Is summer over already?

Welcome back to 2016.17

As Mid- August approaches you must be asking yourselves “Is summer over already?”.  Though the county fair and a few weeks of summer vacation remain, the start of the 2016.17 school year is just around the corner.  Whether you stayed local, traveled, or worked this summer, I hope you as educators have been able to spend quality time with family and friends.  I have spent the majority of my weekends and evenings at the ballpark, enjoying great baseball and softball with Alden, Avery and Brennan.  Their adventures and antics translate into family memories that I wouldn’t trade for anything.  Great times with family and friends will help all of us find purpose as we reflect and plan for the work we will do for students when we return in August.  That work is important, challenging, and ever changing!

As I write this post, schools all across the state and nation pour over student data from last year.  Test data is just one piece of information that we use to inform our purpose.  Though the data may not be as strong as we are accustomed to,  it is crucial to remember that this “event” and our response to the data will determine our outcomes.  This is called the R Factor: E + R = O.  We must take the time and invest the energy to guarantee the outcomes our students and community deserve.  After all, our #1 goal is  Prioritizing the learning of ALL students.  As a district, our “above the line” responses will impact student achievement and growth.  

As an administrative team and in many buildings, we will be talking about Above the Line by Urban Meyer and discussing its implications for our organization. There will be more entries to follow, that is for sure! Good luck to those opening school and let it be another great year.