dealing with when they go home. I learned a critical lesson from one of my first principals when he told me, "It's our job to walk with people during every phase of their lives." It's why my commitment to relationships is so fundamental to my leadership. 

We really don't know what is happening in the lives of the people around us beyond what we see day-to-day. Be kind.

It's not trite. It's true. 

Photo courtesy of @childrensociety