I don’t think the general public has any idea of the challenges educators face routinely. In my tenure at Longfellow we dealt with almost every conceivable problem you can imagine.
Wednesday, October 15, 1997
It continues to be a wild year! We have now discovered that one of our ESL families doesn't have the right visa to attend school in the U. S. I had to meet with them and tell them that Friday would be their last day. That wasn't fun! The younger child has been quite a challenge so there is some relief that we won't have to deal with him although we really feel that he needs to be here in school. I checked the sex abuse registry on a parent and found that he was on it and is now living in the home after returning from prison. That is very frightening! Hopefully nothing will happen. Still searching for an SCI teacher we advertised again and I'm going to go over and look to see if there are any applications this afternoon. The district's Strategy 2 committee has come up with some options that the board can consider when trying to find ways to cut 1 million from the budget. It could become very heated and is headed that way already. Had the flu or something the last couple of days but am feeling better now. I hate being sick!
Having good staff is critical to the success of any school. I was blessed with good teachers and a strong support team while I was there.
Friday, November 14, 1997
Things have improved dramatically. We hired an SCI teacher who will start in December. Yeah!!!
Monday, November 17, 1997
Julie is doing a great job as secretary and is bringing more stability to the building with each new day. It is amazing the difference that she makes. We still have some troublesome students, but are making progress on those problems.
Monday, November 24, 1997
We have a short week this week because of Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to the break and the turkey. Things here seem to be getting better and better! I am really encouraged and relieved.
Monday, January 5, 1998
Back at it after winter break. Everything has been pretty quiet today. Hopefully 1998 will be quieter and calmer than the last part of 1997 was. We are going to be hiring another associate to work in the resource room . That will help out with the load there and give me another person for supervision during recess times.
It seems that every few years we have to tighten our belt in education. That is never a bad idea but when you are already a bare bones operation it’s hard to cut without getting some meat. I truly believe that if we could ever adequately fund education we would solve a host of problems!
Friday, January 30, 1998
There is still a great deal of turmoil in the district regarding budget cuts. The board will have to make some difficult decisions soon. I am hopeful that the state legislature will improve education funding which will in turn help us out. You can never count on that to happen, however. Things are going pretty well here at Longfellow. We still have some problems with student behavior and lack of parent support. We are working on strategies to better deal with that.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
90s30 When it Rains it Pours!
Some years move along very smoothly with few problems or disruptions. Some years don’t go so well and every so often you have a year where there are all kinds of problems. The 1997-98 school year was one of those. It is the kind of year that drives principals out of education. I lost my secretary that year and had to replace my SCI teacher. I was able to get another secretary in September but didn’t get the SCI teacher until December.
The journal entry below describes a few of the problems. There are many more entries like this. I altered this one only enough to hide the identity of the students mentioned.
Thursday, October 2, 1997
… The person I thought I had hired to take our SCI has now decided she doesn't want it. I was shocked when she told me. So now we are looking for someone to fill that position. I am hoping we can find someone soon but it is very difficult this time of the year. This is really tough on the kids... We have some difficult students to deal with. One is a 1st grader from the Africa who only speaks French. She spits, kicks, grabs, hits, licks and does about everything else to adults and students. We are working to find the best placement for her. Two girls who have been at Longfellow before have returned. They have caused a lot of trouble in the past. They often threaten and intimidate others. Hopefully we are not going to have problems with them this time around. Another child who is in 4th grade has had problems all the time she has been in school. Her mother doesn't help. She has been vocal in her dislike for me in the past but seems to be working with us right now. She pulled her older child out of Longfellow and enrolled her in Regina because she was convinced everyone picked on her here. I personally watched her on the playground for two years. I'm convinced that she dished out as much, if not more, than she got. It was very rare that anyone actually bothered her in any way. She rarely complained to me or her teacher about problems. I think what she wanted most was her mother's attention...
We seemed to be encountering more and more troubled children. Many were young and appeared to have serious problems. It was very disconcerting for us. We wondered where these kids came from and why all of a sudden we had so many in the school. It created a chaotic environment. The whole school seemed to be on edge and every time you dealt with one problem, two or three more popped up.
Stress builds up in staff, students and parents. Eventually, tempers flair and there are hard feelings. During those difficult times it is important to stay the course, keep your eye on the prize and know that these difficult times will pass.
The journal entry below describes a few of the problems. There are many more entries like this. I altered this one only enough to hide the identity of the students mentioned.
Thursday, October 2, 1997
… The person I thought I had hired to take our SCI has now decided she doesn't want it. I was shocked when she told me. So now we are looking for someone to fill that position. I am hoping we can find someone soon but it is very difficult this time of the year. This is really tough on the kids... We have some difficult students to deal with. One is a 1st grader from the Africa who only speaks French. She spits, kicks, grabs, hits, licks and does about everything else to adults and students. We are working to find the best placement for her. Two girls who have been at Longfellow before have returned. They have caused a lot of trouble in the past. They often threaten and intimidate others. Hopefully we are not going to have problems with them this time around. Another child who is in 4th grade has had problems all the time she has been in school. Her mother doesn't help. She has been vocal in her dislike for me in the past but seems to be working with us right now. She pulled her older child out of Longfellow and enrolled her in Regina because she was convinced everyone picked on her here. I personally watched her on the playground for two years. I'm convinced that she dished out as much, if not more, than she got. It was very rare that anyone actually bothered her in any way. She rarely complained to me or her teacher about problems. I think what she wanted most was her mother's attention...
We seemed to be encountering more and more troubled children. Many were young and appeared to have serious problems. It was very disconcerting for us. We wondered where these kids came from and why all of a sudden we had so many in the school. It created a chaotic environment. The whole school seemed to be on edge and every time you dealt with one problem, two or three more popped up.
Stress builds up in staff, students and parents. Eventually, tempers flair and there are hard feelings. During those difficult times it is important to stay the course, keep your eye on the prize and know that these difficult times will pass.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
90s29 The Heart of the School
I have always said that a school could operate a long time without a principal but hardly a minute without a secretary. Over the years I have been very fortunate to work with some great ones. The ones I worked with as a teacher were always competitent and very helpful. I had two secretaries at Mediapolis and they were terrific!
Secretaries are the first person people meet when they come into the building. They greet students and tend to their health needs and just about everything else. They serve the teachers and are often pulled ten directions at one time. They answer the phone, deal with angry parents in person and on the phone, and assist inept principals. They seem to weather it all with a smile. I have seen them nurture a sick child as if they were their own, handle a difficult parent, hand out medication, and answer the phone without skipping a beat. Their gentleness has brought tears to my eyes more than once.
When I came to Longfellow I had a terrific secretary who assisted in my transition to the district and community in many ways. I couldn’t imagine functioning without her skilled assistance, but the unthinkable happened as this journal entry documents.
Friday, August 29, 1997
… Chris, my secretary, also told me that she would be leaving in two weeks. That was devastating! She has been here since before I came and has been tremendously helpful to me and the students, staff, and families. We will terribly miss her! …
I was devastated when I wrote the above entry! I couldn’t imagine how I could ever find someone as competent as Chris and yet had that special compassion for kids. Besides that I knew I would have to do many of the things the secretary did until we found someone.
Monday, September 15, 1997
Today is our first day without Chris and one of the office associates is gone this morning, too. Everything is going Ok, but I'm sure it will probably not always be that way. I am looking at some more possible candidates for the secretarial position. I hope to interview soon and hire as soon as possible. Just having someone will make me feel a lot better…
My anxiety wasn’t any less when I wrote the above entry. We interviewed six candidates shortly after I wrote this. I had interviewed nine by myself first and then invited six back for staff interviews. We selected Julie Willman and she started on September 22. A day I always remember because I felt I had been rescued from all kinds of agony. I didn’t write about it in my journal until about 10 days later.
Thursday, October 2, 1997
…We have hired a new secretary and she is working out great! … I managed to complete the reports I needed to do in September and now I am turning a lot of that stuff over to Julie, the new secretary…
I learned quickly that Julie had all of the things I was looking for in a great secretary. I couldn’t have been happier!
Secretaries are the first person people meet when they come into the building. They greet students and tend to their health needs and just about everything else. They serve the teachers and are often pulled ten directions at one time. They answer the phone, deal with angry parents in person and on the phone, and assist inept principals. They seem to weather it all with a smile. I have seen them nurture a sick child as if they were their own, handle a difficult parent, hand out medication, and answer the phone without skipping a beat. Their gentleness has brought tears to my eyes more than once.
When I came to Longfellow I had a terrific secretary who assisted in my transition to the district and community in many ways. I couldn’t imagine functioning without her skilled assistance, but the unthinkable happened as this journal entry documents.
Friday, August 29, 1997
… Chris, my secretary, also told me that she would be leaving in two weeks. That was devastating! She has been here since before I came and has been tremendously helpful to me and the students, staff, and families. We will terribly miss her! …
I was devastated when I wrote the above entry! I couldn’t imagine how I could ever find someone as competent as Chris and yet had that special compassion for kids. Besides that I knew I would have to do many of the things the secretary did until we found someone.
Monday, September 15, 1997
Today is our first day without Chris and one of the office associates is gone this morning, too. Everything is going Ok, but I'm sure it will probably not always be that way. I am looking at some more possible candidates for the secretarial position. I hope to interview soon and hire as soon as possible. Just having someone will make me feel a lot better…
My anxiety wasn’t any less when I wrote the above entry. We interviewed six candidates shortly after I wrote this. I had interviewed nine by myself first and then invited six back for staff interviews. We selected Julie Willman and she started on September 22. A day I always remember because I felt I had been rescued from all kinds of agony. I didn’t write about it in my journal until about 10 days later.
Thursday, October 2, 1997
…We have hired a new secretary and she is working out great! … I managed to complete the reports I needed to do in September and now I am turning a lot of that stuff over to Julie, the new secretary…
I learned quickly that Julie had all of the things I was looking for in a great secretary. I couldn’t have been happier!
Sunday, October 04, 2009
90s28 Excerpts For My Journal
The 1997-98 school year was a challenging one! I will get to some of those challenges but first will share some journal entries from the beginning of the year.
Principal's Journal 1997-98
Friday, August 8, 1997
Came back to work this week after a very busy summer. Worked in the office all day Monday and on Tuesday morning. Paul Davis and I went to the SAI Conference in Des Moines on Tuesday afternoon and stayed until Thursday noon. The conference was uneventful. Went to an Apple session and a teacher evaluation session. The latter was interesting. We managed to put in 52 miles on our bikes riding to the Salorville Reservoir each day. Concerns right now are about the number of students we will have and how many sections we will have at each grade level. I also have to find and hire an intermediate SCI teacher and maybe a half-time fifth/sixth teacher. We also have to do all the preparation for the school year so things are going to get hectic here very soon.
Monday, August 11, 1997
We worked on the class lists today. Changing from five sections at first/second to four sections. We are planning on interviewing for the Intermediate SCI position tomorrow. One of the persons called this morning and said she wouldn't be coming because she has been offered another position. That leaves only two to interview. We advertised in the Register over the weekend so that might generate a few more. Things seem to be getting more hectic by the minute! This afternoon we are going over to West High for training with the new elementary database. It will be great but I'm not excited about messing with it right now. Chris has been working with it so we already know quite a bit about it. The session on the database went well! It will be very useful! The Press-Citizen has requested information from each school about ITBS. Because of the open records law we are obligated to give it to them. It could be the source of some local controversy. There may be a school-by-school comparison. That is not an appropriate use of the scores but the press doesn't understand that. We will just have to wait and see how it develops.
Tuesday, August 12, 1997
We interviewed two candidates for our intermediate SCI position this morning. Several teachers helped with this. We liked one but she is already under contract with WACO so it may be a problem. She is to call me back this afternoon. I think they will let her go pending finding a suitable replacement. We may have to use a sub for a while until she gets released. I hope we get her! If not I guess it's back to the drawing board because I don't think we want the other candidate. Several teachers have stopped in and started working on their classrooms. We will need to hire a 1-hour noon associate before school starts if possible. The person who did it last year, our Media Secretary doesn't want to do it this year. Hopefully we will be able to get someone who can help us out. The SCI candidate called and said that she needed until tomorrow morning. She needs to talk with her principal. I told her she could do that. It delays us a little more but I guess I have no choice if I want her. We had 10 new students register today. That makes our count look a lot better.
Wednesday, August 13, 1997
Wow! A lot has happened today. Our enrollment continues to grow. We are very busy keeping up with everything. I met with the other elementary principals, Barb, Tim, and Ann to discuss staffing based on the new numbers. It now appears that we will be able to staff Longfellow with five first/second grades and three and a half fifth/sixth grades. That is an increase of 1.5 teachers over what we thought we would have. That is great but we need to move fast in getting those teachers. I'm waiting for the CAO to tell me whether they will be new hires or transfers. Either way we are a lot better off than I expected we would be.
Friday, August 15, 1997
Whoaaaaa! Things are crazy now!!! We had administrator inservice all day yesterday. The session was good but we all wanted to get back to our buildings to work or do some hiring. ITBS scores for each building are going to be published locally and that has everyone concerned because they are misunderstood and misused. Some custodians in the district have been involved in a drug ring and that was made public yesterday, too. This afternoon we are interviewing for our first/second position. We interviewed two and the staff was split on the decision so I made the final decision and will offer the position.
Principal's Journal 1997-98
Friday, August 8, 1997
Came back to work this week after a very busy summer. Worked in the office all day Monday and on Tuesday morning. Paul Davis and I went to the SAI Conference in Des Moines on Tuesday afternoon and stayed until Thursday noon. The conference was uneventful. Went to an Apple session and a teacher evaluation session. The latter was interesting. We managed to put in 52 miles on our bikes riding to the Salorville Reservoir each day. Concerns right now are about the number of students we will have and how many sections we will have at each grade level. I also have to find and hire an intermediate SCI teacher and maybe a half-time fifth/sixth teacher. We also have to do all the preparation for the school year so things are going to get hectic here very soon.
Monday, August 11, 1997
We worked on the class lists today. Changing from five sections at first/second to four sections. We are planning on interviewing for the Intermediate SCI position tomorrow. One of the persons called this morning and said she wouldn't be coming because she has been offered another position. That leaves only two to interview. We advertised in the Register over the weekend so that might generate a few more. Things seem to be getting more hectic by the minute! This afternoon we are going over to West High for training with the new elementary database. It will be great but I'm not excited about messing with it right now. Chris has been working with it so we already know quite a bit about it. The session on the database went well! It will be very useful! The Press-Citizen has requested information from each school about ITBS. Because of the open records law we are obligated to give it to them. It could be the source of some local controversy. There may be a school-by-school comparison. That is not an appropriate use of the scores but the press doesn't understand that. We will just have to wait and see how it develops.
Tuesday, August 12, 1997
We interviewed two candidates for our intermediate SCI position this morning. Several teachers helped with this. We liked one but she is already under contract with WACO so it may be a problem. She is to call me back this afternoon. I think they will let her go pending finding a suitable replacement. We may have to use a sub for a while until she gets released. I hope we get her! If not I guess it's back to the drawing board because I don't think we want the other candidate. Several teachers have stopped in and started working on their classrooms. We will need to hire a 1-hour noon associate before school starts if possible. The person who did it last year, our Media Secretary doesn't want to do it this year. Hopefully we will be able to get someone who can help us out. The SCI candidate called and said that she needed until tomorrow morning. She needs to talk with her principal. I told her she could do that. It delays us a little more but I guess I have no choice if I want her. We had 10 new students register today. That makes our count look a lot better.
Wednesday, August 13, 1997
Wow! A lot has happened today. Our enrollment continues to grow. We are very busy keeping up with everything. I met with the other elementary principals, Barb, Tim, and Ann to discuss staffing based on the new numbers. It now appears that we will be able to staff Longfellow with five first/second grades and three and a half fifth/sixth grades. That is an increase of 1.5 teachers over what we thought we would have. That is great but we need to move fast in getting those teachers. I'm waiting for the CAO to tell me whether they will be new hires or transfers. Either way we are a lot better off than I expected we would be.
Friday, August 15, 1997
Whoaaaaa! Things are crazy now!!! We had administrator inservice all day yesterday. The session was good but we all wanted to get back to our buildings to work or do some hiring. ITBS scores for each building are going to be published locally and that has everyone concerned because they are misunderstood and misused. Some custodians in the district have been involved in a drug ring and that was made public yesterday, too. This afternoon we are interviewing for our first/second position. We interviewed two and the staff was split on the decision so I made the final decision and will offer the position.
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