Busy, But Gratifying

Much has happened since my last blog. Specifically, the past two weeks has been a whirlwind of activity comprised primarily of teacher interviews. Over the past nine days, I participated in 63 formal interviews and countless reference checks. The good news is that we have identified a very strong list of teachers that we intend to hire.

Going into the summer, I knew we had many big shoes to fill because of the 17 South teachers that opted for retirement. My greatest fear was that we might not find the high quality candidates I was seeking. Those fears have been put to rest.

In some ways, we have been the beneficiaries of a troubled economy. Whereas many school districts have been forced to make deep cuts and reduce staff, we have vacancies available where those young, but experienced teachers can land.

This influx of new staff makes me excited for the school year to start. I'm anxious to see them intermingle with our returning teachers and to watch the synergy that will no doubt evolve as the tradition of excellence merges with new and fresh ideas.

I feel very confident our new staff will enrich the atmosphere at South. They bring great energy, enthusiasm, and a strong set of teaching strategies that will engage students with the curriculum. We truly have been blessed!

Just As Expected

Here we are headed into the Fourth of July weekend, and things look just about as expected. The S-lot has already undergone a major renovation. The old surface has been removed, the fencing taken down, and the entrance widened. The construction crew is heavily invested in the process of laying down the base, first sand and now stone. We anticipate they will start to pour the cement curbs in about another week.

The courtyard between the main building and S-building has also been dismantled. By that I mean that the old cement has been removed and the contractors are preparing the surface for new walkways. There is no timeline yet for installation of the new cement or replacement of some of the damaged landscaping, but we should be finished before the school year begins.

In the main building, the first floor hallway is primarily a construction zone. More than half of the ceiling tiles and old lights have been removed, plywood covers the floor, and plastic covers the lockers and entrance ways. As I write this, the electricians are updating the electrical boxes and installing new conduit as needed. We anticipate that around the first of August we will begin to see new ceiling tiles and lights.

The multi-purpose room is also busy right now, getting a pipe grid installed to hang curtains. This addition will increase the flexibility for that space, allowing the dance mirrors to be covered when necessary, and areas to be sectioned off. The curtains were part of the original design, but we had trouble getting specifications for the correct piping.

And beginning the week of July 12, we will be conducting interviews to fill the various vacancies in our building. We anticipate about 6-7 full days of interviews as we begin to pare down our list of candidates.

The vacancies were just formally announced on the website yesterday, and already I've received numerous qualified applicants. Hiring strong teachers is one of the most important aspects of our job, and we take it very seriously.

Wish us luck, and enjoy the Holiday weekend.