After several years of trying to join the admin world, I have finally been successful! As of September 1st, I will be the new Director of Curriculum/Business Administrator for the Gibbsboro School District. I am very excited, to say the least. I have had the opportunity to move things from my classroom into my new "office". It is amazing what one can gather after over twenty years of teaching...
So, this month's topic about creating joy/happiness is very timely. I have spent the last several weeks thinking about how I am going to transition into my new role. There are a lot of new things to learn with both of my new roles. How will I handle not knowing? How will I manage my time? How will I stay on topic of communicating feedback to the teachers? How will I push myself to stay present in every conversation? These are just a few of my thoughts as I sit down to write...
My new district is in year 3 of their standards based grading journey. They have completed eliminated percentages from their practice. This is done in every subject in grades Kindergarten to Eighth grade. I am very excited to be a part of this new adventure, since in my classroom I have been working towards this, in small steps, over the last few years. It is a practice I am completely on board with, because I believe it focuses on what everyone is most concerned with: what the student is learning.
So, I am excited in learning how to support the teachers and staff in reporting this out to our parents and the community. Also, I look forward to helping them create a curriculum that is appropriate, challenging, and fluid for our students. It is easy to get excited about something when you believe in it 100%.
The shift to standards based learning came from the teachers, so it was a "bottom-up" movement. I do know the administration did not attempt to push compliance from the top down. This should help keep everyone motivated on improving the practice instead of it being another top down movement where there would be more resentment.
I believe I can bring joy/happiness into this journey? I believe by doing my best to show the community outside of the school all of the great things that are taking place. Share part of a lesson. Share an interaction that I notice while walking the halls. Get into classrooms. Share. Share. Share. "Because if we do not share our story, someone else will, and we may not like how they tell it."
