Pre

48 years ago this week, the world lost a running icon, Steve Prefontaine. If you grew up as a distance runner in the US since then, you absolutely know his name. When he died in a car accident, he held every American record between 2,000 and 10,000 meters. "Pre" didn't have a typical racer's body. He wasn't tall or gracefully long. He was born with a heart murmur and ran with a slight hitch to his stride. But what he had was an unwavering will to win. He used his success to rebel against many of the Olympic policies at the time and he was an amazing advocate for amateur athletes in the US. Much of the Olympic policy changes that have allowed us to dominate on the world stage are in part, because of Pre. 

Pre has been one of my heroes since I started running as a teenager. Today I have a poster outside my office with one of my favorite quotes from him. "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." That quote has helped me do the hard work in life more times than I want to count. I was working on summatives this week when I remembered the anniversary of Pre's death. The quote refers to a growth model. Give your best every chance you get or you sacrifice the ability that you've been given. That's all anyone can ask of themselves and certainly, the idea that I want teachers and students to have about their own growth.  I thought for a minute about all that has happened in the past 12 months. It's been a year. I know I couldn't tell you how everything would have played out a year ago and in some ways, I'm happy that I couldn't. It's been a huge learning curve for me to be placed in so many conversations about education in our state. My absence from the school has also meant some change and a learning curve for us as a team. If I could do it all over again, I'm sure that I would do some things differently, but I don't get that opportunity. I just know that I gave it my best and I thank so many of you for giving your best in my absence. Every one of us has a gift and this year taught me that those gifts get recognized at unique times. Thank you for not sacrificing your gift this year if you had to lead in a new way. Thanks for leading when you were needed and adapting right along with me. Life throws us some unexpected obstacles, but the gift is facing them head-on and doing our very best. That was Pre's mantra then and he came out on top with it so many times. Thanks for sharing your amazing gifts this year.

A Little Help From My Friends (Revisited)

Back in 2015, I wrote a blog post about having to run the school for a week by myself while the assistant principals (Juan Castillo and Diane Blackman back then) were away at a conference. Teachers pitched in to help in a lot of ways. They ran after school programs and even came to the rescue on a the fight that occurred after school. Their efforts reminded me of the Beatles' song, A Little Help From My Friends.  So here we are eight years later and so many of those familiar friends from back in 2015 are still doing all that they can to help me out in a time of need. I must admit that this week has been incredibly overwhelming in the best of ways. I've been tired every day but I've been incredibly supported by a staff that saw a need and decided to step up in every way that they knew how. So many of you recognized ways that you could be helpful and jumped into action. And in almost story tale fashion, all of this happened to take place during Teacher Appreciation Week. So while I know that Teacher Appreciation Week usually means that you get the predictable gifts of food and GC gear, please know that this year, more than any other, I sincerely appreciate you beyond those small gifts. I tell people everywhere that I go that the greatest thing we can ever teach is empathy. It's something that can only be taught through example when others see us practice it in our care for them or someone else. I was shown a lot of empathy this week and it has done my heart a lot of good. Thank you so much. I think I'll get by with a little help from my friends.

Tribe

Early settlers in what is now the United States faced many challenges. But a strange phenomenon started to happen as English settlers interacted and integrated with Native Americans. English settlers found themselves leaving their settlements and going to live with Native American groups. It kept happening over and over and almost never did Native Americans move to live with the English. The settlers found themselves psychologically linked to the Native American ways of life and seemed to prosper and prefer it. Their close-knit ways of life and focus on community was different that traditional English culutre. Hundreds of years later, modern Americans find themselves in the same situation. We see it when combat veterans return home from active duty and find it difficult to assimilate into society after having had very close bonds with others when at war. It seems that every part of our psychological makeup wants us to be in a small, close-knit community: a tribe. 

I feel like I know exactly how those settlers and veterans feel after being removed from my tribe this year. The pull toward your tribe comes from trusting the people that you are with and being comfortable in them putting trust in you. When you are away from that, there is a psychological need to find that trust again. So when I have weeks like this one when I am away, I feel releived to just talk to some of you. I appreciate those of you that rally the tribe in my absence and protect the community by supporting one another. All tribes need those that are willing to guard the customs and values. As we look to next week when we appreciate teachers, just know that I appreciate you for more than bein g educators. Thanks for being a member of our tribe and for the many ways that you contributre to the lives of all of the other tribal members. It's a great thing to come home to. 

We All Need a Coach

Some of you may know about my recent attempt to regain my youth by tackling a running challenge that I completed ten years ago. It's called a streak run and basically, it means that you run every day of the year. I did this my first year at Greene Central and a decade later, I'm trying to do it again. It's more of a form of self-help this time around. I'm certainly not as fast as I once was and the longer runs leave me sore much longer than they did then. But this time around I'm focused on mental therapy rather than winning any races. Because of where I live and some previous close encounters with cars early in the morning, I've done a lot of these runs via a treadmill. I've never really liked treadmills though. They make me feel like a hampster in a wheel. But nonetheless, I carried on with my very inexpensive treadmill until the week we got out for Spring Break. The motor was dying and I needed to quit being cheap and make an investment. 

I chose a new treadmill with a feature that I thought I might never use. There's a screen with a video of a coach that runs with you in different places throughout the world. But why do I need a coach? I ran competitively for years and coached some very successful runners. I know what I'm doing so why do I need to pay a monthly fee to be told what I already know? My wife wanted to try it and so in the spirit of having a growth mindset, I gave it a try. I'm so hooked. Over the past two weeks, I've been doing interval training on the beaches and mountains of South Africa with a coach that guides me and encourages me along the way. I can't begin to tell you how much of a difference it makes. Having a voice of encouragement keeps you accountable to something other than the voice in your head. I run farther and faster every time I do it. (But I'm still not fast.)

Having a partner for challenges in life makes them easier. Someone to support you and give you feedback makes you better, even when things are tough. These last few weeks of school are always the toughest part of the race. We are tired when they need us the most. But look around and remember that this is not a race that any of us runs alone. We are all right there together, we just need to look up and encourage each other to finish the race. Each of us has the ability to be that coach for each other and to receive that when we need it. Now is not the time for any of us to put our heads down and attempt to run alone. Let's do this together!

An Unusual Gift

I'm not too proud to admit that this whole Principal of the Year thing has started to weigh on me a bit. Maybe it's the added responsibilities and expectations, the nights away from home, or the guilt I feel being away from my real job and knowing that others are having to pick up the slack. Maybe it's all of that combined that's kept me running full speed and feeling like I'm always behind. Last Sunday morning I woke up at 5:00 am, made breakfast, did a few things around the house, and packed a bag to go to Washington, DC for a conference. I didn't want to go. I even tried to cancel the plane ticket the night before, but it was too late. Halfway to Raleigh, I debated turning around and just losing the cost of the ticket. At the time $450 seemed like a fair trade for some sanity. Perhaps I should explain why I didn't want to go. This was a national advocacy conference and when I agreed to go and meet with our state's legislators in DC, I didn't know that I was the only one from North Carolina attending. Every other state had teams of people and I just wasn't feeling like taking on another thing. 

Nonetheless, I got on the plane and landed in DC. It was lunch and breakfast was a long time ago, so PF Chang's in the airport sounded great at the time. The fortune cookie at the end of the meal read, "You will soon receive an unusual gift that you will greatly appreciate." It made me laugh and so I took a picture of it just in case something strange came my way. I made it to the hotel, checked in, and decided that I wasn't going to waste the day so I got an Uber to take me to the Smithsonian American History Museum. It should have been a 19-minute ride, but apparently, all traffic in DC locked up the exact moment I entered the car, and my driver, Mohamed, and I were stuck together for 1 hour and 20 minutes before arriving. I literally jumped out of the car in the middle of the street versus making him fight for a place to park. The moment my feet hit the street I heard someone yell my name. It was Susan Harrison. So much for not knowing anyone on this trip I thought to myself. After a quick chat, I made my way through the American History Museum and the Natural History Museum. I've been to both several times, but I see something new each time. 

So now, how to get back to the hotel? The streets were just as packed as before and the previous $16 Uber

ride was now $55 and an extensive wait to get to you. My thought was to start walking toward the hotel and when I got to a less crowded place, reassess the Uber. 4.6 miles to the hotel and Google Maps said it would take 90 minutes. I passed the Washington Monument and through the cherry blossoms in full bloom at the Jefferson Memorial. I've never seen them in person this time of year and it was incredible. There was also a kite festival and hundreds of kites could be seen throughout the National Mall. With the streets still packed I made it to the Potomac River and crossed it with 2.5 miles to go. Might as well keep going since the Uber can't get me on a bridge. The walkway led me to the airport and along a park trail that I had run with a college friend over a decade ago. In jeans and a hoodie, I wasn't quite prepared for a run, but it was a great memory. When I reached a less crowded street in Arlington, Virginia there was only a mile and a half left. Why not just finish it. I arrived at the hotel in exactly 1 hour and 20 minutes. The same time that the Uber ride there had taken. 

I'm not sure if that fortune cookie had spiritual powers or if I was looking for some type of modern transcendental moment (my English teacher would love that I remember that) but I got that unusual gift that the cookie told me I would get. I got an afternoon where I was absolutely forced to slow down. It was great. So great that I highly recommend it to you. We talked a lot about wellness during COVID due to stress in education, but stress happens all of the time to everyone. So with Spring Break on the horizon, I urge you to please, take a moment and appreciate it. In the words of Ferris Bueller, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you might miss it."

What Will the New Greene Central Look Like?

This week started the first real design discussions for the planning of the new Greene Central High School. On Wednesday, our Leadership Team and a couple of students met along with board members, commissioners, and other community officials to talk about the vision that the architects will use to create the site plan and the initial design. I had no idea what to expect from this process and when we got into it, I was completely hooked. The whole thing didn't begin with pictures or layouts as you would expect. It began with a brainstorming session. We threw out words and phrases to capture what was important to us. Safe was the overwhelming winner. Everyone wanted a modern facility that honored our past while being prepared for the future. They wanted spaces for advanced learning and spaces that were welcoming to the community. They wanted a secure facility that didn't look or feel like a prison. They wanted outdoor community spaces that doubled as learning spaces. With all of that information, the job now is to capture what those needs look like. But really they are capturing what they feel like. It's easy to get caught up in needs and wants, but the work this week reminded me that places like schools also have to capture how they make you feel. Our current school has done that for many generations in the past. You'd be surprised how often I hear references about it from parents and graduates that haven't been here in a while. I'll admit that I've been nervous that we can't meet everyone's desires and stay within a budget for building a new school. I don't want anyone to feel left out or forgotten. So while not everyone will get everything they want, my hope is that we still capture that feeling that is uniquely ours. So what will the new Greene Central look like, I don't know yet. But this week taught me that it's more important to ask how it will make us feel. 

An Anecdote for Dr. Willis

I often use stories as metaphors in my writings. With the announcement this week that Dr. Willis would be taking on the role of principal at Greene County Intermediate School, I thought back to the many stories that I had about her over the years. I hired Uvonda Willis 13 years ago as an English teacher in Pitt County. At the time, the graduation project was still a state requirement and I gave her all of the Seniors that had not been successful in Engish 4 or on the project specifically. She worked with some tough kids and had a daunting task, but she did a great job reaching them. She could often be found teaching without shoes on and used her planning periods to run around and find mentors and other resources to support her kids. After I came to Greene County, she had been hired on as an assistant principal in that school. When I had an opportunity to hire an assistant principal here, she was the only person I really wanted to interview. I called her and paced around in my yard as I tried to sell her on my vision of what the school could be and how she could help us get there. Since then, she's been my right hand. She has pushed me to think and grow, protected me when I needed to focus on myself, and been a sounding board when I needed to figure out difficult problems. Through all of the things that we have been through, conversations we have had, and wild plans that we have made (we probably should revisit some of those), there are a ton of stories that I could tell. So how do you choose? What metaphor do you want to tell about someone that has contributed so much to you personally and professionally? What does that story need to convey?

The answer is that this isn't a good story, it's an anecdote. There's a difference between a story and an anecdote. A story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. In a good story, you don't see the end coming at the beginning. But an anecdote is predictable. You know how it will end right from the start. That's why I think the story of my sister Uvonda is an anecdote. From the start, I knew that the day would come when she would get the opportunity to develop her own vision and lead her own school. Fortunately, I was able to be there to see the beginning of this predictable tale and of those of you that have been here since she arrived, you've seen that beginning as well. So rather than tell a story, I'll celebrate this anecdote. We all knew that this day would come and I couldn't be more proud of her. We will miss her leadership, her creativity, and her ability to find resources outside of our building to make things work. In the end, I think it will be better becasue she can pour those skills into the students that come to us, and for that, I am grateful. So in the time left, I'll keep the stories that we have shared as great memories and I'll celebrate the anecdote that I always saw coming.