A Few Minutes Of Your Time

Just short of one year ago, we hosted an important aspect of our accreditation process, the Quality Assurance Review. The process calls for a team of educators to visit South High School to evaluate all aspects of our program. One area of deficit that was noted in the final report had to do with "input from stakeholders". In this case, the visiting team determined that we did not receive enough two-way communication. In other words, we provided a great deal of information to parents and students, but did not seek enough information from them.

We are attempting to rectify that deficiency. In the recent issue of "High Pointes", on p. 5 were instructions for parents and students to participate in a survey regarding South High School. We used sample surveys from the accreditation program (AdvancEd) and tailor-made them for our needs. There are separate surveys for students and parents.

When you go to the South webpage, right in the middle near the bottom is information about the survey. Just follow the directions, give us a few minutes of your time, and we will have the input we need. The information from students and parents can go a long way toward shaping our programs in the future.

Thank you for your time.

A Disappointing Ending

After a few days of reflection, I can tell you that nearly all of the Homecoming events were deemed a success. The remainder of the "spirit days" were lively and appropriate. The pep assembly consisted of new and different activities and kept the students engaged and excited. And although the weather was cool, the parade was very well attended by both students and community members. To top it off, the outcome of the game proved to be the stimulus that would propel the football team into the playoffs. All in all, nearly everything was perfect.

Unfortunately, we did have a slip-up at the dance. A handful of the more than 1300 students in attendance used alcohol prior to coming to the dance. In this case, the driver of a bus limousine could smell alcohol after the students exited the bus. Upon further investigation, he found numerous containers with alcohol.

We had no choice but to seek out the passengers on the bus. And unfortunately, most of the passengers registered a positive result for alcohol on a PBT when administered by police. This was disheartening.

I have to tell you that I am glad that our nation has taken such a strict stance on drinking and driving. We have benefited from that emphasis over the years. However, renting a limo should not be license for underage youths to drink alcohol. It's still illegal.

I wish I could wave a magic wand and eliminate the use of limousines for dances, especially something like Homecoming. It's not necessary, costs far more than it's worth, and creates a false sense of entitlement.

In a couple of weeks I'll probably look back at the Homecoming dance with less regret, however, right now it's still too fresh and I wish it had been different. Maybe next year...

Let's Hope For A Good Week

Last Sunday-Tuesday, I attended our annual convention for Michigan's secondary principals. While I was there, many conversations centered around discussions of the various Homecoming festivities. Nearly everyone in attendance had just completed their Spirit Week, were in the midst of it, or were awaiting it just like we were. Today, we celebrated the first day of our Homecoming Week, a week that is too often dreaded by high school administrators.

So far, we appear to be off to a good start. The first day of Spirit Week belongs to the junior class. From my observations today, they were very spirited but also very appropriate. Their hallway signs were most creative and should serve as strong role modeling for the classes to follow. Tomorrow will be the sophomores turn, with the freshman class slated for Wednesday. On Thursday, the seniors finally get their chance to show the entire school what senior spirit can be like.

At South, the students are typically well behaved. The activities create many fond memories, as evidenced by the student speeches at Commencement. Invariably, most of the students that audition to speak at Graduation make several references to Spirit Week and everything that comes with South's Homecoming. I guess that's the way it should be if the event was a success.

Thursday evening consists of the float parties, where many members of the respective classes gather to celebrate putting the final touches on the float. Friday is the official whole-school Spirit Day, complete with the pep assembly, parade and game. It makes for a full day for everyone, and the "worker bees" are often exhausted by the time the game is over.

Of course, the entire week culminates with the Homecoming Dance on Saturday night. We usually have more that 1200 students in attendance, not bad considering we have enrollment just under 1600 students this year.

I am hopeful the week will continue as it began. Spirited kids having fun, but all of it good natured. Now if the weather will just cooperate, the entire week can be deemed a success.

It Was A Challenge; It Will Be A Challenge

Today, we are hosting the second of our two "Challenge Days". This is an opportunity for nearly 100 of our high school students and 25 staff members (each day) to participate in activities sponsored by the Challenge Day organization. You may have heard of them before, as they have been featured on Oprah on at least two different occasions.

I was lucky enough to be involved yesterday, and to say the least, it was an inspirational experience. The facilitators from CA warned us that it would be a 'roller coaster' day, filled with highs and lows, and they were true to their word.

We were engaged in a wide variety of activities, so many that by the end of the day my energy was zapped. Students saw staff members do things they never dreamed, and staff saw students in a very different light. We laughed together and we played together and knocked down barriers along the way. It was an openness I have rarely seen in a school facility, and holds hope for long-lasting change.

The basic message is this...there are countless occasions where people are mistreated. This ranges from racist remarks, to homophobic harassment, to comments made about the differences in clothes we wear. We observe it often in school settings, yet we seldom do anything about it. We rarely show the courage to step up and stop the nonsense.

As a result of the activities, participants quickly discover that we are more alike than different, and that each of us have crosses to bear. But we were also taught that we can improve our lives by supporting one another and appreciating those differences.

It is up to us what happens next. The mantra for Challenge Day is to be the change. Unfortunately, we are limited to only 200 students this calendar year, or about 12% of our student body.

Some parents have asked me how the students were selected. Teachers made recommendations with the intent of selecting a very diverse group. We specifically strived to make sure that each diverse population at South was represented, from the skateboarders, to the geeks, to the jocks. We did the same for our ethnic population and attempted to select a group that represented our diversity.

There were students that came rather unwillingly, while others with a strong desire to participate were left out. We wish it could be different. We are hopeful we can continue this activity in subsequent years, but it will be dependent on both future funding and the availability of facilitators.

To sum it up, we laughed a lot, and we cried a lot. Although many hearts were laid bare at some point during the day, the facilitators made sure everyone was properly nurtured prior to leaving. Their talent and experience with this type of emotion was readily evident.

For me personally, yesterday was a challenge. Emotions were pretty raw at certain points of the day, but I am a better person today than I was last week. Now all of us have to carry the momentum forward, and that will be a challenge.