The Year of Change???

So the school year starts today.  Not sure if my family is quite ready mentally but a variety of items were purchased and packed in the back packs with great anticipation. What will the year be like?  Do we have good teacher(s)? Will the school have a well-organized administration team?  How many changes have happened over the summer?

That last question needs a bit of a look.  The good news is that within the Brandywine School District, it looks like all of our principals are back from last year.  And that is good news because the principal has the task of setting the tone within the building.  And some of our schools within the last few years have had more than their share of changing principals.  And the lack of consistent leadership becomes apparent not only in test scores but also in the atmosphere of the building and with families.  Will communication be stronger this year than last year?  With strong leadership, comes a school environment in which both students and teachers are respected and respect each other.  That’s important to establish in this first week as it sets the tone on academics as being the priority.  And not school being only “social hour” or a “place to get a paycheck”.  It has to work both ways. And a third-way with families being part of the team as well.

Some of our Assistant Principals have changed within school buildings as well as teachers.  These changes may not be as noticeable, but a good “second in command” can complement the workings of any good leader.  A team with a variety of strong leaders, who are not just “yes-men or women”, can challenge and change a school building to reach new heights within the atmosphere of 21^st Century educational reform.

And then there are the changes at the District level and state level – in BSD, our Assistant Superintendent, who has been in the education profession for some 30 years, retired at the end of last year.  That alone can have unique changes on the dynamics, direction and personnel of the leadership of the district and what guidance is offered in the “trickle down” philosophy.  Check out the latest Org Chart on the district website page.

And over the summer at the state level, we’ve had the biggest change in leadership, a new Secretary of State, with not a lot of time in an administrative capacity at a district level nor previous state experiences before this new school year has started.  I’m not sure yet if this is good news or bad news as it has happened in the middle of Race-to-the-Top and right before we, hopefully as families, will begin to see some measurable impacts in our school buildings and classrooms based on the previous 2 years of RttT.  (There are only 2 more years before this additional funding runs out.)  Plus there have been some important changes over the summer with a Waiver process around No Child Left Behind implementation that again is a change that can impact our students learning environment and the attitude of the adults in the building.

So those are just some of the new changes to consider as we start the new school year today that'll impact our students even before they step into that new classroom.