Transition Time

A long time ago a mentor of mine told me that running a school was "like changing a tire with the car still moving". Since I first heard that comment, I've often felt there was a lot of truth to it. However, I'm not naive enough to think the same couldn't be said for many businesses and organizations.

Anyway, here we are at the midpoint of the school year already. At the same time students are prepping for exams, they are also looking ahead to select classes for next school year. Today is a dichotomy of sorts. The hallways are unusually quiet because we have 90-minute periods to allow for a comprehensive exam, yet at the same time the counselors are scurrying to make sure everything is ready for the scheduling process.

Building a master schedule for a comprehensive high school is like putting together a large, complex puzzle. There will be over 11,000 courses requested by our students that we then divide into about 400 individual sections. And quite a few of those courses will be offered only once per day, i.e. Symphonic Orchestra, Pointe Singers, and AP Physics.

We will do our very best to make sure that these so-called "singleton" courses are not placed in the same class period if there are students that want both offerings. However, no matter how hard we try, there are always a few conflicts that are unavoidable.

So during this transition time, I ask for two things; 1) Assist your students with exam preparation as much as possible without placing undue pressure, and 2) Help them choose their courses for next year very carefully. Once the master schedule is assembled and staff are assigned, there is little wiggle room for schedule changes.

I wish you well with both endeavors.

When You Need It Most

For anyone that lives and works in and around GP Schools, the past few weeks have been unsettling and upsetting for many folks. I'm speaking particularly of a few employees, but the impact has also reached some of our parents. It simply hasn't portrayed our community in its best light and didn't lead to the positive Holiday Season many of us would like to have had.

So earlier today, after a succession of meetings dealing mostly with problems, I received an email from "out of the blue". It came from a former student-athlete of mine from more than 25 years ago. As far as I can remember, it's the first contact I have had with him in more than 20 years. His message was brief, but powerful for me, and it simply stated at the end that "you do hold a special place in my life".

That former student now has three kids of his own and lives in Indiana. He coaches his two oldest in a form of Neighborhood Club and uses some of the same drills that I used back when he was a player.

We also referenced a major project that he turned in for my World History class. Becuase of the uniqueness of the situation, I can still remember the title of his project and the substance of it.

This is my point in writing this now, I have often told teachers and coaches that we never know when we impact someone's life. We have to treasure our time with them, because something that might be inconsequential to us may turn out to be vitally important to them.

And the reason for the title of this entry? When I was most in need of a pick-me-up, it arrived with just a few words from someone long ago.