An Assistant Principal’s Perspective: The First Day of School

Fall has always been my favorite time of year.   Outfits laid out on the bed; crisp new note books; packages of pens and pencils wrapped in clear packaging waiting to be opened; and a little anxiety about a new schedule, new teachers, and new classmates.  As an educator for the last 6 years, that feeling has stayed with me; but instead of fitting in with new classmates it is guiding newly enrolled students.  Yesterday, August 8^th, 2013, was no different as I started my day at 4:15AM.

Like the students, I was less than thrilled to be leaving the summer behind to jump back into the trenches, as educators call it.  Because let’s face it, we can be as prepared as ever, but anticipating the arrival of over 1700 students with problems that range from not getting the new car they wanted to students living in absolute poverty; from having to share a room with a younger sibling to homelessness; from overbearing parents to no parental guidance whatsoever.  Then there is drug addiction, learning disabilities, brain injuries, depression, behavioral issues, special needs, and anywhere and everywhere in between.  It short it can be an incredibly overwhelming spectrum and at times a little daunting.  In addition, teachers left last year tired and disenchanted after being kicked in the knees by politicians and people in the paper who said public schools should be replaced by private industry.

I met the busses at 6:30AM yesterday on our bus ramp and watched over 1200 students descend onto our high school campus.  I looked over at our senior and junior parking lot and watched hundreds of others get out of their cars, shift their outfits and head into our building.  It’s the first day back and the dance begins again.

If you had walked the halls with me, you would have entered 85 classrooms.  In those classrooms you would have seen applications of best educational practices being implemented by dedicated professionals, rather than the old stand-and-deliver in the front of the classroom.  We call stand-and-deliver death by direct instruction, where the teacher just stands and talks the whole time expecting students to pay attention.  Teachers on this day in this school were asking and phrasing questions to illicit high levels of thinking.  I heard teachers say, “tell me more about that,” and “why do you say that,” and “tell me how to visualize that.”  You would have enjoyed positive attitudes being conveyed as teachers smiled and encouraged students to step out of their comfort zone and think deeper.

If you could have opened those classroom doors with me you would have been impressed with the technology applications being used such as interactive SMART Boards and websites.   You would have seen QR Codes (a type of cell phone technology) on doors and Remind 101 (a type of text messaging technology) being utilized to connect with our students digitally, which is their favorite way to connect.  You would have also heard teachers refer to themselves as facilitators of online classes, not dictators of content.  This type of facilitation of courses empowers students to take hold of their learning by making them responsible for asking the questions, engaging each other, and deciding what happens next in their online course.  Together, you and I would have witnessed many teachers using ice breaker techniques such as snowball fights and Whodunit? scenarios to engage our students with first day materials.  Most of all you would have observed the dynamic relationship among teachers, students, administrators and staff members, all interacting in a chaotic yet perfectly choreographed waltz that happens every day throughout the year.

When I hear politicians speak of public education and the need to privatize because of inefficiency within the public education system, I wish they could walk the halls of my school with me.  Yesterday was a prime example of public education exceeding expectations.  1735 students came to our campus, picked up their detailed schedules and proceeded to their classes to learn this year’s goals and objectives.  We educate everyone in public education, not just the affluent, well-adjusted, well-taken care of students.  Public schools are much like the statue of liberty in that we say, “Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.  Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to us, we lift our lamps beside the golden door of knowledge!”