October 16, 2009

First and foremost, I want to thank you all for a terrific job with our evacuation drill this morning! In planning the drill, we had hoped for one of those cool, crisp, sunny fall days. Instead we got fog, mist, and COLD! (We all have a good excuse for a bad hair day.) We always learn from these drills (that’s the point!) We’re pleased with the way the drill went, and we take comfort in knowing that in a real evacuation situation we would have a clear procedure and a safe place to relocate our students. We hope the hot cider and hot chocolate waiting for you when you got back were just reward for your efforts!

Monday I attended a Logan County Families and Children First Council committee meeting. The Council is embarking on a data-collection process whereby they identify community needs and set a specific plan to address those needs. I’ve been asked to serve on the “Young People Succeeding” Committee, which will gather data to determine success rates of our youth in various school and community programs. We were asked what data we could provide about our students’ success, and I was very proud to share that we do collect a significant amount of data on our students. Of course we have our Performance Measures data which is required for both the State and U.S. Departments of Education. But they were also impressed with the amount of internal data we’re collecting to determine how we can better serve our students. I’ll look forward to having our data included as part of the report. While it will certainly identify our challenges, I know it will also tell a great story about our student successes!

Monday evening I attended the Champaign County FFA Administrator’s Dinner as a guest of our Agriculture Education programs at Graham. What a nice evening! The students “ran the show” and had clearly done a good job of planning. It was nice to see so many administrators and other school personnel from across the County show up in support. The keynote speaker was from the Ohio Farm Bureau and his topic was current ballot Issue 2. I learned a lot about this issue and agriculture in Ohio in general. I won’t try to influence your vote, but I hope you’ll read up on both sides of the issue if you’re not familiar with it—and talk to some local farmers—before you vote.

I serve on the Logan County United Way Board, and this year I’ve been ask to contact small businesses to encourage them to support a campaign within their businesses. I’ve been doing so (along with other Board members), and I can’t tell you how many times the door has been opened for me because these businesses are aware of our programs, have hired one of our students, have had employees trained here, or have employees serving on advisory committees. It’s good to experience this evidence of the “circle of influence” of our District and the quality programs we offer!

Robin Curley, Animal Management Technology teacher, shared an e-mail with me that she had received this week from a former student. It read, in part (and I’ve not corrected for grammar):

I was in your animal care class in 92 and 94.I hope you remember me because wow I can't forget about you. You was a awesome teacher. You don't know how much you mean to me. I was abused in every way you can think of at home it was hard but you always put a smile on my face each day and made me feel like I was someone.
Also when I was in school I wanted to learn better and my parents just thought I was dumb. They would not try to help me get better. You always try to help me. You made me feel like the other kids. Thank you.

I can remember as a teacher that hearing from a former student and knowing I’d made an impact was the truest compensation for teaching. I’ve said before and I’ll say again—never underestimate the impact you can have on a student with the smallest acts of concern and kindness. Thanks for sharing, Robin!

I’ve gotten my flu shot, have you? It was pretty painless, actually. We were fortunate enough to have a flu-shot clinic for our staff here at the Bellefontaine Campus on Tuesday. Many thanks to Amy McCarthy, Health & Safety Coordinator, for organizing this clinic!

On that note, have a great weekend—stay warm, dry, and healthy!