Making a Difference for Kids

I recently read the following comment by Mike Murphy, a principal in Maine for thirty years, “I became a principal because I felt that I could help underserved kids better in that role.”

I thought about that comment on this Friday evening as I wondered why my energy was a little low. Yes, it was a long week with a lot of meetings. I have a lot of weeks like that though. Then, it hit me. I hadn’t been in a classroom since I dropped by Park Terrace Tuesday morning.

The work of the week was extremely important to current happenings in the district, as well as the future of the district. I met with administrators, teacher leaders, parents, legislators, board members, business leaders, and community members on a variety of topics. We met to conduct budget planning for the future and identify efficiencies, to discuss strategic directions of the district, to learn more about emerging technologies and its influence on our students and staff, to explore business partnerships, to review student assessment data (good news – improving data), to provide information regarding the possible implications of pending legislation, to review student discipline issues, to study enrollment and demographic projections, to review progress on various projects in the district…

The work was interesting and important. Yet, the reason I do this job isn’t any one of these things alone. The reason I do this work is kids, and knowing the work I do makes a difference for thousands of kids each day, even if I’m not working directly with them. That's why the highlight of my week was Tuesday morning when I spent time in classrooms at Park Terrace.

Sometimes people assume that a school administrator moved out of the classroom because he or she didn’t want to teach. I loved teaching, and still view myself a teacher. I moved into administration because I want to make a difference for young people. I am proud to say that the administrators I work with hold this same view.

So, in our work with teachers and staff in the district, with parents and community members, it’s all about aligning our collective efforts around making a difference for our almost 5,000 students. It’s about providing the support to our teachers and staff to ensure that each of our students feels valued and successful.

There, just writing about working with our students gave me some energy back. Have a great weekend.