Let's look at the evidence

I saw strange sights on my way back from a Google meeting in Des Moines a few days ago. The first thing I saw was a school bus being dragged from its rear axle. As I was contemplating what that evidence suggested to me, I saw this sight - Another school bus being dragged by it's rear axle. The two buses did not have the same school names on them. Suddenly, the scenarios that I had spinning around in my head as to why that first school bus was being towed changed on the basis of the second school bus I saw.

A couple of days ago I presented to the School Board the list of quotes and my recommendations for purchase of tech equipment. I explained how I solicited quotes, how I analyzed them, and how I made my decision for my recommendation.

I also presented the financial Tech Plan for next school year. I explained the process that went into creating that plan - the work of the EdTech Committee, the spreadsheet to make requests that was available to teachers all year, the input from the building principals, and the process of prioritizing.

My thought for the day is that our world view on all things will be based on the evidence that we are personally exposed to. Therefore, it's exceedingly important that we expose ourselves to all the lines of evidence that we can. It's important to systematically gather data and then make our decisions. It's important that all the players are invited to the table to make sure we aren't making decisions based on too little data or flawed data.

Our students are depending on us.

And, really, why do you think there were two school buses within a few miles of each other being towed by their back axles?

We are a little island of happiness

Joyland by Stephen King is a coming of age novel set in an amusement park in 1973. When the owner of the park addresses the employees at the beginning of the summer season, he says this:

"Children will go home and dream of what they saw here and what they did here. I hope you will remember that when the work is hard, as it sometimes will be, or when people are rude, as they often will be, or when you feel your best efforts have gone unappreciated."

And all I can envision are our classrooms.......

For all their years of school, many of our children spend more time with us than they do with anyone else in their lives. We are their guides, their mentors, their friends, their guardians, and their fellow learners. What are we filling their dreams with? What are we imprinting on their memories? Are we sharing our joy for learning? Are we a welcoming place where it doesn't matter who you are, what you know, where you come from, or how you got here?

Stephen King goes on to say this:

The influence we have on making or breaking our students can't be overstated. May we foster in them a love for learning and pure joy for each new day. May the dreams and memories we provide be sweet ones.

Diversity Day

I spent the Storm Lake High School Diversity Day last week with goosebumps as I watched the photos being shared all over social media. This is who we are - a diverse family of individuals who have come together in this place at this time to learn. It is in our uniqueness that we find our strength. Although we come from all over the world, we are one now, and we all bleed green.

A huge thank you to all of you who shared your pictures with me!

Love one another

It's been a tough week, but some lessons remain universal and everlasting.

Hard Work, Whispers, and Giggles

I lost a treasured colleague to cancer yesterday. Pat Fisher and I spent years as the odd women out at administrative team meetings - Directors who appeared briefly at the table and then disappeared when our business was done - Quietly whispering and giggling in the entryway on our way back to our offices. I know that no one will ever eclipse the love Pat had for our community and our schools. She spent every moment she could advocating for the rights of all of our students and their families. While the rest of us were exhausted and sleeping, she and her family did the hard work that goes into making our community and our world a better place.

In a society full of controversy and vitriol, Pat lived a life of hard work, relationship building, and love. She was a role model for our children and ourselves. I am thankful that her legacy will live on in the quiet whispers and giggles of the children of Storm Lake.

We Bloom When It's Time

My Christmas cactus bloomed over the weekend!

Blooming on the window sill next to one of my flying pigs, it reminds me that our students are all unique with their own trajectories of learning. May we provide the supports for our students individually to bloom when it's their time, and may we celebrate that learning without time constraint judgements.

A blooming Christmas cactus in March? Patience and tender loving care have paid off.

May Our Hearts Leap

I was at a meeting at the hospital with our school nurses when I started hearing chimes that were quietly playing a lullaby. As I was wondering if it was a chiming clock in the maternity ward, one of the nurses leaned over to me and said, "They play that song when a baby is born."

 I am serious when I say that my heart leapt. I may have gasped. For some reason the joy that came over me was the same joy I felt when my own children were born. It was like going back in time.

As people who work with students every day, it's important to remember the joy families feel when their babies are born - The changes in day to day life that each new baby brings, the sense of love, and the dreams for the future. Let us never forget that every student is special and that it is in their uniqueness that they can change the world. May we develop relationships with each of our students - relationships that cause our hearts to leap with joy each time they walk through our doors.