I wanted to make my last entry in the “Starting Over” blog distinctive by detailing a chronology of the last week of school. Unfortunately, everything was happening so fast that I did not have time to write about it. Today, I am reserving the time for this special piece of work. It is so important that I am pushing back everything on the desk, including submitting invoices for my consultant’s salary that help feed my family. Nourishing the intellect is a more valuable use of time and energy.

Kindergarten Graduation
Our Kindergarten teachers really know how to plan a celebration. The entire auditorium was decorated with larger-than-life figures of students in graduation garb. There were balloons and hanging plants. Trees and flowers decorated the stage. At 9:00 a.m. on Friday, May 16, 2008, the auditorium was packed with parents, grandparents, and siblings of the graduates. Parking was scarce on the blocks surrounding the school. I arrived just in time to intercede between two proud mothers who threatened to ruin the program as they argued over a seat near the front of the assembled crowd. Emotions were high as we waited patiently for the students to enter. At long last, the final corsage and ribbon were pinned on the last of sixty-two anxious five-year olds.

The students entered in measured steps to the strands of Pomp and Circumstance. A few students led the “Pledge of Da Legions” and three others sang the national anthem. Parents stood up for the pledge but sat through the anthem—no one told them to remain standing. It was something to ponder at another time, but I was next on the agenda. My remarks for the “Occasion” were less than a speech but more than a few statements about why we were there. My “Rules for Success in School” which I shared were based upon experience raising my own children.

The students performed songs, poems, and dances. Certificates and awards were presented and the principal made closing remarks. He encouraged the parents to stay actively involved in their children’s schooling and invited them to visit often. The families moved to the basement classrooms where they were served cake and punch. It was a beautiful, traditional ceremony. Next year, we will probably move the ceremony to a larger place, maybe a neighborhood church. If not, we will have to limit the number of guests each student will be allowed. We really needed admit cards for the Kindergarten Graduation; imagine that.

Eighth Grade Recognition Ceremony
The Eighth Grade Recognition Ceremony was a gathering of the “senior” class and their loved ones on Friday, May 16th. I had envisioned a candlelight ceremony with the students dressed in suits and beautiful dresses. I imagined them singing a class song and a few inspirational speeches. In my dream ceremony, parents would be presented with “I am a Proud McDonogh 42 Parent” ribbons, students would receive their “graduate” trophies, and the Class of 2008 would present the school with a memorial gift. We would have a class photo to hang in the Hall of Fame (display space TBD), and everyone would enjoy light refreshments before tearful goodbyes. Maybe next year.

As it turned out, one teacher planned the program, almost single-handedly. Following a processional by the students and a welcome speech by the eighth grade chairperson, the Salutatorian gave reflections. I don’t know what happened to the Valedictorian. The chairperson presented awards and the principal made remarks. A PowerPoint of the 8th grade students was the highlight of the program. One of the students put the piece together.

Some of the boys were dressed in new jeans and designer tee shirts instead of dress slacks, and ties. They came to the ceremony unsure about their status in the class and not knowing whether they would be allowed to participate. All of them sat in the back of the auditorium instead of on the front row with their classmates. The news about the LEAP tests was not good for them. These were students who had taken the tests and failed last year. This year, although they showed progress, they failed again. The boys will be assigned to the next grade if they attend the summer remediation program and retest one more time at the end of June. Since they will not be returning, I wanted them to participate in the closing ceremony.

I took pictures of the event; the pictures are worth thousands of words about our first class of promotees. The students’ names were not typed on the back of the quickly assembled program. The auditorium was only two-thirds full. The entire ceremony was over in an hour. Surprisingly, everyone was very pleased with the turnout and the entire event. I accepted the situation for what it was and I am grateful for the effort put forth by the staff, but we can (and will) do so much better.

Four More Days
Over the weekend, I thought about the routines and rituals that make school days special in some institutions. We had not planned a closing ceremony for the staff that went through so much this year to turn a new school into a distinctive place. The principal suggested catering a luncheon to be served while he presented the testing results. I thought it was an important topic, but too somber for a closing meeting.

He and I discussed awards for the teachers. Although he was reluctant to open that can of worms, out of concern that some people might feel left out by recognizing other individuals, I disagreed. We started making plans for the final meeting. I volunteered to coordinate it for the principal because he was really too busy to plan one more meeting. As a matter of fact, everyone at the school was too busy. The closing of school was overwhelming for all of us, but we prayed and worked our way to a successful end.

My most important task was to begin writing letters to each employee. There were two prototypes. One letter congratulated the employee for a successful year and offered a job for 2008 – 2009, usually with a salary increase. The second letter thanked the employee for working with us and noted that he or she would not be rehired for 2008 – 2009. Rehire offers were made to everyone who had a Satisfactory Personnel Evaluation and a recommendation from the principal. Teachers who were not certified, rated as “Needs Improvement,” or deemed a poor fit for the school received the second letter. Some of these teachers were encouraged to reapply and accept jobs that fit their qualifications. Others were simply told goodbye and thanks. It was not easy to write goodbye letters to teachers that I genuinely like. However, the principal is charged with assembling the staff, not the Board. He was both kind and respectful as he explained why some of my “favorites” would not be recommended to return. Done. Once again, I was glad to be the Board President and not the principal of the school.

Pre-Kindergarten Promotion
It was an unexpected honor to be asked to say a few words at the Pre-Kindergarten Promotional Exercise scheduled for Monday, May 19th. I didn’t know that a program had been planned and actually didn’t think it was necessary. Afterwards, I was glad that the teachers and principal disagreed. The brief, well-organized program was a delight!

The teachers started at 9:00 a.m., right on time. Following the march on to the stage, the students did the pledge and a welcome song. I gave the same speech to the Pre-K audience that I had given on Friday to the Kindergarten assembly. This time it was even shorter. The students recited a poem and sang a few songs before being awarded their promotion certificates. One of the parents whispered to me, “You have some wonderful Pre-K teachers.” I smiled and nodded. Immediately after that compliment, the students did a song and finger play to the children’s classic, “Itsy Bitsy Spider.” They sang the song in English and repeated it in Spanish. I cried tears of joy, gratitude and pride. One of our goals is to teach all of our students to speak conversational Spanish beginning next year. This group did not wait to get started.

As the students sang the Barney song, “I Love You,” I was thinking the same thing about Claire, Travis, Barbara, and Cynthia, our wonderful Pre-K teachers and para educators. It was a pleasure to welcome forty students who closed the program with the song, “We’ll be Going to Kindergarten in the Fall”. I was impressed!

Happy Birthday, Gian!
Tuesday, May 20th was my son’s birthday. I had planned a special dinner including his favorite dessert, homemade apple pie. Luckily, he had a basketball game that night. All of my day was spent between end of year planning activities and some work assignments unrelated to the charter school. I was tired because having spent so many hours at the school every day, each night I had to stay up late doing assignments related to my consultancy clients.

We were planning the faculty luncheon for Thursday and determining year-end extras for teachers. Teachers were receiving their next to last paycheck on Thursday. The checks included extra pay to the teachers who tutored students in the after school LEAP Remediation program. Their extra checks ranged from $82 to $1,700 depending upon their hourly wage and the number of sessions they conducted. Before we rehire anyone for the summer program, I want to see their record of success with the students who took the tests in the spring.

We also paid one-time $5,000 bonuses to eight teachers who transferred from RSD to TCSA last year. These teachers would have earned retention bonuses, had they remained in their RSD assignments. Although they did not negotiate the bonus in their salaries, as one astute teacher had done, the Board thought it only fair to grant all of the transferees this equal payment. Only one teacher mentioned the promise of the bonus and requested it at the time of hire. Based upon the principal’s recommendation, she received her bonus several months ago.

I also spent time figuring out how to document teacher activities that would earn points on our pay-for-performance system. Teachers can earn from $0 to $1,000 in this plan. We only wanted to collect their data last week; payment will be made by June 30th.

The OK Corral
Wednesday, May 21st was the last day of school for the students. I received notice that our heretofore well-behaved sixth grade students were threatening to bring guns and knives to school to fight with the fifth and fourth graders. Some students threw eggs and paint on the cars of their teachers. We were able to clean off the cars before any serious damage resulted from the vandalism.

I remembered one year when a student at my old school egged my new car on the last day of class. I drove up and down every street for ten blocks in each direction. I went to his house looking for him and left messages with all of the students I saw playing in the neighborhood. My message was simple and deadly, “Tell Henry that Mrs. Smith is looking for him.” Finally, I went back to the school. I never saw the student again, but when I left the building that afternoon, Henry’s mother and aunt had carefully washed my car, without my knowledge. I’m sure they delivered the message to Henry.

The principal wanted to hire extra security guards and a police patrol to ride around the neighborhood on the final day of class. I can’t believe that these children would be crazy enough to bring weapons to school on the last day—as if we’ll never see them again or don’t have their home addresses. I suggested that the teachers be placed on duty on all corners and down the block on each side of the building. Students who threatened others should be retained until their parents retrieve them after dismissal. The principal had already told the students to leave their book bags at home for the last day. He also planned to use metal detector wands to scan all of the students who were making threats. I hate the appearance of high alert security because it makes the school look like a crime scene. But, I wouldn’t second guess the principal if he felt the need to increase security. I went to bed at 3:00 a.m.

See You Next Year
The last day of school was calm and orderly. There were no attacks on students or assaults on teachers. No one set the building on fire. They even stopped pulling the fire alarm (a disturbing behavior that lasted three days the week before, until our administrative intern brought it to a halt). Students received their final report cards and a newsletter from the principal. Some children received special letters of information about the summer programs.

We will have three programs running simultaneously in June. The LEAP Remediation Program is mandated by the state for students in 4th and 8th grade who failed the high-stakes tests required for promotion to 5th and 9th grade. Our Intervention Clinic is for rising 4th and 8th grade students who scored Approaching Basic on the iLEAP tests administered to this year’s 3rd and 7th graders. We want to give them a jump on the coming year. The other program is an enrichment plan for 100 students in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th grade. Students with good behavior are being selected for this program. Because so much attention was directed to those who misbehaved, we think these students have earned something extra. We are also looking for students who may qualify for the gifted and talented classes we want to offer next year.

I did not go to school on the last day of class. I did not go to school on the first day of class either. Both days ended without a hitch.

Hurrah for the Teachers!
Thursday morning, I was driving through blinding rain trying to pick up a plaque and awards from Attaway’s Award Center in Slidell. I don’t like driving in the rain and I hate driving across Lake Pontchartrain. The principal acquiesced to my desire for a big celebration for the teachers. Our luncheon was held at the beautiful Basin St. Station, where we had our recent Professional Development day. Lunch was pork medallions, sweet potato casserole, salad, green beans, rolls, and dessert squares.

The agenda included opening remarks from yours truly. I had not explained to the staff why we advertised so many jobs in the newspaper a few weeks ago. There was a rumor that the Board planned to fire all of the teachers who participated in the sick out in December. One of the parents mentioned that she’d seen the ad for everyone’s positions in the Times-Picayune. I intended to give the explanation during the PD day several weeks ago and forgot to do it. I’d heard the rumors about my “vindictive nature” and I knew that several teachers were waiting for the other shoe to fall. I figured that we could show the truth them better than I could tell them. I hoped the individual letters offering 94% of the certified teachers a job for next year would put that disgusting rumor to rest.

The business manager explained final payroll procedures and the schedule for payment. Some of the teachers will be getting record amounts of money this summer. We are paying teachers for their unused sick days. The attendance awards will range from $0 to $1,800.

The principal gave an encouraging End of Year Report detailing test results and plans for remediation and curriculum alignment next year. He themed his presentation, “The Best is Yet to Come.” Our administrative intern gave a few details about the summer programs and solicited teachers to work during the month of June. All three programs will be managed by teacher leaders. Two of the programs were created at the suggestions of teachers. This is what I envision when I think about charter school possibilities.

The program ended with the awards. The principal compromised with me on the teacher recognition idea. Leadership Team paperweights were awarded by the Board Vice President to thirteen members of the staff who met monthly all year to make decisions about governance in the school. We also recognized a Volunteer of the year. Ms. Hester Cottles volunteered on all but three days this year. She refused my offer of a regular job, stating that she liked to come when she felt like it. Her attendance record was better than most teachers. I plan to solicit her for a position on the Board of Directors.

Our teacher of the year, Sondra Auzout was awarded a plaque and a gift certificate to a popular restaurant. She is a beautiful person and a delight to work with. I wanted to send her picture to the Times-Picayune with an announcement, but every shot has tears streaming down her face. She was so shocked by the honor from her colleagues that she could not stop crying those happy tears of joy. Neither could we.

Farewell Edweek.org
There were many topics that I could have written about in this blog that I did not choose to share with the general public. I’ve tried to be honest in my representation of the events at McDonogh 42 Elementary Charter School this year. If I committed any sins, they were sins of omission. My goal was always to tell the stories of our journey in ways that would teach others about our struggles and successes as they learned about our challenges. I did not expect to learn as many lessons as I was taught by the responses of the readers. Thank you, new friends.

Humbled and Grateful
Whenever anyone responded with a comment to one of my entries, I received a notice via email that stated something like this message, “A new comment has been posted on your blog Starting Over: A Post-Katrina Education, on entry #4542 (Party Over Here).” Depending upon what I had blogged about most recently, I mentally sealed myself for painful verbal attacks, misrepresentations, and misunderstandings. I psychologically exposed myself to accusations, emotional charges and even name-calling in a very public forum. So many people from my professional life were reading the blog (although most did not comment in that arena) and emailing me encouraging messages that I thought about writing even when I did not have time to sit and chronicle what was going on in post-Katrina New Orleans. I hope to continue hearing from them via email at rjsmith52@aol.com.

Thank you to all of you readers in cyberspace for taking this journey with me from October 2007 to May 2008. One of my readers wrote “I imagine you have experienced the healing effect in writing, in telling your story, your truth, in feeling heard and valued.” He was correct. It has been a unique professional growth experience for me. I sincerely appreciate the opportunity given to me by Jeanne McCann and Caroline Hendrie, the editors of Education Week who allowed me to reflect on my efforts in this public forum without censorship or sanctions. I am eternally grateful to Lesli Maxwell, the EdWeek writer who initiated the invitation to me for this experience. They are courageous people. Finally, thank you parents, teachers, staff, students, and board members associated with Mc 42. You allowed me to learn, live, and love through this important work we completed together. Ciao!

Posted by Roslyn Johnson Smith, Ph.D. at 8:51 PM | Permalink | 3 Comments | Recommend

Four hours ago, Board members, Tracie, Madonna and I, had the privilege of presenting awards to a few hundred students at our school’s first annual Scholastic Awards Ceremony. The auditorium was filled to capacity for this special event. One of the teachers did an outstanding job of decorating the room for the end of year assemblies. Giant sized students in graduation caps and gowns, spring flowers, and other figures adorned the walls.

In anticipation of the overflowing crowd of proud parents, the scholars were not seated in the auditorium; there would not have been enough room. Instead, we started the program with the “March of the Scholars.” Students marched into the room to the musical strains of Pomp and Circumstance as we applauded their entrance. There were enough students to span three sides of the auditorium.

The awards were distributed quickly and the children didn’t seem to mind standing up instead of sitting down. Awards were presented for twelve categories: Perfect Attendance and Meritorious Attendance, Excellent Conduct, Citizenship, Effort, Gold and Silver Honor Roll, top scholarship in Reading, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies and the Outstanding Student. As their names were called, students received their awards from one of the Board members and took a place on the stage to be photographed. After the presentations, the scholars repeated their march, this time holding their trophies, medallions, pins, ribbons, and certificates aloft for all to see. It was a wonderful experience.

We learned a few lessons after doing this for the first time. I was especially proud of the way the teachers worked together for a smooth distribution of more than 400 awards. I am truly grateful for their extra effort to make this a unique occasion for our best students. It will be bigger and better next year. Congratulations, Scholars of McDonogh 42 Elementary Charter School.

Posted by Roslyn Johnson Smith, Ph.D. at 10:55 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

The operation on our former principal was a success. She has survived a pulmonary embolism, cardiac arrest, a medically induced coma and more. Now she is “out of the woods.” Thank you for all of you prayers.

Posted by Roslyn Johnson Smith, Ph.D. at 2:56 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

In the past, I have always loved the closing days of school. Not because it signaled the end of the session, but because it was a time to assess what had been accomplished and begin planning for the next year. It was like getting ready for New Year’s Eve. In addition to the awards programs, promotional exercises, graduations, end-of-year parties, Teacher’s Appreciation Week, volunteer recognition celebrations, and other special events, we had the test scores to measure our progress.

This year, we are doing all of those things, but the year is ending too quickly. Even this blog is ending too fast. There are so many things that I did not have time to write about that it will be hard to stop telling the stories of McDonogh 42 each week. Writing for Education Week has been a blessing in helping me to sort out what would have been stewing in my mind. I’ve been reacquainted with colleagues from my past and met new friends on-line because of the edweek.org connection. It will soon be a thing of the past also.

The principal is completing evaluations and making recommendations for rehires. He is also interviewing potential staff for next year. His leadership team can complete the many inventories and records requests by May 22, the last day of school. I am working with the Business Manager on next year’s budget and new vendor contracts for custodial services, maintenance services, lawn maintenance, waste management, insurance, child nutrition, transportation, security, retirement and health benefits. That’s when she is not attending technology training for a multitude of new programs.

We still have two huge grant applications to submit in the next few weeks. It did not help to learn that a number of other charter schools are in the same boat. People always think that the major problem with public schools is a lack of money. For us, it’s a lack of planning time to develop a comprehensive strategy and then apply for the money while completing the day-to-day tasks of running the school. I have hope that we’ll be able to finish the applications, but it will mean putting in some long hours starting tonight. I’m determined to do my best to make sure we have the resources to begin some new initiatives for 2008 - 2009.

If we don’t complete at least one of the applications, we can’t fund the summer clinic for rising fourth and eighth grade students. This week we received the first state test reports. As I suspected, the fourth grade scores were not good, but not terrible. About 30% did not pass English Language Arts and Math. This was slightly higher than the RSD averages for the high stakes tests. They will have to attend summer school and retake the LEAP tests at the end of June. I anticipate that about half of the summer testers will pass and qualify for promotion. Of the 60 students in that grade, probably 10 will have to repeat the year. The failure rates were higher in Science (42%) and Social Studies (50%), but these are not high-stakes tests. We did worse than the RSD averages in these subjects. I don’t have the statistics on the initial testers and the repeaters yet, so it’s premature to discuss where we are in our baseline year.

Given the disruptions we had and the difficulty of an inaugural year, I am satisfied that we can begin working in earnest. Had we done the diagnostic testing that I wanted to do at the beginning of the year, I think the staff would have developed a sense of urgency that I did not feel this year. The three fourth grade teachers were in place at the beginning of the year and they stayed focused on their work. All three of the ladies were experienced and willing to take on the extra stress of teaching in a high-stakes grade. Unfortunately, we did not have basic things such as maps, globes, science kits, etc. until well into the second semester. I also don’t think they focused on what the state’s web site offers in the way of model lessons for Science and Social Studies. The content is not that difficult and the students should have performed better. I plan to take a look at their lesson plans to see what was being taught. I am willing to guess that they taught by the texts, not the state’s list of grade level expectations. It’s also possible that the students were further behind than we figured. Without the fall diagnostic evaluations, we’ll never know.

The eighth grade scores were all worse than the RSD school averages, with the exception of Math. I was surprised that the failure rate was only 23% compared to 39% in comparable schools. The students missed a lot of classes in the fall and the math tutoring was almost nonexistent for much of the time. However, they did have the benefit of two math teachers who really knew their stuff. The reports for Science and Social Studies were dismal. It’s been chaotic for the 8th grade students all year for many reasons. I’m not surprised that they learned very little. Just this week, their field day activity was canceled because of rampant disruptive behavior.

We are already planning a summer clinic for the rising fourth and seventh grade students. I think they need more time to catch up on what they have missed in the last few years. We have also planned the LEAP remediation program for students who failed fourth and eighth grade. Too many of them are already repeating the grade, having failed in 2006-07, the rules mandate that they must be assigned to the next grade. I don’t like social promotion; however, what can we do with 8th grade students who are on their way to their 16th birthdays? We also need to create individual plans and start small group tutoring earlier. We have to do a better job of professional development to ensure that the teachers know what to teach and how to teach for success. We need to make sure we have purchased all of the supplies, kits, books, equipment, and materials to begin the school year.

I’m tired and I’d really like to rest. But first, we have to get the money.

Posted by Roslyn Johnson Smith, Ph.D. at 2:44 AM | Permalink | 2 Comments | Recommend

Yesterday was an emotional time for me, with shocking ups and downs all day. The best experience was picking up the trophies, medallions, and ribbons for the Scholastic Awards Night which is coming up in two weeks. The worst was news that a friend and colleague, our school’s former principal, was seriously ill and had been hospitalized.

I was in Slidell, LA picking up the awards when I had a reunion with the store’s owners. Pre-Katrina, I did lots of business with them at their store in Chalmette, LA. When it was time to order trophies this year, I searched for them and was disappointed to learn that they had not returned to their store on Judge Perez Drive. Attaway’s Trophies was a family business and Ronnie, the owner, was wonderful to work with. I was never disappointed in our dealings. He could be counted on to get whatever we needed. The merchandise was always ready on time, usually earlier than the scheduled pick up date.

I had a chance to meet his wife, Janet, a local artist. I found their new location through a charter school connection with MLK charter. They asked about some of their best customers, former principals who had relocated after the storm. I took a stack of their business cards to share with friends who might be looking for awards for their schools.

While I was loading the 400+ awards into my car, I received a telephone call from my son. He had been reading a friend’s Facebook page and noted that the young man wrote that he was praying for his mother. My son called the young man—the son of our school’s former principal who left the school in December, following a painful period of decisions.

After hearing my son’s version of this mother’s health emergency, I called her husband. I still have her husband’s cell phone number programmed in my Blackberry’s address book, so I was able to talk to him briefly about her condition. Her husband, who worked for many years as a medical professional, carries the burden of knowledge about the possible outcomes. She is one of the healthiest people I know. She survived a serious operation. We are anxiously waiting for news of her recovery.

In spite of the separation when we parted ways professionally, I still care about the principal and her family. We had a close personal relationship for many years before problems arose five months ago. We have not spoken since she left the school. Once in awhile someone who knew of our close friendship will ask me if I had talked to her—did we “make up.” I have not; we did not. I regret that we have not been able to resolve our differences.

When I think about the hard work that I put into the organization of this school this year, I consider the cost to my personal life. It’s never been about money because I knew that Board members could not profit financially from the charter school. I “pay” for the opportunity to be on the Board. The sacrifice of time and energy, the stress and paperwork, and the hours of meetings and planning all come at a price. I consider the loss of friendship a high price to pay. It is no longer about who is right or wrong for me. It is what it is and we’ve moved on. However, I am praying that I will have a chance to talk with her when we are both ready.

Please join me in praying for my friend’s recovery and her family’s strength.

Posted by Roslyn Johnson Smith, Ph.D. at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

The Professional Development day went off without a hitch. The atmosphere at the Basin St. Station was exciting. The meeting was held in the 4th floor reception hall with a view overlooking the neighborhood. The breakfast menu blended traditional foods with health foods. Good coffee is a requirement in New Orleans. We feasted on scrambled eggs, grits, croissants, strawberries, cantaloupe, sweet pastries, bacon, orange juice and yogurt.

This was the first full day in-service for our faculty since school opened in August, with the exception of the meeting following the work stoppage in December. Today’s meeting was much more pleasant. Having been to several parties held in the renovated train station, I selected the setting because of the ambience, vicinity to the school, free parking and other amenities. We thought it would be a treat for the teachers to get away from the building and experience a training meeting the way other professionals do. I was there for the breakfast and the opening Ice Breaker, but had to leave before the guest speaker did her presentation.

Gayle Miller, the Director of our Region I Service Center in the state, conducted a session entitled “Accountability & Components of a Successful Instructional Program.” She discussed the steps to creating a strong instructional program, laying out a plan of action for next year. I hoped she could create a sense of urgency for the faculty. This is our baseline year for the School Performance Score. Our growth target will be set, in part, based upon where we test this year. I know the type of effort we will have to produce to meet our goal and I wanted the staff to come to the same realization. We’ll have to be better prepared and a lot more focused next year.

When Gayle finished her session, the school’s curriculum coordinator took over to review the Louisiana Comprehensive Curriculum. Most of the faculty members were familiar with the LCC, but a refresher was needed since, some of them had not really examined the documents since Katrina. I was conducting a meeting elsewhere, so I did not see this session either.

I returned in time for lunch and my own session. The luncheon menu included gumbo and rice, potato salad, assorted sandwiches (including vegetarian), brownies and soft drinks. The session was designed to be a fun, interactive session of Truth and Trust. We did a few exercises and demonstrations using volunteers and read an illustrated story on PowerPoint.

The funniest part of this was after playing “Catch.” Three volunteers each selected a colleague who was responsible for catching them as they trustingly fell backwards into the arms of the “safety net.” All of us have done this at one time or another in summer camp. One teacher, a very petite young lady, chose as her partner the principal who is a “plus-size” man. While she is a little more than five feet tall and probably under 115 pounds, he is well over six feet tall and at least 250 pounds. We all understood her strategy in selecting the largest man in the room to ensure that he was strong enough to keep her from hitting the carpet.

What they did not know that part II of the activity was “Reverse Catch,” in which the partners had to switch places. When I gave the instructions, the look on the little teacher’s face was priceless! She took off her shoes, stretched her arms and prepared to catch a mountain of a man. The look on the principal's face was even funnier. We couldn’t stop laughing. As a matter of fact, I’m laughing now—12 hours later.

My session ended with an original fable that I wrote while living in a little townhouse in Baton Rouge after the flood. I left after lunch, but I was told that the hard work slated for the afternoon, was tackled with sincerity. A pick-me-up snack of popcorn and cookies was available to keep the energy levels high until the 4:00 dismissal. The day ended with clusters of teachers developing strategies and a discussion of business for the remainder of the year.

I was very proud of the school leaders who prepared the day’s events. Tomorrow, I will let them know who much their high-level work reassures me that they are up to the job of improving student achievement. I have an idea that I’d like to propose for our opening of school institute. We’re going to raise the bar. If anyone can offer ideas that made a professional development session memorable, please share. You always have such great ideas.

Posted by Roslyn Johnson Smith, Ph.D. at 1:14 AM | Permalink | 2 Comments | Recommend