As we think of the limited time, space, and resources most schools face, the topic of impact becomes important. If we waste resources, time, and space on efforts that are less impactful, then we don't have what we need to build ideas and practice that lead to substantial impact.
To work towards greater impact, we have to take a deep look at where our problems and potential lie? We also have to look deeply at the mission of the work we do on our own and with others? What is the mission of your work, and how do your efforts make that mission visible?
At this juncture, my mission is to do the following:
- Foster and contribute to a respectful, focused, and successful learning community
- Teach in ways that foster cultural proficiency and respect
- Successfully teach math, science, and reading standards
Learning Community
As a contributor and participant in the learning community, it's important to me that I invest time and energy into efforts that matter. I also want to advocate for a learning community that is mission-based. In that effort, I want to support good effort to create, revisit, and revise our mission and goals as needed in order to do the best that we can for our students, their families, and educators. I don't want to sign on to efforts that are less impactful or connected to our mission.
Cultural Proficiency and Respect
There's much we can do to continually build a more culturally proficient and respectful learning community. I think it's important that we think deeply about this as a learning community, and move forward with efforts that truly make a difference.
Math/Science Learning
This is at the heart of the work I do, and there is much to do to build the learning and teaching in these areas. Currently time is the biggest challenge since there isn't the time to teach these subjects in the way I would like to. I need more time for preparation and planning, and more time for teaching. I also need more space to teach these subjects effectively. I will continue to focus in on these subjects and suspect that I'll spend a good amount of time in the summer and next year devoted to this work.
This Friday our team will have an opportunity to think deeply about the processes we use and efforts we engage in with regard to leading our students, colleagues, and each other forward towards enriching our collaborative model of teaching and learning. I'm looking forward to this day as well as the efforts to make our program more impactful in ways that matter.
