It's Going To Be Very Impressive

One of the joys of the summer of '08 has been watching the progress of the new pool. To those of you that drive by the new structure on Fisher Road, you're only catching a glimpse of what will be one of the real jewels of the South campus. This is going to be a very visible and highly utilized facility that will serve generations of future students.

There has been real progress over the past couple of weeks in the appearance of the facility. For starters, the brick is nearly complete on the exterior of the building. They are placing the limestone on the main entrance this week, with the remainder of the brick soon to follow.

Inside, the hallway terrazzo is being poured as I write this update. The final coat of paint is being applied to entire pool facility, while the auxiliary gym is already complete with paint and just waiting for the floor to be installed. This gym will host countless practices for all levels, and will be used as a performance gym for many of the freshman level sports.

There is a large crew of men placing tile on the pool bottom and they will soon proceed to the pool deck. The locker rooms already have tile on the floor and they will soon start on the walls of that space.

The temporary parking lot that was located in the outfield of the baseball field has been removed and the area is being graded for installation of sod so the field can be restored. This should all be accomplished within the next couple of weeks.

This will be a facility that will make the community very proud. I know that it will be utilized day and night to meet the needs of swimmers throughout the Grosse Pointes. In addition, the building will have a fitness facility located in the lower level that will service all of our student-athletes for years to come.

The target date is still scheduled for Labor Day of this year, but even if the opening is delayed a bit, it will be well worth the wait to get top-notch construction of a first-rate facility. I believe that nearly all of us look forward to the opening of the new natatorium.

So What Do You Do All Summer?

Many people are often surprised when they find out I have little time off over the summer, usually taking just a week in July and a few scattered days elsewhere. I guess they can't imagine what a principal does when there are so few staff and students in the building.

Ironically, activity over the past few days is some of the most important work we do all year. Tim Bearden (North principal) and I, along with a committee of teachers, have interviewed ten teaching candidates over the past two days. In this particular case, we are looking for an English teacher for North H.S. and a science teacher that will travel between the two buildings.

We don't take this process lightly. I've often called it a $2 million investment, because a teacher might average $60K per year and will usually teach more than 30 years.

The process includes an initial paper screening of the large pool of applicants, a first round of interviews to reduce the list even more, and a second round of interviews of those we believe best fit the vacancy. In some cases, there will be a third round of interviews prior to the final recommendation. Then our candidate is sent over to central office for a final interview and subsequent job offer prior to official action by the Board of Education.

Fortunately for us, there are many applicants for the vacancies that arise in Grosse Pointe. For the recent English vacancy, there were almost 150 candidates that applied. Mr. Bearden conducted a first interview with 27 of them, and the larger committee interviewed nine of those candidates. From there, the list was pared down to a select few candidates for a third round of interviews.

Placing a highly qualified and enthusiastic teacher in front of the classroom is the best start we can give our students. From there is takes proper mentoring, collegiality and support from others in the department, and effective evaluation to insure continued success. We are hopeful that with our newly acquired high school teachers we have taken the first big step.

The More I Learn, The More I Learn I Have To Learn

Even though I'm a veteran administrator, the road to success seems to be constantly changing and is filled with more curves and off ramps than ever before. And just when I think I've come to understand the new road map, a newer version is printed. In other words, the more I learn the more I understand there is even more to learn.

For example, last week from Sunday through Wednesday, I attended the Summer Retreat sponsored by the state Principal's organization. The weather was great and the scenery was beautiful in northern Michigan, but there was also a great deal to learn.

The title of the conference was "Leadership That Works", however, it was really an intensive learning environment on the nuances of the ACT. As most of you know, the ACT now makes up the bulk of our state assessment, commonly called the Michigan Merit Exam (MME). This is the annual test given to all students in the spring of their junior year.

To do well on the ACT, it is imperative that juniors have taken the right classes along the way. That means a college-prep curriculum with the rigor necessary for strong academic performance. Over the first two years of MME testing, our students have done quite well. However, when students struggle, it is almost always because they are behind grade level in math and English.

We have been working with the middle school staff to make sure students enter the high school with the requisite skills. However, the task seems to be getting more daunting than ever. And as you might guess, these same students entered middle school lagging behind their classmates. We have to develop some type of summer learning experience that provides an opportunity for them to catch up with their peers.

What became most obvious to me during the sessions last week is that more than ever the reputation of our school will rest largely on two performance areas; 1) performance on the MME (ACT) and, 2) performance on Advanced Placement (AP) tests.

The task lying ahead of us is to make sure students are in the right classes, the correct standards and benchmarks are being taught in those classes, and students are prepared to take assessments in the format of the ACT. To do anything less is setting up our students, and ultimately our school, for failure. We will do better than that.

Another Successful Year In The Books

This is an unusual time of year in the school business. Nearly all of the adults are gone for the summer, as grades were due today at noon. Custodians are already hard at work moving furniture out of classrooms to prepare the floors for the fall rush of students. The gyms are full of bouncing balls as the summer camps are in full swing. Yet despite the flurry of activity, I often get a little nostalgic about the year just ended.

We were fortunate to have a beautiful evening for graduation. The weather was less humid than in the days leading up to the ceremony, and we graduated 428 seniors in less than 90 minutes. The student speeches were inspirational and the audience appeared appreciative.

The Commencement ceremony is the culmination of a great deal of hard work from a wide variety of people. Of course, students put in 13 years of effort to master the academics of an institution like the Grosse Pointe Public School System. Parents shuttle their sons and daughters back and forth to countless activities over that same time frame. Teachers must balance the needs of each individual student while trying to make sure to cover every standard and benchmark in the mandated curriculum that must be delivered to all students. Everyone has done their part.

The diplomas get ordered, the chairs are put in place, and the sound system is checked. We try to make sure the hedges are trimmed accordingly, and that the backdrop at South enhances this already majestic building.

When the ceremony is over, it is simply over. You can bet those 428 students will never be in the same place again. Despite all that has united them over the past four years, by 8:30 on graduation evening they will all be on their separate ways. Yes, most will go to the All-Night party, but they are just a bit different than they were a few hours earlier.

In a blink, the class of 2008 became "alumni" of South. I wish them well and thank them for the positive memories that have added to our fine tradition.

We're Getting Close...

Today was my last official day with the seniors from the class of 2008. This has truly been a special class here at South. They are not only the biggest class in recent memory, but they are also one of the most talented and spirited.

This class distinguished themselves back when they were freshmen, within the first weeks of school. They demonstrated a willingness to work together and an unbridled school spirit during their very first Homecoming Week. And they haven't disappointed me since.

Students from the class of '08 possess a great deal of talent across a wide range of interests. There are outstanding musicians, journalists and athletes within this group. They have separated themselves from other students across the state and nation through various competitions, yet have remained humble and always presented South and the Grosse Pointe community in a favorable light.

On the evening of June 12th, I will bid them a final farewell. I am very confident they will do well no matter what path they take for their postsecondary pursuits.

I want to publicly thank them for the leadership they have provided to our underclassmen and for the fond memories they have added to the South tradition. I would also like to thank the parents for producing such great kids, and I wish them well.

The Rumor Mill

Imagine my surprise when reading the police blotter in last week's "Grosse Pointe News" detailing a serious incident at South. The short story spoke of a supposed threat made by a student that he would return "with a gun and his homeys" following a fight with another student. That was the rumor mill, and frankly I don't know how that even reached the paper.

Here is the skinny on what happened...one student approached another in the cafeteria during lunch. A brief altercation took place, but punches were not even thrown. On the way out of the building, the first student would not stop when asked by school personnel. Student number two thought he heard from others that the first student said something similar to the quote cited in the paper. However, when administrators questioned students that were in the vicinity, we could never get anyone to validate anything close to the alleged threat.

In addition, when we met with the student and parent that supposedly made the threat, he reiterated that no threat was made. In addition, the parent never tried to hide the whereabouts of her son, as stated in the police blotter. On the contrary, the parent was most cooperative with school personnel.

This is another example of sensationalism that often reaches the newspaper and the media in general. It happens so often that I normally refrain from responding, however, in this case the information was unusually erroneous.

Just as we teach our students to critically read information they find on the Internet, I hope our parents read and listen with a certain skepticism information they encounter about our schools.

Dropout Factories?

If you've been reading the newspaper in Michigan, or following the local TV news, there has been much written about the dropout rate of Michigan high schools. Some in the news media have even referred to our schools as "dropout factories". A couple of weeks ago Channel 7 even dedicated an hour of prime time with guests such as Bill Cosby and State Superintendent Mike Flanagan to discuss the issue. This is critically important and deserves our attention.

I am happy to report the latest statistics for South High School. We were just informed of the "official" dropout rate for students from the class of 2007. In this case, South's graduation rate was 96.55% in comparison to the state average of 74.98%. For obvious reasons, we are proud of our graduation rate. However, we also realize that even one dropout is too many.

This isn't like the 1950's when the state graduation rate hovered around 50%, yet non-graduates (dropouts) could walk across the street and get a well-paying and career-long job with the auto industry. We have to do better, and all of us know it. At least all of the adults know it. Some teenagers still have to be convinced that there is life beyond next week and that decisions made today may impact their future.

On the right side of this blog page, under the 'Articles of Interest' there is a podcast titled, "The Haunting Impact of School Dropouts" featuring State Superintendent Flanagan. It is worth the 10 minutes of your time that is required to hear his message. The dropout rate should be a concern to all of us.