What's the Target?

In order to judge success you must first have a target. Our target is for all students on our campus to be proficient or advanced in reading, writing, and math. 

When I came across this quote found on Krissy Venosdale's Flickr stream (http://venspired.com) I immediately thought of our campus target. 

No, we may never see a day when all students are proficient or exceeding our expectations. However, if we hold fast to our beliefs and push the envelope from every angle we will get that much closer to our target goal. By focusing on this target that doesn't exclude anyone, we are determined to see progress for all students. 

Our lofty goals were met with cynicism. How could we have such high expectations for our students? Then I began to think. I have two sons and three nephews. I never say, "80% of my boys will go to college." It is always a 100% expectation. We talk in the when not the if. Why should our expectations be any lower for our students?

Game Changer

Growing up I never thought of myself as a game changer. Sure, I had a plenty of love from my family and lots of friends. School was effortless, but I always considered myself average.

I fell in love with kids my senior year in high school as a volunteer at the HeadStart program that was housed on the same campus as my high school. (Well, the entire school itself was housed on one campus. Yes, PreK-12th grade on one campus. The city's population is 212, so go figure!) My love for kids grew into a love for education which has morphed into way more than I had imagined.

After high school I lived at home and went to a nearby college. Throughout college I worked at childcare centers and I was even a prek paraprofessional at a public school. I taught first grade for two years in my hometown. Then I went on to teach kindergarten through third grade in a large 5A district. While doing so, I attained my Masters degree in Early Childhood Education and learned that my real passion was literacy. My goal was never lofty. I simply wanted to make life better for the children in my classroom, specifically at risk children.

Throughout my last five years in the classroom I dabbled in curriculum writing in my district and contracted for another district. I enjoyed that work, but learned quickly that I enjoyed the fast pace that comes with being with students.

Then I got a call, a strange opportunity from the same campus where I was a paraprofessional in college. A balanced literacy specialist-what is that anyway? A quick interview, which included a resume with a typo, and I was offered the position. It was definitely a defining year. I always wanted to change the world for the kids in my classroom-my precious few. I never knew how rewarding it would be to help adults see their potential and the widespread difference that could make.

One year and the tragic loss of our principal-next thing I knew I was interviewing for the assistant principal position. Taking the call and finding the courage to make drastic changes on our campus has been exciting.

It is one thing to see what you can do alone, but when you are working on a team toward the same goal the game is changed.

-Jenn