From November 1, 2013

This week we launched our new Ram Recovery after school.  This program replaces the old Twilight program and with all of the changes, we thought that a new name was also necessary.  I visited the class yesterday and saw students working hard and realizing that recovering these classes meant having to know the course material.  These students were definitely taking this seriously and I think that we are sending a very different message about what we expect as an academic standard.

We are now at the halfway point of the semester and traditionally, this is where both students and teachers start to struggle.  In the past two weeks I have spoken to numerous students and several teachers that seem frustrated.  Teachers report not knowing what to do to gain control of a class and students report teachers that are mean or unhelpful.  The core of these problems is a lack of success.  The only fix is change, and change is hard. All people, young and old, naturally assume that if we just keep doing what we do, then something will "click." When that doesn't happen we all want to quit. 

Let's make a strong effort to regroup and reenergize ourselves and our students academically for a strong finish.  If you are one of the ones feeling frustrated, let's talk about some change.  My door is always open. If you're riding high and notice a colleague that's struggling, offer to help.  Remember, our main rule is to take care of ourselves and to take care of each other.