Flying The W

"Tough times don't last, tough people do" - Rod Raymond

February and March are often challenging months in Education. Evaluations, the upcoming assessment season, and budget are just a few items on the full plate of an educator. This is very real at our school where we have all of those items on our plate. Couple that with a principal selection process, raising the bar of instructional excellence, and the unknowns that come with being in Year 5 of Priority Improvement and on the Colorado Department of Education clock and you have a recipe for stress and toxicity. We were not going to allow any of this to distract us from our mission. We were not going to allow our culture to be eroded by things outside of our control. We are the Paris Suns are we are Rising! We are the Light!! 

Remember always, Your attitude is under your control. Your attitude is your altitude! 

This Friday at our staff meeting we shared the above poster message with all of our staff. We also wrote personal messages to every staff member sharing one awesome thing we've observed them do for kids. Each one was shared publicly at our staff meeting. Taking the time to recognize every individual for the value they add to our community was time well spent. Offer your staff authentic praise. Listen to them and value their opinions. Tell them how much they mean to you, their students, our school and the community. Todd Whitaker speaks to the need to "minimize the criticize" and to "raise the praise". You can have a high bar of excellence, hold people accountable, and still offer them praise. My wife tells me "you will catch more flies with honey". She's spot on! You are going to move closer to fulfilling your mission and vision as a school when you listen to and support every member of your team, add value to them, and let them know just how much you value their contributions. When facing a difficult situation sometimes the best thing we can do is just stay positive, have faith, and keep moving forward. The best way to weather any storm is to do so, together. The most important resource within your school isn't that new curriculum or shiny Chrome Book cart, it's your teachers! Invest in them and praise them for the tremendous work they do. 

If you are reading this today and are questioning the morale in your school, I offer you this. Morale is personal choice. You decide your attitude. You decide your words and actions. Take ownership and make your school culture what you want it to be. That choice is yours and yours alone. If you don't like something, change it. That change, however starts internally with you. Your view of the world around you is shaped by the world within you. How you think influences how you act. When you see a displacement of blame on outside forces that's a failure to realize that real motivation comes from within us, not outside us. Every morning you wake up you have two choices. The first is to continue to sleep with your dreams. The second is to wake up and chase them. It all starts with you! Passion and energy are choices. Make the choice to make your classroom, your school, your community, your home and your life filled with passion, energy, positivity, and hope. It's all you! 

This is also the time of year when baseball practices begin. My youngest son Austin was in tee ball last year. The next time you watch a tee ball game pay close attention to every child that reaches first base. You will see excitement, jubilation and sense a accomplishment. Think about your classrooms. Think about your school. Think about your staff. How do you create that reaching first base feeling for everyone in your school community? This matters every day, especially in February and March as those challenges arise. Be intentional. Reaching first base matters. If you want to get the runner to reach home plate and score, they need to reach first base! Small wins every day lead to large wins for everyone within your school community. You have to win small if you desire to win big. Take some time today as you plan for the upcoming week to intentionally plan small wins for everyone you serve. Flying that W will raise morale, improve culture, and build closer to the instructional and academic outcomes you desire for everyone you serve. 

The behavior of today determines where we go tomorrow!  Fly that W within yourself! Fly that W for everyone you serve! Fly that W for your school! Fly that W for your community! To quote my brother Hamish Brewer "Be Relentess". Be relentless in your pursuit of excellence. Be relentless in assuring everyone you serve flies a W every single day. Win. Within.  Doing so is the catalyst to achieving your hopes and dreams!