Could+it+be+April+already???

"Every weekday morning, the students arrive at the school's doorstep, waiting (and even eager) to enter. We are heartened and strengthened by the continuing existence of the place we call school, and would like to celebrate those components of literacy that seem to have survived the years of turmoil, no matter what label we choose to describe our programs. We need to state up front that we have no fear of change; but how sweet it is to see in each new educational movement those teaching/learning events that remain significant staples of all powerful literacy classrooms." //The Literacy Principal//, by David Booth & Jennifer Roswell

I feel like the fact that I am finally writing for the first time in 2011 is like a giant April Fool's joke...sadly it is not. I feel badly that I have not kept this wiki up as I had intended. I chalk it up to holiday insanity leading straight into us having to sell our house and move - a process (the sale, not the move, which thank goodness went fine) that is still hanging over my head. Between that, accreditation, and, well, life (!) it has been a busy time. I thank you all for your continued patience as I get the hang of this new role - I am so enjoying working with all of you.

The above quote comes from a book I just started called //The Literacy Principal.// It made me think of all that we're doing this year and our reasons for it - and this balance of old and new ideas. I have loved our meetings as a division, and the steady progress we have made over the course of the year in developing our literacy vision, exploring different options that either complement or contrast with what we already do, visiting other schools and discussing what we saw, and celebrating the good work that we're all doing together. I am really looking forward to our visit with Angie Rosen, who will be helping us shape our professional development and next steps as we move to implement a balanced literacy program. She will be here from April 27-29 and will be observing and hopefully meeting with each of you at some point. She will then return on June 9, the Thursday after the kids are finished, for a full-day overview of the program. Following that, I'm sure that there will be some summer work to do, and a few of you have expressed an interest in helping with that. I envision next year to be a year of dabbling, trying a few components here and there and then "launching" the full program in the fall of 2012. There is so much to be done between now and then, but I have to say I get so excited when I think about it, and about working together as a team to achieve our goals (cue sappy music).

I had the wonderful opportunity to attend an institute for new and aspiring school leaders at the Harvard Graduate School of Education last week. It was an intense four days, and was mainly attended by public school administrators and "central office" personnel, with a smattering of independent school leaders and a Jesuit priest who looked like Chris O'Donnell and became my new best friend...but I digress. I loved thinking and working and reflecting in that setting, and I left feeling grateful that I'd be returning to a campus, faculty, and community that I truly love. I also felt grateful for that connection with the public school world, and for the reminder that kids are kids are kids, no matter where they are. I left my last course and walked over to the Harvard Coop bookstore, which was kind of like being hungry and going into a grocery store. Needless to say I have a giant stack of books that I lugged home and am determined to read - but I'm happy to share too.

On my way into Cambridge every day, I would drive by this awesome billboard on the Mass Pike. It was a great closeup photo of a man with what I can only describe as a totally blissed-out smile on his face. And then in huge letters next to him, the words: THE GREATEST LEADERS ARE TEACHERS. Mind you, it was a billboard for Lesley University, my alma mater, but I just loved it and thought of all of you whenever I passed it.

You are!