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A Sweet Mission

A Sweet Mission

 

I once had a colleague who said his mission in life was to find the best donut in the country. So all his vacations and weekend trips included a stop at a donut shop on this quest. His travel pre-planning included research of all donut shops in the area, customer reviews and a travel guide to get him there. He never travelled to a city without a small town donut shop. He ranked each donut and charted the next step in his journey the minute he arrived home. There are moments when I feel a bit of envy in this simple yet tasty mission. I too am on a mission but one that on certain days does not taste as sweet or include any sprinkles.

 

                       

As a career educator and a part of a large school district, my team and I are on a mission every day to meet  the educational needs of diverse learners with excellence and in partnership with the community. Just as my friend has a plan in pursuit of the best tasting donut, the collective mission we are on requires a plan where our desires and our behaviors align. 

 

This alignment must begin with each staff member redefining what excellence looks like for students, teachers and district leaders. It involves examining research and using data to identify good practices and  then being free and transparent enough to try something new, fail and try again. It involves comparing our practices to those research proven great ones and then being willing to do something about it. It involves identifying the obstacles and creating a plan to remove them even if it means there may be push back, fear or uneasiness. It means an unbridled belief  that all students can learn and identifying what it is they need to learn and then letting them to be free to learn. This involves removing the barriers and self imposed obstacles of teacher isolation, rigid classroom structures and expecting all students to learn the same way at the same rate and the same things.

 

It includes recognizing that staff are a valuable piece of the message and working alongside  them to build trust and wide-spread ownership of the work. It includes following a process where all stakeholders have a voice, and to recognize that we aren’t just in the community but collectively, we are the community.

 

 It includes a coordination of resources that align to the need. When students are not learning do we spend our money on what matters in the pursuit of excellence for all learners or continue on the same path we’ve been on for years? Do we have a passion for our work and an urgency that student learning matters and we need to get this right for kids today?

 

There is not a person out there that would argue that a donut has more value than a child, but when I talk with my friend the smile that lights his eyes and the passion that his voice evokes is nothing short of energizing.Imagine a place where as educators we are as energized and passionate about student learning and the teacher’s eyes light up when her students taste success. That to me is a mission accomplished and the sweetest thing of all time.