LEADING THROUGH LISTENING

Two of education's predominant phrases for why students should be doing what they are doing in schools are: "It worked for me" and "because I said so". Obviously, if you read this regularly, you know that I am not a fan of either phrase as I encourage our staff and students to challenge the status quo every day. More importantly, in the wake of our regions second high school tragedy within the past month; I am really concerned about when we are going to become an institution of acceptance rather than an institution of compliance? A current topic that is all the rage is bullying. Over the past several years, our society as a whole has made an attempt to diminish and rid itself of bullying. 40, 50, 60 years ago; bullying was an accepted part of society and no one questioned it. It was a normal "rite of passage" in most communities throughout the world. The civil rights movement is another example. It should not require the murder of great civic leade...

By now, you may know that the District has recently released some information about an upcoming Capital Project referendum. You may also recall that for the past few years, we have been working on determining the best way to correct some of the structural issues at Rome Free Academy. During the two years of developing some ideas (as well as making sure needed work such as the roof at RFA, flashings that were omitted from the original build, electrical issues in the auditorium, and underutilized spaces due to changes in education over the years gets addressed); we have successfully hired a new architect, hired a construction management firm to help manage the project, and begun to work collaboratively to develop an educational and project plan that is both innovative and cost effective. Staley is our last elementary school to be renovated, and unfortunately, it needs more than a renovation. The building rests in a federal flood plain and as you know from the fall, it is completely s...

This week, I read one of the more inspiring stories involving a child that I have read in recent months. The story involves basketball icon Steph Curry and a 9 year old California girl who used the power of social media in a positive manner. For those that haven't seen/heard of this yet, the story can be found here , but the lowdown is that the young girl wrote a letter to Steph Curry; simply asking why his new shoes weren't available on the Under Armour website for girls. What happened from there, you can most likely figure it out. The amazing thing is that a 9 year old was able to take to Twitter in a positive way to simply advocate for young girls everywhere and make a simple request to a powerful person that she had never met or spoken to. The outcome was positive for everyone, including those just using social media to stay in touch. In a society where most adults use social media to bash others, criticize, and put people down without maybe knowing them or without havi...