Starting Over: A Post-Katrina Education

FINAL BELL

Wed, 28 May 2008 20:51:10 -0500

I wanted to make my last entry in the “Starting Over” blog distinctive by detailing a chronology of the last week of school. Unfortunately, everything was happening so fast that I did not have time to write about it. Today, I am reserving the time for this special piece of work. It is so important that I am pushing back everything on the desk, including submitting invoices for my consultant’s salary that help feed my family. Nourishing the intellect is a more valuable use of time and energy.

Kindergarten Graduation
Our Kindergarten teachers really know how to plan a celebration. The entire auditorium was decorated with larger-than-life figures of students in graduation garb. There were balloons and hanging plants. Trees and flowers decorated the stage. At 9:00 a.m. on Friday, May 16, 2008, the auditorium was packed with parents, grandparents, and siblings of the graduates. Parking was scarce on the blocks surrounding the school. I arrived just in time to intercede between two proud mothers who threatened to ruin the program as they argued over a seat near the front of the assembled crowd. Emotions were high as we waited patiently for the students to enter. At long last, the final corsage and ribbon were pinned on the last of sixty-two anxious five-year olds.

The students entered in measured steps to the strands of Pomp and Circumstance. A few students led the “Pledge of Da Legions” and three others sang the national anthem. Parents stood up for the pledge but sat through the anthem—no one told them to remain standing. It was something to ponder at another time, but I was next on the agenda. My remarks for the “Occasion” were less than a speech but more than a few statements about why we were there. My “Rules for Success in School” which I shared were based upon experience raising my own children.

The students performed songs, poems, and dances. Certificates and awards were presented and the principal made closing remarks. He encouraged the parents to stay actively involved in their children’s schooling and invited them to visit often. The families moved to the basement classrooms where they were served cake and punch. It was a beautiful, traditional ceremony. Next year, we will probably move the ceremony to a larger place, maybe a neighborhood church. If not, we will have to limit the number of guests each student will be allowed. We really needed admit cards for the Kindergarten Graduation; imagine that.

Eighth Grade Recognition Ceremony
The Eighth Grade Recognition Ceremony was a gathering of the “senior” class and their loved ones on Friday, May 16th. I had envisioned a candlelight ceremony with the students dressed in suits and beautiful dresses. I imagined them singing a class song and a few inspirational speeches. In my dream ceremony, parents would be presented with “I am a Proud McDonogh 42 Parent” ribbons, students would receive their “graduate” trophies, and the Class of 2008 would present the school with a memorial gift. We would have a class photo to hang in the Hall of Fame (display space TBD), and everyone would enjoy light refreshments before tearful goodbyes. Maybe next year.

As it turned out, one teacher planned the program, almost single-handedly. Following a processional by the students and a welcome speech by the eighth grade chairperson, the Salutatorian gave reflections. I don’t know what happened to the Valedictorian. The chairperson presented awards and the principal made remarks. A PowerPoint of the 8th grade students was the highlight of the program. One of the students put the piece together.

Some of the boys were dressed in new jeans and designer tee shirts instead of dress slacks, and ties. They came to the ceremony unsure about their status in the class and not knowing whether they would be allowed to participate. All of them sat in the back of the auditorium instead of on the front row with their classmates. The news about the LEAP tests was not good for them. These were students who had taken the tests and failed last year. This year, although they showed progress, they failed again. The boys will be assigned to the next grade if they attend the summer remediation program and retest one more time at the end of June. Since they will not be returning, I wanted them to participate in the closing ceremony.

I took pictures of the event; the pictures are worth thousands of words about our first class of promotees. The students’ names were not typed on the back of the quickly assembled program. The auditorium was only two-thirds full. The entire ceremony was over in an hour. Surprisingly, everyone was very pleased with the turnout and the entire event. I accepted the situation for what it was and I am grateful for the effort put forth by the staff, but we can (and will) do so much better.

Four More Days
Over the weekend, I thought about the routines and rituals that make school days special in some institutions. We had not planned a closing ceremony for the staff that went through so much this year to turn a new school into a distinctive place. The principal suggested catering a luncheon to be served while he presented the testing results. I thought it was an important topic, but too somber for a closing meeting.

He and I discussed awards for the teachers. Although he was reluctant to open that can of worms, out of concern that some people might feel left out by recognizing other individuals, I disagreed. We started making plans for the final meeting. I volunteered to coordinate it for the principal because he was really too busy to plan one more meeting. As a matter of fact, everyone at the school was too busy. The closing of school was overwhelming for all of us, but we prayed and worked our way to a successful end.

My most important task was to begin writing letters to each employee. There were two prototypes. One letter congratulated the employee for a successful year and offered a job for 2008 – 2009, usually with a salary increase. The second letter thanked the employee for working with us and noted that he or she would not be rehired for 2008 – 2009. Rehire offers were made to everyone who had a Satisfactory Personnel Evaluation and a recommendation from the principal. Teachers who were not certified, rated as “Needs Improvement,” or deemed a poor fit for the school received the second letter. Some of these teachers were encouraged to reapply and accept jobs that fit their qualifications. Others were simply told goodbye and thanks. It was not easy to write goodbye letters to teachers that I genuinely like. However, the principal is charged with assembling the staff, not the Board. He was both kind and respectful as he explained why some of my “favorites” would not be recommended to return. Done. Once again, I was glad to be the Board President and not the principal of the school.

Pre-Kindergarten Promotion
It was an unexpected honor to be asked to say a few words at the Pre-Kindergarten Promotional Exercise scheduled for Monday, May 19th. I didn’t know that a program had been planned and actually didn’t think it was necessary. Afterwards, I was glad that the teachers and principal disagreed. The brief, well-organized program was a delight!

The teachers started at 9:00 a.m., right on time. Following the march on to the stage, the students did the pledge and a welcome song. I gave the same speech to the Pre-K audience that I had given on Friday to the Kindergarten assembly. This time it was even shorter. The students recited a poem and sang a few songs before being awarded their promotion certificates. One of the parents whispered to me, “You have some wonderful Pre-K teachers.” I smiled and nodded. Immediately after that compliment, the students did a song and finger play to the children’s classic, “Itsy Bitsy Spider.” They sang the song in English and repeated it in Spanish. I cried tears of joy, gratitude and pride. One of our goals is to teach all of our students to speak conversational Spanish beginning next year. This group did not wait to get started.

As the students sang the Barney song, “I Love You,” I was thinking the same thing about Claire, Travis, Barbara, and Cynthia, our wonderful Pre-K teachers and para educators. It was a pleasure to welcome forty students who closed the program with the song, “We’ll be Going to Kindergarten in the Fall”. I was impressed!

Happy Birthday, Gian!
Tuesday, May 20th was my son’s birthday. I had planned a special dinner including his favorite dessert, homemade apple pie. Luckily, he had a basketball game that night. All of my day was spent between end of year planning activities and some work assignments unrelated to the charter school. I was tired because having spent so many hours at the school every day, each night I had to stay up late doing assignments related to my consultancy clients.

We were planning the faculty luncheon for Thursday and determining year-end extras for teachers. Teachers were receiving their next to last paycheck on Thursday. The checks included extra pay to the teachers who tutored students in the after school LEAP Remediation program. Their extra checks ranged from $82 to $1,700 depending upon their hourly wage and the number of sessions they conducted. Before we rehire anyone for the summer program, I want to see their record of success with the students who took the tests in the spring.

We also paid one-time $5,000 bonuses to eight teachers who transferred from RSD to TCSA last year. These teachers would have earned retention bonuses, had they remained in their RSD assignments. Although they did not negotiate the bonus in their salaries, as one astute teacher had done, the Board thought it only fair to grant all of the transferees this equal payment. Only one teacher mentioned the promise of the bonus and requested it at the time of hire. Based upon the principal’s recommendation, she received her bonus several months ago.

I also spent time figuring out how to document teacher activities that would earn points on our pay-for-performance system. Teachers can earn from $0 to $1,000 in this plan. We only wanted to collect their data last week; payment will be made by June 30th.

The OK Corral
Wednesday, May 21st was the last day of school for the students. I received notice that our heretofore well-behaved sixth grade students were threatening to bring guns and knives to school to fight with the fifth and fourth graders. Some students threw eggs and paint on the cars of their teachers. We were able to clean off the cars before any serious damage resulted from the vandalism.

I remembered one year when a student at my old school egged my new car on the last day of class. I drove up and down every street for ten blocks in each direction. I went to his house looking for him and left messages with all of the students I saw playing in the neighborhood. My message was simple and deadly, “Tell Henry that Mrs. Smith is looking for him.” Finally, I went back to the school. I never saw the student again, but when I left the building that afternoon, Henry’s mother and aunt had carefully washed my car, without my knowledge. I’m sure they delivered the message to Henry.

The principal wanted to hire extra security guards and a police patrol to ride around the neighborhood on the final day of class. I can’t believe that these children would be crazy enough to bring weapons to school on the last day—as if we’ll never see them again or don’t have their home addresses. I suggested that the teachers be placed on duty on all corners and down the block on each side of the building. Students who threatened others should be retained until their parents retrieve them after dismissal. The principal had already told the students to leave their book bags at home for the last day. He also planned to use metal detector wands to scan all of the students who were making threats. I hate the appearance of high alert security because it makes the school look like a crime scene. But, I wouldn’t second guess the principal if he felt the need to increase security. I went to bed at 3:00 a.m.

See You Next Year
The last day of school was calm and orderly. There were no attacks on students or assaults on teachers. No one set the building on fire. They even stopped pulling the fire alarm (a disturbing behavior that lasted three days the week before, until our administrative intern brought it to a halt). Students received their final report cards and a newsletter from the principal. Some children received special letters of information about the summer programs.

We will have three programs running simultaneously in June. The LEAP Remediation Program is mandated by the state for students in 4th and 8th grade who failed the high-stakes tests required for promotion to 5th and 9th grade. Our Intervention Clinic is for rising 4th and 8th grade students who scored Approaching Basic on the iLEAP tests administered to this year’s 3rd and 7th graders. We want to give them a jump on the coming year. The other program is an enrichment plan for 100 students in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th grade. Students with good behavior are being selected for this program. Because so much attention was directed to those who misbehaved, we think these students have earned something extra. We are also looking for students who may qualify for the gifted and talented classes we want to offer next year.

I did not go to school on the last day of class. I did not go to school on the first day of class either. Both days ended without a hitch.

Hurrah for the Teachers!
Thursday morning, I was driving through blinding rain trying to pick up a plaque and awards from Attaway’s Award Center in Slidell. I don’t like driving in the rain and I hate driving across Lake Pontchartrain. The principal acquiesced to my desire for a big celebration for the teachers. Our luncheon was held at the beautiful Basin St. Station, where we had our recent Professional Development day. Lunch was pork medallions, sweet potato casserole, salad, green beans, rolls, and dessert squares.

The agenda included opening remarks from yours truly. I had not explained to the staff why we advertised so many jobs in the newspaper a few weeks ago. There was a rumor that the Board planned to fire all of the teachers who participated in the sick out in December. One of the parents mentioned that she’d seen the ad for everyone’s positions in the Times-Picayune. I intended to give the explanation during the PD day several weeks ago and forgot to do it. I’d heard the rumors about my “vindictive nature” and I knew that several teachers were waiting for the other shoe to fall. I figured that we could show the truth them better than I could tell them. I hoped the individual letters offering 94% of the certified teachers a job for next year would put that disgusting rumor to rest.

The business manager explained final payroll procedures and the schedule for payment. Some of the teachers will be getting record amounts of money this summer. We are paying teachers for their unused sick days. The attendance awards will range from $0 to $1,800.

The principal gave an encouraging End of Year Report detailing test results and plans for remediation and curriculum alignment next year. He themed his presentation, “The Best is Yet to Come.” Our administrative intern gave a few details about the summer programs and solicited teachers to work during the month of June. All three programs will be managed by teacher leaders. Two of the programs were created at the suggestions of teachers. This is what I envision when I think about charter school possibilities.

The program ended with the awards. The principal compromised with me on the teacher recognition idea. Leadership Team paperweights were awarded by the Board Vice President to thirteen members of the staff who met monthly all year to make decisions about governance in the school. We also recognized a Volunteer of the year. Ms. Hester Cottles volunteered on all but three days this year. She refused my offer of a regular job, stating that she liked to come when she felt like it. Her attendance record was better than most teachers. I plan to solicit her for a position on the Board of Directors.

Our teacher of the year, Sondra Auzout was awarded a plaque and a gift certificate to a popular restaurant. She is a beautiful person and a delight to work with. I wanted to send her picture to the Times-Picayune with an announcement, but every shot has tears streaming down her face. She was so shocked by the honor from her colleagues that she could not stop crying those happy tears of joy. Neither could we.

Farewell Edweek.org
There were many topics that I could have written about in this blog that I did not choose to share with the general public. I’ve tried to be honest in my representation of the events at McDonogh 42 Elementary Charter School this year. If I committed any sins, they were sins of omission. My goal was always to tell the stories of our journey in ways that would teach others about our struggles and successes as they learned about our challenges. I did not expect to learn as many lessons as I was taught by the responses of the readers. Thank you, new friends.

Humbled and Grateful
Whenever anyone responded with a comment to one of my entries, I received a notice via email that stated something like this message, “A new comment has been posted on your blog Starting Over: A Post-Katrina Education, on entry #4542 (Party Over Here).” Depending upon what I had blogged about most recently, I mentally sealed myself for painful verbal attacks, misrepresentations, and misunderstandings. I psychologically exposed myself to accusations, emotional charges and even name-calling in a very public forum. So many people from my professional life were reading the blog (although most did not comment in that arena) and emailing me encouraging messages that I thought about writing even when I did not have time to sit and chronicle what was going on in post-Katrina New Orleans. I hope to continue hearing from them via email at rjsmith52@aol.com.

Thank you to all of you readers in cyberspace for taking this journey with me from October 2007 to May 2008. One of my readers wrote “I imagine you have experienced the healing effect in writing, in telling your story, your truth, in feeling heard and valued.” He was correct. It has been a unique professional growth experience for me. I sincerely appreciate the opportunity given to me by Jeanne McCann and Caroline Hendrie, the editors of Education Week who allowed me to reflect on my efforts in this public forum without censorship or sanctions. I am eternally grateful to Lesli Maxwell, the EdWeek writer who initiated the invitation to me for this experience. They are courageous people. Finally, thank you parents, teachers, staff, students, and board members associated with Mc 42. You allowed me to learn, live, and love through this important work we completed together. Ciao!

Congratulations!

Wed, 14 May 2008 22:55:40 -0500

Four hours ago, Board members, Tracie, Madonna and I, had the privilege of presenting awards to a few hundred students at our school’s first annual Scholastic Awards Ceremony. The auditorium was filled to capacity for this special event. One of the teachers did an outstanding job of decorating the room for the end of year assemblies. Giant sized students in graduation caps and gowns, spring flowers, and other figures adorned the walls.

In anticipation of the overflowing crowd of proud parents, the scholars were not seated in the auditorium; there would not have been enough room. Instead, we started the program with the “March of the Scholars.” Students marched into the room to the musical strains of Pomp and Circumstance as we applauded their entrance. There were enough students to span three sides of the auditorium.

The awards were distributed quickly and the children didn’t seem to mind standing up instead of sitting down. Awards were presented for twelve categories: Perfect Attendance and Meritorious Attendance, Excellent Conduct, Citizenship, Effort, Gold and Silver Honor Roll, top scholarship in Reading, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies and the Outstanding Student. As their names were called, students received their awards from one of the Board members and took a place on the stage to be photographed. After the presentations, the scholars repeated their march, this time holding their trophies, medallions, pins, ribbons, and certificates aloft for all to see. It was a wonderful experience.

We learned a few lessons after doing this for the first time. I was especially proud of the way the teachers worked together for a smooth distribution of more than 400 awards. I am truly grateful for their extra effort to make this a unique occasion for our best students. It will be bigger and better next year. Congratulations, Scholars of McDonogh 42 Elementary Charter School.

Prayers Answered

Sat, 10 May 2008 02:56:27 -0500

The operation on our former principal was a success. She has survived a pulmonary embolism, cardiac arrest, a medically induced coma and more. Now she is “out of the woods.” Thank you for all of you prayers.

Racing Against the Clock

Sat, 10 May 2008 02:44:40 -0500

In the past, I have always loved the closing days of school. Not because it signaled the end of the session, but because it was a time to assess what had been accomplished and begin planning for the next year. It was like getting ready for New Year’s Eve. In addition to the awards programs, promotional exercises, graduations, end-of-year parties, Teacher’s Appreciation Week, volunteer recognition celebrations, and other special events, we had the test scores to measure our progress.

This year, we are doing all of those things, but the year is ending too quickly. Even this blog is ending too fast. There are so many things that I did not have time to write about that it will be hard to stop telling the stories of McDonogh 42 each week. Writing for Education Week has been a blessing in helping me to sort out what would have been stewing in my mind. I’ve been reacquainted with colleagues from my past and met new friends on-line because of the edweek.org connection. It will soon be a thing of the past also.

The principal is completing evaluations and making recommendations for rehires. He is also interviewing potential staff for next year. His leadership team can complete the many inventories and records requests by May 22, the last day of school. I am working with the Business Manager on next year’s budget and new vendor contracts for custodial services, maintenance services, lawn maintenance, waste management, insurance, child nutrition, transportation, security, retirement and health benefits. That’s when she is not attending technology training for a multitude of new programs.

We still have two huge grant applications to submit in the next few weeks. It did not help to learn that a number of other charter schools are in the same boat. People always think that the major problem with public schools is a lack of money. For us, it’s a lack of planning time to develop a comprehensive strategy and then apply for the money while completing the day-to-day tasks of running the school. I have hope that we’ll be able to finish the applications, but it will mean putting in some long hours starting tonight. I’m determined to do my best to make sure we have the resources to begin some new initiatives for 2008 - 2009.

If we don’t complete at least one of the applications, we can’t fund the summer clinic for rising fourth and eighth grade students. This week we received the first state test reports. As I suspected, the fourth grade scores were not good, but not terrible. About 30% did not pass English Language Arts and Math. This was slightly higher than the RSD averages for the high stakes tests. They will have to attend summer school and retake the LEAP tests at the end of June. I anticipate that about half of the summer testers will pass and qualify for promotion. Of the 60 students in that grade, probably 10 will have to repeat the year. The failure rates were higher in Science (42%) and Social Studies (50%), but these are not high-stakes tests. We did worse than the RSD averages in these subjects. I don’t have the statistics on the initial testers and the repeaters yet, so it’s premature to discuss where we are in our baseline year.

Given the disruptions we had and the difficulty of an inaugural year, I am satisfied that we can begin working in earnest. Had we done the diagnostic testing that I wanted to do at the beginning of the year, I think the staff would have developed a sense of urgency that I did not feel this year. The three fourth grade teachers were in place at the beginning of the year and they stayed focused on their work. All three of the ladies were experienced and willing to take on the extra stress of teaching in a high-stakes grade. Unfortunately, we did not have basic things such as maps, globes, science kits, etc. until well into the second semester. I also don’t think they focused on what the state’s web site offers in the way of model lessons for Science and Social Studies. The content is not that difficult and the students should have performed better. I plan to take a look at their lesson plans to see what was being taught. I am willing to guess that they taught by the texts, not the state’s list of grade level expectations. It’s also possible that the students were further behind than we figured. Without the fall diagnostic evaluations, we’ll never know.

The eighth grade scores were all worse than the RSD school averages, with the exception of Math. I was surprised that the failure rate was only 23% compared to 39% in comparable schools. The students missed a lot of classes in the fall and the math tutoring was almost nonexistent for much of the time. However, they did have the benefit of two math teachers who really knew their stuff. The reports for Science and Social Studies were dismal. It’s been chaotic for the 8th grade students all year for many reasons. I’m not surprised that they learned very little. Just this week, their field day activity was canceled because of rampant disruptive behavior.

We are already planning a summer clinic for the rising fourth and seventh grade students. I think they need more time to catch up on what they have missed in the last few years. We have also planned the LEAP remediation program for students who failed fourth and eighth grade. Too many of them are already repeating the grade, having failed in 2006-07, the rules mandate that they must be assigned to the next grade. I don’t like social promotion; however, what can we do with 8th grade students who are on their way to their 16th birthdays? We also need to create individual plans and start small group tutoring earlier. We have to do a better job of professional development to ensure that the teachers know what to teach and how to teach for success. We need to make sure we have purchased all of the supplies, kits, books, equipment, and materials to begin the school year.

I’m tired and I’d really like to rest. But first, we have to get the money.

In Prayer

Fri, 02 May 2008 12:27:47 -0500

Yesterday was an emotional time for me, with shocking ups and downs all day. The best experience was picking up the trophies, medallions, and ribbons for the Scholastic Awards Night which is coming up in two weeks. The worst was news that a friend and colleague, our school’s former principal, was seriously ill and had been hospitalized.

I was in Slidell, LA picking up the awards when I had a reunion with the store’s owners. Pre-Katrina, I did lots of business with them at their store in Chalmette, LA. When it was time to order trophies this year, I searched for them and was disappointed to learn that they had not returned to their store on Judge Perez Drive. Attaway’s Trophies was a family business and Ronnie, the owner, was wonderful to work with. I was never disappointed in our dealings. He could be counted on to get whatever we needed. The merchandise was always ready on time, usually earlier than the scheduled pick up date.

I had a chance to meet his wife, Janet, a local artist. I found their new location through a charter school connection with MLK charter. They asked about some of their best customers, former principals who had relocated after the storm. I took a stack of their business cards to share with friends who might be looking for awards for their schools.

While I was loading the 400+ awards into my car, I received a telephone call from my son. He had been reading a friend’s Facebook page and noted that the young man wrote that he was praying for his mother. My son called the young man—the son of our school’s former principal who left the school in December, following a painful period of decisions.

After hearing my son’s version of this mother’s health emergency, I called her husband. I still have her husband’s cell phone number programmed in my Blackberry’s address book, so I was able to talk to him briefly about her condition. Her husband, who worked for many years as a medical professional, carries the burden of knowledge about the possible outcomes. She is one of the healthiest people I know. She survived a serious operation. We are anxiously waiting for news of her recovery.

In spite of the separation when we parted ways professionally, I still care about the principal and her family. We had a close personal relationship for many years before problems arose five months ago. We have not spoken since she left the school. Once in awhile someone who knew of our close friendship will ask me if I had talked to her—did we “make up.” I have not; we did not. I regret that we have not been able to resolve our differences.

When I think about the hard work that I put into the organization of this school this year, I consider the cost to my personal life. It’s never been about money because I knew that Board members could not profit financially from the charter school. I “pay” for the opportunity to be on the Board. The sacrifice of time and energy, the stress and paperwork, and the hours of meetings and planning all come at a price. I consider the loss of friendship a high price to pay. It is no longer about who is right or wrong for me. It is what it is and we’ve moved on. However, I am praying that I will have a chance to talk with her when we are both ready.

Please join me in praying for my friend’s recovery and her family’s strength.

A Beautiful Morning

Thu, 01 May 2008 01:14:51 -0500

The Professional Development day went off without a hitch. The atmosphere at the Basin St. Station was exciting. The meeting was held in the 4th floor reception hall with a view overlooking the neighborhood. The breakfast menu blended traditional foods with health foods. Good coffee is a requirement in New Orleans. We feasted on scrambled eggs, grits, croissants, strawberries, cantaloupe, sweet pastries, bacon, orange juice and yogurt.

This was the first full day in-service for our faculty since school opened in August, with the exception of the meeting following the work stoppage in December. Today’s meeting was much more pleasant. Having been to several parties held in the renovated train station, I selected the setting because of the ambience, vicinity to the school, free parking and other amenities. We thought it would be a treat for the teachers to get away from the building and experience a training meeting the way other professionals do. I was there for the breakfast and the opening Ice Breaker, but had to leave before the guest speaker did her presentation.

Gayle Miller, the Director of our Region I Service Center in the state, conducted a session entitled “Accountability & Components of a Successful Instructional Program.” She discussed the steps to creating a strong instructional program, laying out a plan of action for next year. I hoped she could create a sense of urgency for the faculty. This is our baseline year for the School Performance Score. Our growth target will be set, in part, based upon where we test this year. I know the type of effort we will have to produce to meet our goal and I wanted the staff to come to the same realization. We’ll have to be better prepared and a lot more focused next year.

When Gayle finished her session, the school’s curriculum coordinator took over to review the Louisiana Comprehensive Curriculum. Most of the faculty members were familiar with the LCC, but a refresher was needed since, some of them had not really examined the documents since Katrina. I was conducting a meeting elsewhere, so I did not see this session either.

I returned in time for lunch and my own session. The luncheon menu included gumbo and rice, potato salad, assorted sandwiches (including vegetarian), brownies and soft drinks. The session was designed to be a fun, interactive session of Truth and Trust. We did a few exercises and demonstrations using volunteers and read an illustrated story on PowerPoint.

The funniest part of this was after playing “Catch.” Three volunteers each selected a colleague who was responsible for catching them as they trustingly fell backwards into the arms of the “safety net.” All of us have done this at one time or another in summer camp. One teacher, a very petite young lady, chose as her partner the principal who is a “plus-size” man. While she is a little more than five feet tall and probably under 115 pounds, he is well over six feet tall and at least 250 pounds. We all understood her strategy in selecting the largest man in the room to ensure that he was strong enough to keep her from hitting the carpet.

What they did not know that part II of the activity was “Reverse Catch,” in which the partners had to switch places. When I gave the instructions, the look on the little teacher’s face was priceless! She took off her shoes, stretched her arms and prepared to catch a mountain of a man. The look on the principal's face was even funnier. We couldn’t stop laughing. As a matter of fact, I’m laughing now—12 hours later.

My session ended with an original fable that I wrote while living in a little townhouse in Baton Rouge after the flood. I left after lunch, but I was told that the hard work slated for the afternoon, was tackled with sincerity. A pick-me-up snack of popcorn and cookies was available to keep the energy levels high until the 4:00 dismissal. The day ended with clusters of teachers developing strategies and a discussion of business for the remainder of the year.

I was very proud of the school leaders who prepared the day’s events. Tomorrow, I will let them know who much their high-level work reassures me that they are up to the job of improving student achievement. I have an idea that I’d like to propose for our opening of school institute. We’re going to raise the bar. If anyone can offer ideas that made a professional development session memorable, please share. You always have such great ideas.

Spring Fever

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:04:45 -0500

Do the students have Spring Fever? Have some of our teachers moved at a clip that was too fast and so hard that they are running out of gas before the end of the school year? Are there so many fires to put out that one administrator can’t possibly stay on top of them? I think the answer to all three questions is “Yes!”

First the children:
I have always noticed that the changing weather makes children shift their behavior. Our weather has been so crazy for the last month that we don’t know how to dress. The temperature goes from the 80’s to the 30’s within the same week. As soon as we put our sweaters away and pulled out our tee-shirts, the weather man was predicting freezing temperatures on the North shore.

Every year as spring-like weather approaches, the students get antsy and anxious for summer vacation. They can’t sit still. They run around the school and make more noise than usual. They don’t follow the rules that have been in place all year. Surprisingly, we’ve had some exceptionally calm and quiet days. Then, they go nuts and do unbelievable things. Friday, there was a fight after school. Our middle school students have been fighting—right in front of the entrance to the building—mere steps away from the security guard’s station. As the pugilists performed, the audience cheered them on.

We had a visit from the Hornets Basketball Team last Friday for another book giveaway. The students loved the decorated bus that transported the championship ballers and really enjoyed the celebrity visitors. I was at the school between 9:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. holding a meeting in the library with members of a university/district partnership. Everything was very calm. But at 3:00 it looked like a totally different school. TGIF! I don’t mean “Thank God It’s Friday.” It stands for “Teen Girls In Fights.”

Second the teachers:
I saw far too many upper-grade students going home today without books. No homework on Tuesdays? I don’t think so. We don't want to be one of those schools where teaching and learning stops as soon as the LEAP tests have been finished.

I am concerned that this year was very hard on some of our staff. The middle school students are the most challenging and their teachers are the worst for wear and tear. All of them are new to New Orleans. We had to change their afternoon schedule, increase the supervision between classes, and step up the assistance to the enrichment teachers. The rest of the school seems okay. I really admire the teachers for hanging in and continuing to search for ways to maintain an effective atmosphere, especially the new, inexperienced teachers who have not had the benefit of mentors or intensive professional development.

Third the administrators:
The principal can’t do everything alone. It was a mistake to open school with one certified administrator. We will definitely have an assistant principal next year. We hired a retired principal to help with the teacher evaluations. Right now we are getting some supervisory help from an administrative intern, the curriculum coordinator, and the administrative assistant. They are going to have to hold daily strategy meetings to stay ahead of the students.

I hope this entry does not sound as if I am giving up on any of our folks. Contrary to that idea, I embrace the challenges of keeping students interested, disciplined, and focused in the final month of school. We have a professional development day next week and I am looking forward to hearing about the closing of school strategies for May. In my principal experience, we always had the Principal's Reading Challenge to keep students involved. I hope the faculty can come up with something interesting for this group to do.

There are so many great things going on at t he school right now. But, I decided to blog about the spring fever because it is going on all over town. Last week, I called four schools to ask if the students were going berserk. The answer was “yes” in all but one. One teacher that I talked to blamed the administration for bending the rules. In another school, the principal said the teachers were burning out and she had to prod them to work hard until the end of the year. A third principal claimed that the students were “not the same” as our pre-Katrina children, these being rougher and tougher. Parents are being blamed for not doing their share of the child supervision at home or school support when needed.

When I left this afternoon, after a meeting with a potential business partner, two honor roll students were receiving suspensions. Another student who tried to push up a group fight left with his mother, before having a suspension conference with the disciplinarian. Mom was in a hurry. The social worker will be visiting his home tomorrow to deliver his suspension notice.

It is always amazing to experience the unrest of spring in April, the relief of school's closing in May, and the lazy, calm days of summer school in June. Go figure.

I am allergic to pollen, grass, and dust. My allergies are worse in the spring than in other seasons of the year. It’s only one of the reasons that I hate spring time. You know the other reason.

Supply and Demand, Amen

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 23:27:13 -0500

As I searched the aisles of Home Depot a little while ago looking for chandelier cleaner, I spotted the famous McDonogh 42 Elementary Charter School Second Grade Teacher extraordinaire, Paulette Larkin, with her grandchildren making a purchase. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating her fame, but not her extraordinary status. She’s an excellent teacher who just happened to be pictured in a story on the front page of the Times-Picayune today. Okay, maybe it didn’t just happen, the principal selected her for the photograph, but she looks great in her photos. The photographer didn’t just happen to be at our school either. He was there because the newspaper was doing a story on teacher salaries in New Orleans.

According to a report from the Louisiana State Department of Education, our school has one of the highest pay schedules in the city’s public schools. Although the figure reported in the PEP report claims we budgeted an average of $55,698 per teacher, that number is higher than what we actually pay. I’m not sure what is added to the calculations once we submit the actual annual salary for each teacher, but it increased the numbers from the $48,156 we calculated in October. I noticed that the head count of 28 did not match the Full Teacher Equivalency figure of 24 in our report. That would make a big difference. I also don’t know the amount added to each teacher’s salary for earned supplements which are input by the state. Even so, we would have been in the top ten no matter how you figured it.

I think that is good news. Since there is so much competition for good teachers everywhere (but especially here), I think it is great for our staff to know that they are highly regarded and justly compensated for their work. For the first time in a long while, I am not embarrassed about what we pay our educators. Someone told me if and when the charter school movement cools off and we return to one district the high salaries will be gone also. I hope not. It doesn’t have to be. We are not using the one-time federal dollars to pay our salaries because we want to be able to sustain them in the future. We are only using reoccurring funding for teacher salaries. One of our goals in operating the charter schools is to model effective urban schooling. Learning how to handle the money is a high priority and an important lesson.

Here’s the link to the news report.
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-10/1208150443152620.xml&coll=1

Awards Day Plans

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:56:57 -0500

I’m going to have some fun before I call it quits for tonight. I am going to create the Awards Day form for our teachers to list the students being recognized for outstanding performances. The reviewers need it by tomorrow morning, so I am on a deadline. This blog will be shorter than usual.

Last week, while talking with the school’s principal, we discovered that we had different ideas about what an awards ceremony should look like for the school. At my former school, it was a big deal. We gave out trophies, ribbons, medallions, certificates, and pins. Students received awards for scholarship, behavior, citizenship, effort, and attendance. Teachers received awards; parents volunteers received trophies; business partners received recognition. The winners had their names listed in fancy programs and everyone dressed up for the ceremonies.

At the schools that my son and daughter attended, this never happened. Although they attended some of the most sought after schools, the awards were scant. Usually, they gave out chintzy homemade certificates or tiny trophies. It was a different type of environment. I guess the values were different.

Mr. Johnson’s plan was somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. As we talked, he said “I’ll let you do it your way, since this is our first time.” He told me that he understood that this was something special to me and he was not threatened or feeling micromanaged because I wanted to be involved with the schools awards. Actually, he has a committee to do the real work. I just get to name the awards and write up the criteria for them. I also get to shop for bargains at a couple of local trophy stores that have reopened since Katrina.

It is a real pleasure to work with this man. He shares ideas with me and the other Board members before we have a chance to ask. His willingness to ask us what we think makes him easy to work with. The frequency that we have similar ideas is amazing. He is always open-minded and focused on the big picture. He accepts criticism well and brings out the best in people. I am surprised and delighted at the teachers who are showing leadership and planning skills.

As I was preparing to leave the school today, he invited me to his faculty meeting to discuss the need for teachers to get involved in recruitment of students for next year. I politely declined the invitation. It was his meeting and I didn’t want anyone to think I want to do his job. However, I am happy to do some of the work—the fun stuff.

If I'm on Time . . . .

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:22:57 -0500

I am going to an 8:00 meeting tomorrow morning to observe some principals in a focus group on leadership issues in New Orleans schools. This goes against the first of my four retirement rules.
1. No 8:00 meetings (a.m. or p.m.)
2. No Monday through Friday employment
3. No leaving the house if it’s raining
4. No interruptions between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 Noon when The Young and the Restless is on.
It will be a miracle, if i make it.

Where the Rubber Meets the Road

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 23:21:29 -0500

It’s been one hell of a week in New Orleans. The weather has gone from beautiful, windy spring days to frighteningly stormy nights. We’ve had tornado warnings and now the Mississippi river is cresting at a level much higher than usual. These weather changes shouldn’t cause too much concern, but there’s something in the air that has folks jittery.

Our Board meeting was today and after three hours we had discussed a multitude to topics. I had thought that the 2008 -2009 school calendar proposal would generate the most discussion. It didn’t. I had a notion the upcoming National Charter School Conference that will be in New Orleans in June would excite everyone. It didn’t. I figured everyone would be interested in the financial reports. Not. These topics were treated routinely.

Not surprisingly, the topic that stimulated everyone the most was a report by the principal on the current academic standing and demographic retention analysis for our students. We finally have some diagnostic data on reading for all of the students. It’s something I was desperate to have at the beginning of the year, but it was not to be so. We examined the second DIBELS results for grades K-3. 32% still need intensive instruction in reading. 46% are on level. The rest are at the Strategic level, meaning they are at some risk.

Our Lexile/Scholastic Reading Inventory results were equally shocking. We completed testing for all but one class of students in grades three through eight. Six students were Above Grade Level. 80 were On Grade Level. 63 were Below Grade Level. 68 were Far Below Grade Level. Overall, about 60% of our students are below level in reading. It was probably worse back in August when school started. None of this is really news, but we didn’t have the statistical data to quantify our problems before now.

The principal shared a Retention Analysis Report that examined the age appropriateness of our students in seventh and eighth grade. Although I was familiar with some of this data, several of the other Board members hadn’t seen the figures presented so starkly. In one eighth grade class, only three of the sixteen students were in the correct grade. All of the others had repeated grades once or twice. Almost 50% of the seventh grade class failed LEAP in fourth grade. 28% of our current eighth grade class failed LEAP last year. One girl celebrated her Sweet Sixteenth birthday last October at our elementary school. That one made me want to cry.

Earlier in the meeting we were bickering about something inconsequential on the organizational chart. In retrospect, I’m sorry we wasted precious minutes on that when we could have been trying to figure out what to do for our children who are so desperately in need of our help. We have a basal series, but we don’t have a school reading plan so far. It is at the top of our list for the summer teacher institute.

Several sparks of brilliance did come out of the discussion including a summer program for rising eighth grade students and fourth grade students who must take the high stakes tests, a parent involvement component to show parents what is happening to students who do not have strong academic support, enrichment activities so that students will be more interested in and excited about attending school, revamping of the middle school program, and intensive professional development for our teachers.

I’m also hoping that someone in the edweek.org audience will have some ideas to offer. I don’t want to hear from vendors who troll these blogs to sell their programs. I’d rather hear from practitioners who have had success with programs that target severely at-risk students. We need some help.

Money, Money, Money

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 01:34:49 -0500

My friend Sr. Judy Gomila celebrated her 50-year Jubilee at Our Lady of Holy Cross College Chapel this morning. It’s hard to believe she was already a nun when I was starting Kindergarten. She’s as vibrant and funny as she was when I met her in my early teen years. The Marianite Sisters had a convent about two blocks from my house when they worked in our church parish during the 1970’s and 1980’s. Sister Judy was our counselor and leader of teenage girls in the church. I’ve been thinking about money all day and that I can’t seem to shake it. It started with her special celebration.

Although I know she took a vow of poverty half a century ago, I decided to give her one dollar for each of her 50 years. Money is not important to her, but she can use it to do something nice for herself or for someone else. I went to the bank to get a crisp $50 bill in exchange for a couple of twenties and a ten to put in my greeting card. When the teller said, “I can’t do that” I immediately flipped out (inside). She explained some nonsense about the machines dispensing the money and not being able to perform this simple request as I stood at the window and looked at her like she was an outer space alien. How hard can it be? I wanted to ask, “What kind of bank is this?” As she continued to explain, her supervisor came over. I guess I expressed my incredulity louder than I had thought—and I wanted to say, “Close my accounts. I’ll take ALL of my money in 50’s.” This Walter Mitty episode played in my head like a bad movie until the supervisor showed the teller how to perform this effortless service. Thank you Chase Bank.

The ceremony was beautiful and Sr. Judy was happy to see Jacinta, Terry, Leonard, and Leslie as we beamed with pride at her accomplishment and dedication to her vows. She’s still our role-model. After the Mass, we enjoyed a reception in the college cafeteria. Everyone wanted to know exactly what do I do as a Charter School Board President. All of them had seen me on television in December when some of our teachers staged a one-day sick out. Sometimes, I feel like Jim Carrey in the movie, “The Truman Show” as my life played out on television.

I tried to explain it as simply as I could, but there’s no simple way to say everything that I do. Since we don’t have a management organization, I do some of everything. And, as the only educator on the Board, there’s a lot that my colleagues expect of me. Then my friend asked me how much this job pays. She couldn’t believe that I don’t get paid. The explanation about that took even longer. My friend looked at me with the same expression I probably had on my face when talking to the bank teller, as if I were an alien creature. Her final suggestion was that I should get someone to replace me on the board and work as a consultant for the school. If we pay someone to do what I’m doing now, we’d probably start the talks at $100,000. It’s the going rate in many of the local charter schools. One charter school CEO makes $190,000 to oversee three schools, each of which has its own principal and assistant principal. I need money just like most people, but I don’t need that money. It’s not easy to explain without sounding like a saint (I ain’t) or a liar, or a fool. I think I love this work more than I want to admit. Actually, I consider it a blessing.

When I tried to explain that I no longer want to work every day, she reminded me that I work every day now and as a consultant, I would not necessarily have to go to school like a 9 to 5 job. I knew that. Except that I’m very happy about the money we are saving by not paying anyone to do work that I am blessed to know how to do. We will be able to make some vast improvements in the building, our academic program, and our fringe benefits next year with the money we are saving. I hope we can increase our health benefits payments and sponsor some out-of-state conferences for the faculty.

I’m proud to say that I did mail off the grant application that I was working on last week. I still have a few small ones left to do. Our principal is going to a training session to write the E-grant for Title I and Special Education. It’s the biggest application and I will only help with the budget part. It is so late in the year for this, but our charter was not finalized last year in time for us to participate in the training session. We have operated the entire year without any of the federal funding we are supposed to get. I don’t know how much we are due, but I know it’s a lot. When we get our reimbursements, it will be the basis of our contingency fund and our capital program fund for next year.

Managing this money has been the greatest intellectual stretch for me in all that I do with the school. I am good at managing other peoples’ money and I know how to raise funds. I did not know how to develop the detailed annual operating budget or complete the many steps in the state’s program budgets without the safety net of a central office staff to check my work. I’m learning more every day. The charter school set-up provides the autonomy to do things as we see fit. It also creates a type of isolation that is very scary. People’s livelihoods depend on us getting this right. They need their money to survive. Exactly 12 hours ago, I was standing in line at the bank thinking that money was not important to some people. Money is important to most people.

In Mourning

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:19:36 -0500

Many young people have been mourning the loss of Lance Zarders, one of my former students at Oretha Castle Haley Elementary School. I promised to post the link to his Guestbook where friends and family can express their sentiments. Lance was the second teenaged son to be murdered in the Zarders family. His brother was shot to death after leaving school in 2005. http://obits.nola.com/NOLA/GB/GuestbookView.aspx?PersonId=105966497&PageNo=1.

We have to work harder with our middle school students. I've started working with someone to develop a stronger program for next year. Lance made 17 in January. There are a group of students in our elementary school who are 15 and 16 years old. Some of them knew Lance. One says he saw Lance dead on the ground on Frenchmen St. where he was shot. I mentioned this to the school's social worker and the principal last week. I'm not sure what else I should do.

Confession

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 12:03:10 -0500

I’m a procrastinator. I put off tasks that are tedious, unpleasant, or difficult until the last minute. I am rarely early for meetings, assignments, or church. I think that I’ve always been a little late, even for parties, weddings and fun activities. Whether it’s a doctor’s appointment, a beauty salon engagement, or a luncheon time with a friend, I will probably arrive a bit tardy. During my years as a teacher, I was on time because I rode with a friend. I was grateful when she picked me up at my front door, but I was hardly ever standing outside waiting for her.

As a principal, I was never one of those who tried to be the first person in the building each morning. I usually arrived a few minutes before the bell rang to start the day. That was because I had to conduct the morning meeting. We started the assembly with a song instead of a bell. Everyone was supposed to be in place when the song ended, including me. Many times, as I drove to school, I’d hear the song playing while I was still a block away. I knew that I had to park my car, run across the playground, dash up the ramp and be in my place at the top where everyone could see me before the final “Good morning to you” finished playing. It was the only time I remember people enjoying my lateness. The mad dash delighted the students who hoped I would not make it. The rule was that everyone stopped walking and froze in place when the music stopped. Sometimes I was at the bottom of the ramp; sometimes I was on the outside of the closed gate with the other tardy people. A few times, I handed my bags and purse to one of the parent visitors and sprinted up the ramp in my high heels, just to entertain the students, who were chanting at me “You’re not going to make it!”

But, I’m older and a little more experienced. Plus, I’m retired. How hard can it be to do things on time? Well, I still find myself late too often. Today, I plan to complete a grant application that is long overdue. Last week, I received an email from someone at the state department office who wanted to know if our school was still interested in applying for some federal funding. The $200,000 grant will reimburse us for start-up costs. It is a special fund for new charter schools. Unfortunately, you have to spend $200,000 first and then request reimbursements. It’s not upfront money that you automatically get when you open the school. Also, it’s not competitive money that you lose, if someone else gets to it first. I did not feel any real urgency until now.

We are entering the fourth quarter of the year. Now is the time to begin requesting reimbursements so that we can close out the books by June 30th. We’ve spent $200,000 in January and February that I believe is reimbursable. Unfortunately, since our plan has not been approved, I’ll need to wait to find out. The plan asks a lot of questions that need to be answered in detail. But, a lot of the answers are already written in our approved charter school application. I need to check a few things with my friend, Paulette, who did this application last year. It is going to be finished today—I promise. The completed application only needs the budget pages and it will be done.

When we get the reimbursement, it will be just the cushion we’ll need to pay our teachers their end-of-year bonuses and the pay-for-performance plan money. Ironically, the pay-for-performance money comes from another grant that has already been submitted. However, it is another case of our having to pay the teachers first and then request reimbursements. Most schools operate with a large line of credit, if they don’t have a management organization to fund the upfront costs.

Nothing is going to stop me from finishing this grant today. I will get it completed as soon as “The Young and the Restless” goes off.

Happy Easter

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 13:20:28 -0500

Yesterday was one of the best days we’ve had at our school this year. We didn’t get any great news about winning a grant or contest. The LEAP testing was just completed last week. So, we didn’t get any reports of high student achievement. But, several very special and very standard things were going on at the same time. I’ve saved the best for last, so if you don’t have time to read a long entry today, skip to paragraph seven.

One of the activities involved registration for the 2008 – 09 school session. Parents were coming in to an organized set-up to complete registration forms between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m., in case they were unable to make it during regular school hours. Tables had been arranged in the auditorium with pens and registration forms to allow privacy and space while filling out the applications. Last summer, this activity was started in a first floor classroom. Unfortunately, the room had to be vacated for the teacher to set up her class. Then the registrations were conducted in a busy hallway outside the school office. Custodians trying to clean up around the parents made things rather difficult.

Two employees were working to assist the parents in yesterday’s session. The data clerk and the school interventionist checked over the applications for completeness, and made copies of the support documents such as birth certificates and immunization records. These ladies had received special training to make sure everything was in order. Last summer, in our rush to get the registrations completed, no one checked the forms or signed off in the official review space. Later, we learned the hard way that we did not have all necessary court orders, custody documents and affidavits of guardianship. The data clerk was doing a very professional job of checking the forms before signing on the official authorization line. We also have a full-time counselor who is personally setting up each cumulative folder and will be responsible for ensuring that all files are complete with required documents.

A brief PTA meeting was scheduled to be held when the registration hours were finishing up. This is the second meeting this semester. Parents who joined the organization received certificates of membership. More parent participation was anticipated. I think the PTA’s first project will be to plant shrubbery around the building. Students also received third quarter awards for attendance and scholarship. I don’t know what the final turnout was like, but I saw parents coming in early for the meeting.

Report cards were to be distributed after the PTA Meeting from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. The time was moved back slightly to accommodate more working parents. Our former meetings from 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. were just too early for many families. I am anxious to know the percentage of parents who showed up last night. While I was meeting with the principal to discuss next year’s staffing, he was simultaneously reviewing report cards. I was happy to see him providing written feedback to the teachers as he read every card. He also made notations about excessive absences which would be passed on to the social worker and behavior problems to address with the counselor and administrative assistant. Each teacher had to complete a Quarterly Assessment form that will be used as part of the needs assessment for the School Improvement Plan. The data analysis will be completed by his administrative intern and presented to the faculty.

Registration, PTA meetings and report card distributions may seem like very mundane activities in a school. If you are wondering why these things seem so important to me, it’s because they are details in a big picture of progress for our school. Establishing routines, monitoring progress, evaluation the efforts, and creating a culture of quality education in a learning community take these singular mundane activities together to create the synergy that produces school improvement. I was excited because I could see the school improving right before my eyes. But, something else, far from the routine was also going on this week at our school.

We were the beneficiaries of the largesse of the Gulf Coast Volunteers for the Long Haul. A big group of adults and an even larger army of college students from six universities descended upon our school under the leadership of my new friend, Rev. Mary Harrington. I met Rev. Mary through this “Starting Over” blog at a very difficult time in our school history a few months ago. These beautiful people generated an excitement in our whole school community unlike anything we have experienced this year. Although the volunteers worked at our school for several days this week, yesterday was a beehive of activities as they labored valiantly to complete several projects, large and small.

When I walked up to the school, the first project I observed was the painting of the ten-foot aluminum fence. It is now a shiny forest green. It was a vast improvement over the rusty appearance that formerly greeted our public. This was a very messy, labor-intensive job because the fence had to be painted with an oil-based paint. The workers managed to paint a full city block of fencing on the front of the school grounds. We will have local volunteers to help complete the sides and the back, but this was a wonderful start. I’d love to reserve the back fence for our eighth graders to complete as a community service project before their promotion to high school.

The front entrance doorway got some attention from a volunteer who teaches Art at one of the universities. He and his daughter freshened up the designed panels on each side of the doors and the school’s name on top of the entryway. The artist is also one of the board members for the volunteer group. It was refreshing to see these board members working shoulder to shoulder with the young adult volunteers. I took lots of pictures for the students to use in their “How I Spent My Spring Break” memoirs.

In the side yard of the school, several volunteers performed the back-breaking task of starting a vegetable garden, at the request of a kindergarten teacher. She wanted the students to have the experience of growing food for their own tables. The beds were prepared and we are waiting on a promised delivery of rich soil before seeds can be planted. I was both surprised and impressed at this request by the teacher. It was not the type of project that I would have considered when we were asked for a list of potential jobs. I also liked that this project did not generate from the “top.”

One young lady was painting hopscotch squares on the pavement in the yard. This was suggested by a first grade teacher toward the end of the day. It was rather late to begin any new tasks, but that did not stop the college student who wanted to leave her special mark for the little girls in the school.

Someone got the bright idea to paint “masterpieces” on the plywood radiator covers we built a few months ago. We were planning to paint them and add cork to the flat surfaces to use them as bulletin boards for displays. Now they are too pretty to cover up, so we’ll have to rethink that idea.

The most spectacular project was one organized by an Art major named Nicole. She had a group of our students sketch pictures about their dreams for the school, the school mascot, and other subjects. Nicole transferred the students’ pictures to larger than life images on the walls in the basement on the exterior of the cafeteria. She then solicited the help of students (and some of the adults) to paint the designs which resulted in an extraordinary mural. The mural includes several owls (the school mascot), imaginary flowers of giant proportion, buildings, musical notes, instruments, the Superdome, trees, and the sky. It was truly a delightful activity that made a perfect start of the Easter vacation for our students and the end of a wonderful week of generosity for the visitors. More than one of the visitors compliment us on the “air of caring” they sensed from our teachers and the positive vibes they picked up in the building.

Our children enjoyed intermingling with the college students and all of the special affection from the amazingly kind adults. They need and deserve this type of loving attention. I’ll bet that the personal interest and interactions will remain with the kids for a long time. Best of all, when anyone enters the front doors—after walking through our freshly painted gates—between the newly refurbished door panels, they will glimpse the vibrant colors of the mural which entices them into the school. I’ve not seen the students that excited about anything so far this year. It never felt so good. Thank you Gulf Coast Volunteers for the Long Haul. We love you!