Week Two Comes To An End!

What a great week! I asked St. Ann staff members to set a time for us to meet one-on-one. I've spent most of this week getting to know these wonderful people. At these meetings, we have pretty much stayed away from the topic of work. Before we are staff members at St. Ann, we are human beings. And, it is these wonderful human beings I want to get to know. I've learned so much about these folks.

Here are some of the commonalities I share with staff members:
Priscilla Williams loves to ride bikes.
Angela de Jong is a soccer nut.
Donnie Shea is a Brothers' Boys.
I coached Annmarie Ghio's brother, Jason at CBHS.
Deborah Harty and I grew up down the street from each other.
Stacey Griffith enjoys John Grisham books.
I taught Anna Slattery's son, Thomas, and my brother coached her daughter, Neely.
Like Selina Trouy, my daughter is named Celina, and my daughter shares her birth date (March 18th) with Selina's son, Samuel.
I taught and coached one of Erica Winchester's in-laws at CBHS.

Here are some things I found out about some of the staff members:
Angela Odum lived in Alaska.
Amanda Bannister is married to radio personality, Bill Bannister.
John Baum is a Civil War buff.
Katie Jones earned a Bachelor's and Master's from Memphis College of Art.
Kristen Sellers is from Hayti, MO (pronounced: Hey-Ty)
Tricia Cooper is a big fan of Disney World.
Wanda Sexton loves the Florida Keys.
Tracy Angotti has a daughter named Dominica; beautiful name.
Karen Otts graduated from Shawnee Mission High School in Overland Park, KS.

So far, I have met with 18 staff members. We have six more meetings lined up for Monday and Tuesday.

Next Tuesday, I will also meet with John Conroy, chairman of the finance council. So, what did I work on most of the day today? The school budget of course. I finished the first draft of the school budget, and of course it did not balance. We are at a nice little deficit. Ugh! We have actually been able to cut our expenses. The problem is the revenue side. We will get it worked out. God always provides.

Next Wednesday, I meet with an old friend of mine, David Stephens. David is the superintendent of Bartlett City Schools. He and I were classmates in the education department at the University of Memphis. He is a great guy and I look forward to seeing him again.

Along with many of the teachers, we have started to review the English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum to see where we need to improve. I've received a lot of input from many of the teachers. We will continue the review next week. I also received some input from some of the Catholic School principals. The principals are great to work with and are always available to help.

We are also looking to add Science and Social Studies to the IXL program. To see an example of IXL Science, CLICK HERE. To see an example of IXL Social Studies, CLICK HERE. IXL also has a great diagnostic tool parents can access. CLICK HERE to see this diagnostic tool in action. Several of our teachers have previewed IXL Science and Social Studies, and feel very positive about the benefits it can have for our students. Only problem is IXL Science and Social Studies are not budgeted items.

Here's a free resource parents can use: Edutopia. Most educators know about Edutopia. As an administrator, I have been reading Edutopia articles for years. Edutopia can help parents with their child(ren)'s learning. I receive their e-newsletters, follow them on Twitter, and like them on Facebook. I am constantly sharing Edutopia articles with other educators. I feel it is a fantastic educational resource many overlook.

Finally, there is lots and lots of work taking place at the school. The hallways are being painted and re-tiled, the kitchen is receiving a facelift, and doors are being re-finished. Stop by and take a look for yourself.

If you would like to support the work we do educating the students at St. Ann Catholic School, please CLICK HERE. Thank you

Getting ready for week 3!

God bless you,
Didier Aur