Thursday, June 10, 2010

It’s Summertime!

Note: I started this on June 1 and did not get back to it until nine days later. That would explain a few things with this article!

One more day of school for the students, and another for the staff and then it is officially summer! It has been a very good school year from my perspective and while I still have a lot to get done before I can take a few days to get away, I have enjoyed working with the staff and students. So much has happened that I am not going to go through the year month-by-month, or event-by-event. But there are a couple of things I want to mention.

John Rothlisberger is a wonderful man and has done a very good job moving our district through a difficult decision-making process. It is important for people to understand that in tough times it takes people that are willing to make tough decisions to do what is in the long-term best interest of a group, or in our case, a school district. I respect John R. as an administrator and a human being. I am thankful that I had the chance to work with him. He has restored my faith in educational leaders!

I must admit that I am at least a bit anxious about the middle school in the fall. You are most likely not aware that both Kathy Bauer and I have worked with middle school teachers to put a structure in place for next year. There is a lot to do, but I am confident that when the doors open for students in August, we will be ready. I just need to work on convincing myself of that! The primary reason for my faith that this will happen is because of the great group of teachers that will be in place at the building in Fayette. They are true pro’s and I have no doubt that as we work the kinks out, your children and mine will receive as good of an education as one can find in this part of Iowa!

The staff and students have been outstanding this year at North Fayette High School. I know that with staff cuts at the end of the year, it made for a tough situation for some. In spite of that, I was impressed with how the teachers kept the focus on student learning and that the students kept after it as well. Throughout the year I was made to feel welcome and I hope I had as positive of impression on the people in the building as they had on me.

It’s been a great year to be a Hawk! I look forward to seeing everyone again in the fall!

Note: I may include a few entries in the blog this summer and will definitely return in August. My hope is to improve upon this year and provide interesting and relevant things for you all to ponder!