Teacher Appreciation Week 5/6/13 through 5/10/13

I can not express how grateful I am for teachers. Our society holds teachers to an impossible standard, yet many go above and beyond every single day. We have teachers who literally risk their lives for their class, those whose kind words inspire a child, and those many who challenge students with new material every day, all in addition to the bureacratic burdens placed on them every day.

I am not at all biased (ok I am). Every year (well before I even considered school board) we have had to sit with Andrew's teachers to discuss his anxiety and organizational issues. Every year, teachers accommodate him and he exceeds our wildest expectations for his performance. David's teachers have been flexible and accommodating of him and his peers as they ask a billion questions and allow them to explore topics further.

I know, I know not all teachers are amazing, extraordinary or even mediocre. I get it. I wont romanticize the profession but the profession has a lot of unfair press and not enough positive coverage for people who work so hard.
Thank you to teachers. I appreciate your efforts on behalf of our children. I appreciate the weekends you give over to grading and drafting lesson plans. I appreciate the evening phone calls to parents whose children did not attend school that day, I appreciate the "hall duty" you take seriously. I appreciate the smiles and hugs. I appreciate that you can keep order in a class of 23 seven year olds, then teach them math at the varying levels (how?). I appreciate that you keep granola bars in your desk for those children who come to you hungry. I appreciate how you seek ways to improve your skills. I appreciate that you show up for work every day and take seriously the profession of teaching. We could not do our job as policy makers or parents without your sincere efforts.  I could go on and on. And maybe I will sometime, but for now...

Thank you.

David's intro to 5th grade

 What is going on in our world? David and I went to Walker Upper Elementary School's Open House last night. Two 6th grade students led our little group of four around the school. The students were great tour guides. I had the benefit of a tour with the principal at the beginning of October, so I felt comfortable. Alas, this tour was not about me, it was about David, my almost ten year old.

I did check in with David several times throughout the tour. He asked great questions all the while looking forward to the cookies (1 per student) and lemonade at the end of the tour. My favorite question that David asked "do the students ever take a field trip to Crowe pool next door?" The P.E. teachers explained  they have tried to start up an aquatics program, but they have encountered some difficulties in implementing it (schedules etc.). I loved that he asked that question since I receive that question all the time as a school board member.

This morning David woke up and was ready to go a half hour before the bus. Usually when he is ready to go super early he wants to play DS or Wii before school, so Chris asked him "why are you ready so early?" David, in his chipper 9 year old way, described in some detail that he assumes he will be riding his bike to school when he goes to Walker, and it will take about 15 minutes to ride to the school, lock his bike and walk up the stairs to class, so he wanted to see what it was like to be ready by that time. Instead of playing Wii or DS, David read for the 1/2 hour before the bus.

I told him to have a good day as he walked out the door and he said "not likely." This is not a usual David response. He further explained that the 4th graders have math SOL simulations or term assessments (he is not sure which) today and he is not looking forward to it.   I will be thinking of him today, hoping that he is lifted in surprising ways and the test is mere item checked off in is day.

Recap of the 3/14 School Board Meeting

While the meeting was lengthy, the issue that parents may want to know most about is that the last day of school, June 7th, will remain a half day. IF we have more snow days, I am praying we do not, then we will have to revisit.

Another item on the agenda was the school visitor policy. The division has proposed a modest change by adding the bolded words to the policy:

"Visitors are welcome in the schools as long as their presence is not disruptive. Upon arriving at a on school grounds during normal school operating hours, all visitors must report to the administrative office."



We had an interesting discussion, I welcome feedback from the public about this change. The discussion centered on the high school. The change would require anyone using the playground/track or walking through any of the grounds of our schools to stop and get a visitors pass at the office.

I tend to agree with the policy at the elementary schools, especially in the case of folks using the playgrounds while students are at recess. However, I have some concerns as it relates to CHS. CHS is sprawling and surrounded by lovely trails, a park and a neighborhood. The easiest way to get to the park from the neighborhood is to go through the grounds of CHS. Under this policy change, during school hours only, a passerby should let the office know that he/she is walking through (perhaps with his/her dog). I am not sure this is the best use of our staff's time. I would love to hear what you think about the potential change.

We also discussed summer school enrichment funding at length. The 2013-14 budget reduced the summer school budget by $20,000. To make up some of that difference, the division recommended charging an additional $30 for an orchestra camp to prepare rising 5th graders for orchestra. The class costs $25 for instrument rental if the student does not have one of his/her own. The discussion was interesting and led to a 3-3 tie since one of board members was away with an ailing family member tonight. In the event of a tie, the policy is to pass it by until the next meeting. Unfortunately, time was of the essence. Happily, I hope, a resolution came to pass when another funding source was suggested for the relatively modest cost of the camp ($3200). I had a lot to say about the fee at the meeting, so I wont go into it more here.

We had other discussions. Feel free to contact me if you have comments or questions. 

PS- minor editing changes made to this post in the light of day.