Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Embarking on a New Journey

I have been an Assistant Principal at Curtis Elementary in the Weatherford Independent School District for five years.  Prior to my career as an administrator, I was an Instructional Facilitator and a teacher on my campus. With over 22 years of experience in education, I have seen a lot of change and the most significant change has come in the last five to ten years.  Adopting the Continuous Improvement philosophy in my classroom transformed me as a teacher.  It changed the way I approached teaching and learning.  Creating and refining processes, using Continuous Improvement tools with my students allowed me to facilitate their learning.  It empowered them to be in charge of their own learning.  When that happens, kids get excited about learning and start seeing results.  I am passionate about improvement and as an administrator I have the opportunity to guide teachers in their journey to continually improve.

In the true spirit of continually improving, I am about to step onto the digital grid in an effort to refine my craft, connect, and collaborate with other educational leaders.    I realize that many people have embarked on the Twitter trail years ago.  I also created a Twitter account several years ago, but my Twitter endeavors were limited to something like the all too familiar  "Old McDonald  Had a Farm" song.  I have trudged along with "A Tweet Tweet here and a Retweet there!"  I have decided to be globally connected and join a PLN through the use of Twitter.  (Please, forgive any misuse of any technological jargon. I am new at this!)  Hopefully, I will meet some great leaders on this trek while learning how to improve the educational experience for students,
 
With the gentle persuasion of my wonderful librarian, Shawna Ford, I am becoming connected!  The thing you need to know about Shawna is that she is passionate about technology.  She is passionate about putting technology is students' and teachers' hands as a tool for learning.  She is passionate about books!  Her passion is anything but gentle, but a blast of fresh air, and she has blown me away with her enthusiasm for 21st Century learning.  Shawna has also ignited an excitement in me for joining a PLN.   So, here I am!

I also have the privilege of working with an amazing, visionary principal, Racheal Rife.  Racheal continues to lead Curtis Elementary with the 21st century learner in mind.  She is leading our campus by transforming the way we do school so that our students are prepared for the future.  She is not afraid to take the path less traveled and is determined to take the path that is best for our kids. 

In the last two days, I have made some connections, learned about hashtags, learned how to send direct messages, and learned the proper way to retweet a message that I have edited a bit.  My hope is that through traveling down this path, I improve my leadership skills and add value to Curtis Elementary.  My goal is facilitate teachers in improving their instructional practices and refining their approach and presentation of their lessons with students in order bridge learning gaps and increase achievement for each and every student.  I want Curtis Elementary to be the "World-Class School of Choice! Our students deserve that.

Embarking on a New Journey

I realize that many people have embarked on the Twitter trail years ago.  I also created a Twitter account several years ago, but my Twitter endeavors were limited to something like the all too familiar  "Old McDonald's  Had a Farm" song.  I have trudged along with "A Tweet Tweet here and a Retweet there!"  I have decided to be globally connected and join a PLN through the use of Twitter.  (Please, forgive any misuse of any technological jargon. I am new at this!)