Thankful #3

This week I met up with some of my old co-workers from my old school and it just reconfirmed how truly thankful and appreciative I am of the door that was opened to me to be able to transfer to the school I now work at.  My new school and administrators have just been such a refreshing change as I've stated before and I truly do not have a single complaint about my new situation.  I am thankful to have a job I enjoy, I am thankful that it is in a pleasant environment, and I am thankful to be appreciated here!  After almost completely losing all hope and sense of purpose and passion, I have had the chance to be re-invigorated at just the right time and place!  I am thankful I don't have to be miserable at the place I spend a good portion of my life....I am thankful that I now answer to a supervisor who genuinely cares about these kids and about her staff.  I am thankful to feel supported and to be allowed to make a difference.  I know teacher morale is at an all-time low across the district this year...so I feel extra lucky to be one of the very, very few who actually is ecstatic about her job right now!  :) 

Thankful #2

Tonight I am thankful for Romans 8:28.  I am thankful that God works ALL things together for good for those who are called according to His purpose.  One good thing about getting older is that you have more years to look back over and realize all the ways that God has worked things out.  All the worries, all the disappointments, all the times of uncertainty...all woven together in a way you might never have imagined or planned but that ultimately you can't help being thankful for.  I don't know why I still struggle sometimes with having faith in certain situations when He has proven a million times over not just in my life but in the lives of so many around me that the above verse/promise is more than true.  Even when my faith is weak and even when I'm not living according to His purpose as I should, it seems He continues to "have my back" and continues to take such good care of me!  It is comforting to know that no matter how badly I may mess things up at times that there is no mess that He can't turn into something good.  So yeah...just really, really, thankful for that hope and assurance that we have to cling to in this roller coaster called life!!

Thankful #1

On Halloween night I was in Target trying to get a last-minute costume for Dezeray's little brother but the Halloween department was pretty much decimated.  Already, the orange and black stuff was being cleared out and workers were busily stocking Christmas items.  Christmas?!?! Wait!  Isn't there another holiday in there somewhere?  Thanksgiving, remember that?  Kinda sad that society wants to skip from one "gimme" holiday to another....first it's "gimme gimme candy" and then it's "gimme gimme presents"...but we kinda just skim over the holiday that's all about saying thank you for what we have instead of asking for more. However, I know there are many people who love Thanksgiving, who love the fact that our entire country sets aside a time just to be thankful and grateful for how good God has been to us.  I have seen several people on Facebook and blogs commit to sharing something every day in November that they are thankful for and I think that's a great idea.  I don't know that I can promise to post every day but I am going to try to make an effort to share some of the things I am personally appreciative of during this season of giving thanks.  The things I share may not be that creative or unusual but they are things that I am eternally grateful for regardless.

It is not a surprise that one of the things I am most thankful for is my family.  The older I get and the more of the world I see and experience, the more I admire and appreciate my family.  I was so fortunate and so blessed to grow up with all my grandparents close by and parents who were faithful and committed to each other.  My brothers and I had a very stable and healthy home environment and we never lacked anything we needed. My dad was a great provider and he and my mom knew just the right balance of allowing us to be kids while teaching us the value of hard work and responsibility and most of all the importance of putting God first above all else.  They knew just how to help us transition into being self-sufficient adults while still providing us the support and guidance we needed.  My dad is such a great example of honesty and integrity and character in every way while my mom exemplifies generosity, thoughtfulness, and servanthood.  My grandparents are all loving, generous, gentle, kind-hearted, God-fearing people.  I have the most awesome aunt, uncles, and cousins.  And of course there are my two brothers who I love to death...and the sister-in-law, niece, and nephews that one of them brought into our family who have just added so much joy to all our lives. Everyone in my family has such a good, kind, generous spirit...I just love that I am surrounded by people I can look up to, respect, and learn from. I know everyone thinks their family is the best but I just really do think I have an especially great one and I could never thank God enough for choosing them for me!! 

Getting My Groove Back

As I type this my body feels completely exhausted of all energy, yet it is the good kind of exhaustion...the kind where you have given your best and at the end of the day can reflect that there's not much more you could have done in that 15-16 hour time frame to make a difference. Such are my days since I have started my new job as an elementary librarian....they are busy, fast-paced, demanding, and action-packed but I find myself loving every second! Every now and then the grass IS greener on the other side! This has been such a refreshing change in my life and now that the first six weeks are almost gone, I really find myself settling into my "groove." My creative juices are flowing again, my excitement for what I do is back after a long hiatus. For four years I thought I didn't like being a librarian...why didn't I switch to elementary years ago?? It is so FUN!! I am bursting with ideas and plans and projects to make this library a truly wonderful place for kids to visit and the best part is...I feel supported! My administrators let me actually be a librarian! It makes a world of difference when your hard work is appreciated and received warmly by your peers and colleagues as well as kids...and I must add that my principal is just awesome. She has revived my hope for education again. I am just so thankful that this door was opened to me...I needed this and I do believe they needed me. Word on the street is that they have had a series of terrible librarians. It is amazing how much that feeling of being where you are supposed to be can energize a person. I used to go to the Boys and Girls Club for my after school tutoring job and have to force myself to go through the motions with the kids. Now, even though I've had a much more tiring day at school, it's like I can find the energy and a second wind to enjoy those kids too and give them the attention they deserve. So in short...I LOVE MY JOB! :) Life is just really good right now...I am enjoying what I do again, I'm finally really getting to know people and get more involved at church, I'm going to be blessed with a wonderful living situation in a couple of months (I have the opportunity to purchase a beautiful, brand-spanking new townhouse for a very affordable price---so excited!), my favorite time of year with absolutely awesome weather has arrived...what more could a girl want or need? God truly gives us more than we can ask or think. I know my blog posting is sporadic but I just wanted to share a positive update!

Our Future??

Well, Duh!

Texas’ standardized tests a poor measure of what students learned, UT-Austin professor says

Um, they really didn't need an expensive study for this discovery to be made!  Teachers in schools have been saying this for years!!!  

Summer 2012

Who Said There's Not Money in Education?

Apparently I've been on the wrong career path...instead of collecting all of these master's degrees to become a better teacher and educator, I should be trying to become superintendent! Dallas ISD just hired a new superintendent and I've been reading the news stories that outline the details of his contract. This guy just came from a district in Colorado Springs of 11,000 students. He is coming to Dallas which is home to 157,000 students. His starting salary is going to be $300,000 per year. If he stays 5 years, that will be bumped up to $350,000 a year. His official start date is July 1, but he is already unofficially on the job and the district is paying him $1000 per day until his contract begins. He is also getting $10,000 to cover moving expenses (as if he can't afford to pay his own moving expenses making $30,000 per month), $2100 a month to cover renting an apartment until he can get fully moved, and even gets a car and phone allowance every month (once again, what is the $30,000 a month for if you can't pay your own rent, car, and phone bill?). On top of all of this, the guy can get two bonuses a year...$75,000 for meeting performance goals (whatever those are) and $125,000 if the district meets student achievement goals. Meanwhile, the district has done away with performance pay for teachers next year...but the superintendent still gets paid for student achievement? Wait a minute...aren't TEACHERS the ones who are most directly involved with student achievement? Aren't TEACHERS the ones who are coming in early and staying late tutoring kids, developing new interventions, figuring out ways to help struggling students, meeting with parents, delivering instruction, and coming out of our own pockets to buy the supplies and resources we need?? But Mr. Miles is going to be the one to reap the rewards for all of that? There are no bonuses for teachers, the ones in the trenches. We haven't even had a raise in 4 years. The reward for getting my master's degree? A whopping $30 increase on my monthly pay check. Last year, teachers didn't even get their step increase, much less a percentage raise. But this guy can walk in the door with the chance to make almost half a million dollars a year. The superintendent of NYC schools (with 1.1 million students) only makes $211,000 a year! I don't even know what a superintendent does. WHAT DOES HE DO?? I've worked in this district for almost 7 years and really don't even know what the superintendent does that is worth being paid that much every year. His job can't be harder than what your average classroom teachers deals with on a daily basis. I don't care what anyone says...classroom teaching in an urban district like Dallas is one of the hardest jobs there is. There is no amount of money that could adequately compensate for some of the things classroom teachers have to deal with every day. Yet we can't even get a 1 or 2 percent raise while they are extending our workday by another 45 minutes, but suddenly we can find the money to make this guy the highest paid public school administrator in the nation. (Even the NYC superintendent who oversees a district of 1.1 million students only makes $211,000 per year!). This is just leaving a pretty sour taste in my mouth and it's going to be hard to respect a leader who is more than willing to take such a large piece of a meager pie without doing a darn thing to earn it yet. If he came to my school and taught in one of these classes for one day....just one...and dealt with some of the things we face every day, then maybe, just maybe, he may have earned it. But as long as he's sitting in a plush office looking important and signing a bunch of paperwork and driving around in a Benz to act like he knows what to do to fix education....I can't respect it. There is plenty of money in education after all...you just have to be in the right place. And that place is most definitely NOT the classroom.

Library: Do Not Enter!

You would think that there is a sign on my library door that reads:

"Danger! Do Not Enter! All Who Enter Here Will Waste Time and Fail the STAAR Exam!"

My administrators have pretty much forbidden anyone from coming to the library this entire semester because they want everyone in the classrooms prepping for the upcoming STAAR test. Not just a week or two before the test, but the WHOLE semester!! Apparently, the library is not useful because I don't check out test prep packets to the kids. I actually provide real, authentic reading materials for the kids...oh, horrors! Something that doesn't contain multiple choice bubble answers?? Not allowed!! Despite the stacks of research that I provided to my principal regarding the impact of strong library programs on student achievement and despite the hours of professional development that reading/language arts teachers have participated in that emphasize the importance of students' having the freedom and choice to select reading materials that are on their level and of their interest to enhance reading comprehension, our school leaders are so test-obsessed that we can't do ANYTHING that doesn't have the name STAAR on it. It is so counterproductive and damaging to the kids that it is ridiculous....how can anybody with a doctorate in education not realize the importance of providing access to reading materials, research resources, and information literacy skills for this digital, information age that we live in? How can anyone who works in this print-poor community not realize the importance of kids having access to the books in this library? There is not a Barnes and Noble bookstore on the corner. There is not a public library within walking distance. Most homes don't invest in magazine subscriptions, newspaper subscriptions, or other print materials. What in the world could be wrong with allowing the teachers to invest 45 minutes every other week to bring their students to the library? I can guarantee you that the kids who sneak in here between classes or before school or during lunch to get books are going to be the highest scorers on the test anyway...why? Because they've been reading...really reading! Not boring themselves silly with test packets but really engaging in compelling, authentic, challenging texts. Unfortunately, only the most determined readers find time to make the trek to the abandoned third floor to visit the library....there are many other students who may not be as dedicated but still deserve the opportunity to have access to the materials and to be encouraged to read by the educators in this building. I just don't see visiting the library for 45 minutes twice a month is going to make anyone fail the STAAR test but apparently it is a waste of perfectly good instructional time (never mind that I do develop lessons and provide instruction to the classes when they come to the library) and we just can't have that!

It is a sad state of affairs when this is the kind of thinking and mindset that is leading our most challenged schools. What is best for kids has long since been tossed out the window and what's best for maintaining an illusion of "success" for the principal's image is now what we apparently work for.

Like one author eloquently titled a book...."Makes Me Want to Holler!!"

Teachers for Change: A Letter to the Parents

A well-written letter on behalf of teachers in Dallas ISD....

Teachers for Change: A Letter to the Parents: Dear Parents of Dallas ISD- I hope you do not believe some of the rhetoric.  I hope you know that the vast majority of teachers in Dallas I...

My Two Cents

This morning as I read the article about last night's school board meeting in the Dallas Morning News, I find myself with many unanswered questions and concerns about decisions that were finalized by our elected leaders. As most have heard, Dallas is planning to close 11 schools, including the one I have worked at for the past six years. They cite low enrollment and the need for more budget cuts as the reason for these closures. I understand that our district, along with districts across the state, are in crisis due to the severe cuts levied by the state last year and that difficult decisions have to be made. I just don't always understand the thought processes and rationales that go into them and I wonder who is actually doing the research that goes into these decisions.

For example, when I applied at Pearl C. Anderson, it was a large middle school that serviced eight feeder elementary schools. It was the only middle school in South Dallas. From Pearl C., students went on to either Madison or Lincoln. However, my first year here, the district opened Billy E. Dade (which had been an elementary school) as a middle school and split our enrollment. Now we only have four feeder elementary schools, as does Dade. Our enrollment has declined every year since. The low enrollment was compounded when the Dallas Housing Authority made the decision to demolish the Rhodes Terrace and Turner Courts housing projects in this area, which displaced hundreds of families to other parts of Dallas. This was about 3-4 years ago that the housing projects closed and were torn down. They were supposed to be rebuilt which means families would eventually return but so far I haven't seen any progress or heard any news about when that is going to actually begin. As a result, H.S. Thompson Elementary, Pearl.C, and Lincoln took big hits to enrollment, which meant we took big hits when it came to staff layoffs.

Now in 2012, we have only around 450 students enrolled at Pearl C., which is a building designed for 1100+. I've heard that H.S. Thompson has less than 200 students and it is a very large building as well. I'm not questioning the fact that some schools may need to be closed or consolidated to save money. However, I am particularly concerned about the middle school consolidation. As I understand it, Pearl C. students will be transferred to Dade. As I mentioned, Dade used to be an elementary school and is designed as such. Classrooms are small in size and they have numerous portables set up outside to accommodate the small enrollment that they have now. (Dade's enrollment is about the same as ours...400-500 students, if not less). There has been talk that the district is going to build a new school that will house Dade. Meanwhile, the bond work that was started on Pearl C. has been stopped. My question is that if we are trying to save money, how does it make sense to spend millions of dollars to build a brand new school building for Dade and transfer our kids over there, when realistically, they could just finish the renovations on Pearl C. and transfer Dade's kids back over here like it was set up originally. Pearl C. is an older building, but it is large and has been well-maintained and has more than enough room to house 800 students without setting up a hundred portables, as will be the case at Dade. I think with a few renovations (which were scheduled as part of the bond), it has several years of life left in it. Instead, they are going to spend millions building a new school building while this one sits vacant and further contributes to the property value decline and economic depression in this area. That just seems counterproductive to me. It seems it would be more logical to postpone the building of the new school for a few years until the economy and school funding stabilizes and in the meantime, use the larger middle school building (which is Pearl C.) to consolidate students. DUH!!!! But I guess they want to play fruit basket turnover with everyone in South Dallas yet again.

I also have concerns because the school board changed the policy on what will happen to teachers in these closed schools. In the past when schools closed or consolidated, the teachers at the schools that were closing often were automatically transferred along with the students. However, this time all teachers from the closed schools are just going to be released and will have to re-apply for jobs along with everyone else. This just seems like punishment to teachers who have been dedicated and committed to these schools for decades. The district is talking about laying off 400 more teachers next year, but it seems like it should be based on factors that are somewhat within the teacher's control, such as job performance, not school closure based on enrollment. It just seems like a human resources nightmare to try to figure all that out. Supposedly there is some kind of formula that is used when there is a reduction in force but it has always been very vague what that criteria is. It just seems like it is going to be real easy for experienced, highly-qualified teachers from closed schools to get lost in the excess pool along with teachers who are non-renewed for other reasons. It doesn't seem fair that they will lose their jobs while less-qualified teachers may get to keep theirs just because their school wasn't one that closed.

Then, I have concerns because I'm also looking down the road beyond just this year or next. What happens when DHA does rebuild the housing off of Bexar Street? There is already an initiative in place to revitalize that corridor. Really nice townhomes are being built and retail is being brought to that extremely depressed area. But what is closing schools in that neighborhood going to do to that effort? Where will families send their kids to school when housing is brought back? Sometimes I just don't feel DISD really does their research and makes informed decisions. I don't feel they stay in touch with what is going on in different communities and neighborhoods that impacts what happens with schools. I don't feel DISD values the input of their constituents AT ALL. They go through the motions of holding community meetings, etc. but their decisions have already been made. There was huge protest about the closings of these schools, but the decision went forth anyways. This makes parents and stakeholders feel disillusioned about the value of their input. They actually mobilized and made an effort to speak up, but their voices were squashed and people were escorted out of the meeting. What's the point of open meetings, community meetings, if what you have to say has absolutely no influence? No wonder no one in this area votes or participates in the political process. No one thinks they are valuable enough to matter.

Another decision that was made without ANY input from the people it affects was to increase the teacher work day by 45 minutes, effective immediately. Okay, first of all, teachers got NO input on this decision whatsoever, yet this will seriously affect many of us. Once again, I'm not saying there's not value in the proposal, but it's all about how you go about things. Teachers are feeling less and less valued all the time, and when you don't feel valued or respected, the quality of your work declines. So let me get this straight....we haven't had a raise in 4 years (or is it longer? I can't even remember) in Dallas. As a result, many of us have chosen to work part-time jobs to supplement income. Cost of living is going up but our pay is stagnant. Last year, they took away a planning period, added an instructional period, increased class sizes, and eliminated performance pay and stipends. The few shreds of time that anyone has without students is eaten up by meaningless meetings, paperwork, and other garbage that is designed to make it LOOK like we are really doing something for kids instead of actually doing something for kids. Teachers are already tired, exhausted, overwhelmed, and underpaid and now you want to extend the workday by another 45 minutes?? With no increase in pay for our time? While taking away stipends, performance pay, and anything that helped make all the time spent in this difficult profession halfway worth it? DISD is setting itself up for an all-out teacher rebellion if they are not careful. The district always fails to realize that sometimes the best solutions come from the people in the trenches. WE are the ones who understand what is really going on and what we really need. We might actually have solutions that make sense too, but we're never invited to the table. Never. We're forced to ride this nauseating roller coaster that is DISD with absolutely no voice and no value.

I know I don't know all the facts...but that leads me to my final point. DISD is absolutely horrible with communication. No one ever seems to know what is going on. There is an unknown "they" out there who seems to make all these decisions but no one knows who it is. Frequent communication, openness to REAL input and suggestions for solutions, and leaders who listen would go a long ways in how the employees in this district feel. Right now, they've got about 10,000 people who are about fed up. It's almost become just too much. Between what we have to deal with in the classrooms with the kids and with what we have to deal with from administration....the passion for educating kids is being drained quicker than Social Security.

I don't have all the answers by any means. But I just don't foresee some of these decisions being in the best interest of the people that they affect most...the teachers and students in one of the most underserved, underepresented, undereducated, and undervalued communities in Dallas.

So True

"...the reason for our existence on this planet is to establish a relationship with the Person who placed us here. Until that relationship is established, all of our attempts to attain happiness---our quests for recognition, for money, for power, for the perfect marriage, or the ideal marriage, for all that we spend our lives seeking---will always fall short, will never quite satisfy the longing, fill the void, quell the restlessness, or make us happy....God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."-- C.S. Lewis

Refreshed

Hello 2012!!! I must say that I am going into this new year feeling very optimistic, empowered, and refreshed after a surprisingly rejuvenating winter break. It's amazing what a real BREAK can do for you mentally, physically, and spiritually. I was able to go home to Farwell for a full week and although nothing was really out of the ordinary about this visit (other than the arrival of my wonderfully cute nephew!) I found myself feeling like a new person when I returned to Dallas this past weekend. In reflecting on this time, I realized how much family contributed to "refueling" my spirit. As I shared in my last post, I had been feeling quite disillusioned and empty for most of the last semester. I have recognized that I have some people in my life that are extremely draining and although I care very much about them, they are not people who equally invest into me. As a result, I felt completely wiped out...emotionally, financially, spiritually, physically...and didn't even really realize it.

However, during my time at home I was surrounded by "givers" instead of "takers" and I am not talking in terms of Christmas gifts necessarily. I really have the most wonderful family...very servant-hearted, generous, caring. For a whole week, I was able to rest and be around people who weren't constantly needing or demanding something for their own problems or desires. I was around people who want to help, who want to care, who want to do something to make MY life easier, instead of the other way around. And I think we all need that sometimes....we all need to be taken care of sometimes too. Not only did my family look out for me, but they jumped at the chance to look out for some of the people who are important to me here in Dallas that are going through some struggles. Without even personally having met most of these people, my parents and my brother cared enough about the people that I care about to really go out of their way to do some very generous things to help. My mom hand-pieced and sewed a baby quilt in two days for a young single mom with a newborn that I know here. My brother and my parents provided financially to assist a former student's family that is going through a tough time right now (my brother who is just coming out of a very difficult farming year and has a brand new baby, mind you!). My mom sent a Christmas package to the student in the mail full of goodies. My parents insisted that I not give them Christmas gifts but instead use the money to do something to help the family out. Then I got to go to church with them and hear two very encouraging messages and further witness all the good things that they are doing for others in the church and in the community. I got to visit with my grandparents who at almost 80 years old, volunteer regularly to serve meals at the Lighthouse Mission and help with clothing distribution at the HOPE Center in Clovis, which are just small parts of what they have contributed there over the past several years. My brother and my dad took the time to check over my car for me and made a few tweaks to save me the money of having to take it somewhere here in Dallas to get it checked out. They would all probably be embarrassed to have me broadcasting all of these things but it just meant so much to me and was so refreshing to me that I felt compelled to speak on it. The result was that I came back to Dallas renewed, refueled, and inspired to be more generous, more compassionate, and more purpose-driven in the year ahead. The support and concern I received from my family this past week meant so much to me...the fact that they would do so much for people they haven't met just because I care about them really touched me. I am truly thankful for the example and quiet generosity of my grandparents, parents, brothers, and sister-in-law and hope that I can be a good steward of what they invested and poured into me in the year ahead.


"A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed."--Proverbs 11:25