I Was Late

Before the Thanksgiving holiday, I was on my way to one of our schools in East Greenwich and stopped by to grab a cup of coffee on the way. It was around 10:30 or so, well past what I would consider the "morning rush." As such, I was a little surprised to see a line of people waiting. In addition, I got stuck in my office and didn't leave as early as I wanted to. 

I like to leave a little bit of wiggle room when traveling. It's occasionally a conversation in our home. For example, when heading to the airport for a flight, I like to be at the airport at least two hours early. Honestly, it's not just because I don't want to miss my flight; it's because I'm an aviation geek. I have earned a private solo pilot's license, which means that I can fly by myself in a single-engine Cessna. My Wife would like to be the last person on the plane and have the flight attendants close the door behind her! Alas, we compromise...

Beyond that, I do not like to be late in general, so I do tend to overestimate how long it takes to get somewhere. A high school teacher often remarked, "Punctuality is the politeness of kings and queens." That has stayed with me into adulthood. 

Standing in line, I wondered if I needed an additional cup of coffee after all. While ruminating on that, I looked toward the cashier and saw that the reason for the line was that a new employee was in training. I can't imagine what the digital cash registers are like on the other side of the counter. I loved the old-school cash registers, where there was no math done for you. I'd compete with my siblings to see who could figure out the change due while standing in line at the grocery store. 

Back to my line. If I stayed, I would more than likely be late. I started to get out of the line but then thought about it again. I have been in education professionally since 1996. I want to support this individual in learning how to do their job. We have to practice what we preach, right? 

As I moved along the line, I could feel the tension rising in the people both in front of me and behind me. To be fair, like me, I'm confident they showed up expecting to be in and out, given the time of day. They were also doing some mental math to determine if staying in line would make them late and, based on their need for caffeine, whether staying was worth it or not. I finally got up to the front of the line and heard the familiar "Welcome to..., my name is...," but what I didn't expect was, "I'm in training. Please be patient with me." 

I placed my order, which, by the amount of support the new cashier needed, might have been a moderate level of difficulty. There were a couple of new screens my order introduced to the cashier. I tried my best to maintain eye contact and smiled throughout the order. Ultimately, after I paid (using my phone, so no actual exchange of money), I couldn't help myself and said, "I think you did a great job. I'm in education, and we all have to learn at some point." 

We are about to enter one of the cruelest times of the year for teaching and learning. The "in-between" of Thanksgiving and the December Holiday Recess. It is a time when it's not wise to introduce a substantial amount of new material and when all of us, from the young to the seasoned, feel the pressure of the holiday season. We will need patience, grace, and kindness to manage these four weeks in a way that ensures our own sanity and preserves others' humanity. Please give those gifts as generously as you can. 

I was late that day. I arrived at the school more than five minutes later than I wanted. As I scrambled from my car to the building, I saw other adults walking in quickly like me. When we reached the event, it had not even started. 

I was late, and since the event hadn't even started, it could not have mattered less. Let's leave some time for new cashiers, rookie drivers, and the other frazzled humans we encounter in December. 

We'll all be better people for it. 

Photo courtesy of @ChrisQuinn64

On Gratitude

I pride myself on being a grateful person. As a child, I was taught "please" and "thank you," and yet at some point in my human journey, it became much deeper than just being polite. I even sign my e-mail messages "gratefully." I cannot point to one specific incident in my life, I think it is an amalgamation of many little moments that have led me to a deep sense of gratitude. It is with that context and the reality that Thanksgiving is almost upon us that I write this week. 

I'm grateful for all of the employees of East Greenwich Public Schools. Every single one of them. From Food Services to Facilities. From Paraeducators to Principals. From Teachers to our Technology Staff. From Administrative Assistants to Administrators. Their efforts, many of which are largely unseen, bring the results and outcomes that our community is so proud of. Even when we don't, our folks show up again and again. Education is such a personal endeavor, and all of our employees bring their gifts, talents, love, and professionalism to our six schools. 

I'm grateful for our students and their families. It is a gift to be in the educational lives of the humans in this Town. It is a covenant of trust that is a sacred bond. 

I'm grateful for our School Committee and the values that they live in their work. All Means All is not just the name of our Strategic Plan. It is how these seven public servants ask me to lead East Greenwich Public Schools. 

I'm grateful for the Town Council and their commitment to education in East Greenwich. They took a risk in approving a high "not to exceed amount" for the bond for our Master Plan, and that courage allowed us to offer this community a project that will touch five of our six schools. As I've said many times, what's good for the schools in EG is good for the town. What's good for the town in EG is good for the schools. We work better together!

Finally, I'm grateful for the community support of our Master Plan. I'm proud of how the School Building Committee, together with the School Committee and Town Council, earned a vote of 69% on Tuesday, November 7. While we still have a great deal of work ahead of us, that kind of confidence from the voters is tremendous. 

Acknowledging that not all holidays are happy times for everyone, I hope everyone finds time to rest and recharge during the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. I am proud to be the Superintendent of Schools here. I remain incredibly grateful for the opportunity to serve in East Greenwich Public Schools. 

Photo courtesy of www.ifyourbodycouldtalkblog.com

How to Make a Difference

For the past few weeks, I've been thinking about and writing about grades and grading. It's been on my mind, and I use this space to think and then write out loud. Then, on Saturday, this photograph popped up in my Facebook Memories: 

Photo courtesy of Travis Jordan (@supt_jordan)

And I remembered why I got into teaching. 

I did so to make a difference in the lives of children. Never, not for one second, did I think that I would be a superintendent. A principal, maybe. But not a superintendent. At that time, I thought superintendents were too far removed from the classrooms, where the actual teaching and learning occurs. Where the real lightbulb moments happen. Where the critical relationships are formed, where students feel safe, welcomed, and included so they can learn to the best of their ability. Where they can feel brave enough to make mistakes, which is a part of our learning process. 

I loved the classroom. The last time I was a full-time teacher, I taught first grade. The reality is that when first graders show up on day one, they are simply kindergartners who leave for the summer. The joys and frustrations of helping six-year-olds navigate through first grade was something that I simply loved doing. 

There were so many critical moments that I got to be a part of in the lives of those first graders. Turn-taking, kindness, sharing, were all woven into threads of reading, math, and writing. The life lessons that we rely on today as adults were taught to us implicitly and explicitly in our years of formal and informal education. One of my favorite first-grade moments to explore was working through the notion of compassion and forgiveness, which is not an easy one for six-year-olds to master. And yet, those were the times I remember most from my time in room 608 at 250 Stuart Street in Boston. Face to face with two little ones, helping to see the other's perspective and to give some grace. 

As my educational journey evolved from the classroom into leadership, I found myself doing more with compassion and forgiveness for adults. While I was further away from the specifics of teaching and learning with a class full of students, I found myself working through similar moments in the lives of adults and hoping that they would then share that with the students in their own classrooms. I was no longer negotiating who belonged to a specific pencil, and instead, I was trying to offer compassion to grown-ups who may have been stuck in their own thinking. 

The truth is, I was still making a difference in the lives of children. By making a difference in the lives of the adults, who try daily to make a difference in the lives of children. We do that through grace, compassion, empathy, and love. While grades have their place and are important, we make a difference when we focus on relationships. And let that be our legacy.