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.

On A Quiet And Peaceful Day

As I sit here on December 21st, it's amazing how quiet and peaceful this big building can be. We have a few contractors here finishing up a couple of projects, but for the most part there are few distractions with little noise.

The solitude even gives me the chance to listen to some Chip Davis and Mannheim Steamroller music to kick off the holidays.

I can only hope that each of you have a peaceful and enjoyable Holiday Season. Best wishes to everyone for a Happy New Year!

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

As some of you may know, I serve on the Board of Directors for the state principals' organization. We just completed two days of meetings in Lansing, and my head is swimming with some of the new information I have gleaned. And as I've mentioned in this space before, the level of accountability seems to have increased tenfold over the past 5-10 years.

At a meeting with the Assessment (Testing) Director for the Michigan Department of Education yesterday, we were apprised of new testing that will be here before we know it. While it sounds far off to say it won't take full effect until 2014, I can remember when Y2K sounded a long way off.

Recently, the state department "rolled out" new curriculum standards and benchmarks, primarily in the areas of English, Math and Science. The essence of these changes are that new requirements have been added to the curriculum and the curriculum is being pushed down to the lower grades. In other words, students will have to demonstrate that they know more than before, and they will have to know it earlier.

It won't be long before the MEAP that has been used at the elementary and middle school levels will be replaced by more rigorous tests. The testing style will also be dramatically different. Right now there are strict testing windows, by that I mean that everyone in the state is required to give the same test on the same day. The reason is that these tests are "computer-based", meaning everyone faces an identical set of questions so test security is of utmost importance.

In the future, the testing window will be the final 12 weeks of the school year. The reason for the flexibility is that the tests will be taken online and will be "computer-adaptive", meaning that the test questions will change based upon the ability of the student. The more able the student is, the more difficult the questions will be. The end result is that the tests will likely be shorter but the score will be much more reliable and a better gauge or true academic achievement.

In summary, much is changing. And as I stated earlier I have much to learn to stay on top of all of the changes. This much I know, the job of teachers and educators in general is far more difficult than ever before.

This Is Rare Air We're Breathing

This a great time to be a Blue Devil! While South has always been known as a great school academically, we haven't had a reputation for being dominant in some of the major sports. Sure, we have an outstanding newspaper, choir and instrumental music programs and other shining stars, but when it comes to athletics it has usually been the minor sports that have taken the lead.

I say this because tomorrow our football team plays in the Final Four. You have to go back almost 50 years (the '54 team was recognized as State Champs prior to a playoff system) to find a team that has reached this level.

This year's team has been on a rare journey to get where they are. First of all, we squeaked into the playoffs after losing our last regular season game, but have consistently played better as we moved through the playoffs. The experts always say that you should finish strong, and there is no doubt we have peaked at the end of the season.

Today, we will have a pep assembly. That in itself is a rare occurrence. Typically, our only 'pep assembly' is during Spirit Week and the purpose of that assembly is to honor all of the fall sports, the Homecoming court, etc. This assembly will be different because the primary focus will be the football team. The impetus for the assembly came from the student body at large, not the football players or coaches.

What is typical at South is the success of many of our other fall sport teams. The girls are competing today at the State Meet in Swimming and Diving, and the girls just completed an outstanding season in Cross Country. Our boy's Tennis team also finished very high in the state rankings. But maybe the best of the group is our girl's Golf team. Not only are they one of the top teams in the state, they are also young with even brighter futures in front of them.

All in all, it's been a most successful fall sports season. It's gratifying to see school spirit beyond the norm, and fun to watch student-athletes achieve such high levels of success. I hope everyone associated with the school is as proud as I am to be a Blue Devil.

Go South!

Day of Reckoning

Why the title? Isn't that kind of gloom and doom?

At South, it probably is. But for some students that have been underachieving or at least less than attentive, there may be a day of reckoning soon. I'm referring to the fact that report cards will be sent home with students for the 1st quarter in a couple of days.

By and large, South students do very well in their classes. There is strong support and high expectations from home, and that is carried over into the classroom by students. We are also blessed to have dedicated teachers that hold these same high expectations for students. The end result is a school where the majority of the student body is adequately and effectively preparing themselves for life after high school.

Since the advent of Pinnacle and Parent Connect, it is easy for parents to monitor the progress of their sons and daughters. If you choose, you can watch their attendance on a daily basis and make note of any missing assignments in class. For the parent that is invested in their child's education, the degree of transparency has never been greater. It's a far cry from the 'old days'.

I remember when the first update of a student's potential grade came with progress reports at mid-quarter. Until then, parents were often left in the dark unless they made a conscious effort to contact the teachers. And it was often too late by the time the progress report arrived home to make an improvement in the quarter grade.

Thankfully, those days are long gone. The level of accountability has dramatically increased over the last decade--for everyone. Students, teachers and even parents are held more responsible for the level of achievement, and much more promptly. It is a result of the "No Child Left Behind" legislation and the fact that technological advances makes access to data so much more available.

For your son and daughter, I hope it's a day of celebration at your house when the report card hits home. It will likely mean that all of us have been doing our job.

TimeTo Reflect

This morning, I had a press conference with student reporters from the "Tower". This is something I do regularly, but time slipped away this year and this was our first one. It's usually a pretty easy exchange of ideas between subjects I raise with them and questions they ask of me.

One of the first questions from students today was something like, "How has the year gone so far"? My response was that's it's been a good start, and I attribute that to a couple of major factors. First of all, we have had great leadership from the senior class. They set the tone at the beginning of the school year, and especially for Spirit Week. I have nothing but praise for the leadership of the class of '11.

Secondly, we've enjoyed a strong fall sports season. Believe me, the Homecoming assembly is much better when everyone feels the football team can win that evening. And that type of success has been enjoyed by other sports.

Our girls' cross country team and volleyball teams have enjoyed great seasons and we hope they can finish as strong as they started. Both boys' tennis and girls' golf enjoyed strong regular seasons finished very high in state competition. And tomorrow night the football team plays Detroit Cody in what we hope is the first of several playoff games. That type of success carries over to the entire student body and makes everyone "proud to be a Blue Devil".

One of the issues I raised with the students is that we are looking at renovating the bathrooms in the main building. Not a very glamorous topic, but one that would directly impact nearly everyone. We have a meeting later today with the architects and representatives of the Preservation Committee.

The major questions will be like this, What do we do about restoring, renovating, or replacing the marble walls and dividers? Can we afford it? On the one hand, it would maintain the look of the original construction, however, not many people can afford to use marble on walls any longer.

This is an old building and there is a lot of old piping behind those walls. It will be a major undertaking if changes are made, but compared to the rest of the building, the restrooms are in really bad shape. Nothing short of a major renovation will bring them back to life.

In summary, it has been a good start as we continue the work of day-to-day operations of a large high school. We try to celebrate our little successes while keeping an eye on the future.

Special Visitor Today

We were fortunate earlier today to receive a visit from the State Superintendent of Schools, Mike Flanagan. Of course, this was not without significant notice and an element of fanfare.

Mr. Flanagan is trying to visit a different district each month, and this month was GPPSS' turn. He began his day today at Poupard Elementary with a look at Title I program implementation, and then traveled to North HS for a visit to AP classes and to see firsthand the infusion of new classroom technology.

A luncheon was served in Cleminson during his visit at South, complete with musical accompaniment from a string quartet of South students. Another group of students from our Commercial Foods program prepared a great lunch for about 35 attendees, including a majority of the Board of Education. Following the luncheon, Mr. Flanagan visited one of our classrooms before making his final stop at Brownell MS.

During his speech to the luncheon crowd, Mr. Flanagan sang the praises of the district, across all levels. This comes from a man that has directed the most significant changes in K-12 education during my 38 years in education.

Mr. Flanagan was clearly one of the loudest voices behind implementation of the Michigan Merit Curriculum (MMC). This is the curriculum that takes full effect with the class of 2011, this year's seniors. Across the entire state, standards were raised significantly with the requirement of four years of math, and either Chemistry or Physics among three years of science instruction.

Frankly, those changes weren't that dramatic in a school system like GPPSS. However, for a significant majority of schools state-wide, it was a leap of faith to assume all students could complete this rigorous curriculum.

The purpose behind the changes was no secret. We had to create a more educated workforce in order to attract more business to our state. Long gone were the days of a manufacturing marketplace that could provide a healthy living wage for employees with only a high school education. We needed a stronger talent pool to attract new business.

I remember very well the outcry from many of my colleagues that served as high school principals when the legislation first passed. There was a great deal of doom and gloom, with predictions that our dropout rates would increase significantly. There were also many attempts to "water down" the MMC to make it more achievable.

Mr. Flanagan and few others stood tall against the protest. And the voices of protest were loud and clear--people didn't like the rigor of the new requirements!

Now here was are just a few years later and there are many success stories across the state. Students and teachers have stepped up to meet the challenge. It hasn't been easy, but it is getting done.

Accountability for educators has never been higher and distrust of the system has never been greater. Movies like "Waiting for Superman" don't help. It also doesn't help when we are experiencing such difficult economic times and there is such angst in all of our communities. People want someone to blame, and our schools become an easy target.

As I reflected on today's visit, I couldn't help but think how far we've come in a few short years. Teachers are working harder than ever before, and students are attempting and completing more rigor than ever before. It is a success story, and it was nice to get validation today from one of the principal architects of the change.

All in all, it was an enjoyable and gratifying visit.