Wednesday, February 6, 2008

The Real Heroes of Chets Creek

Being in Hollywood was so much fun but while we were there, the work of Chets Creek continued. 4th grade teachers worked furiously to prepared students for the Florida Writes. Scribes worked with our neediest students, taking the incredible amount of time necessary to make sure that each student is prepared. Kindergarten teachers began their annual conferences with parents which means a entire day of conferring and then meeting mornings and afternoons for two weeks during their planning time to make sure to meet with the parents that couldn’t come on a single day. Target Team (our Intervention Team) met two mornings while we were gone during their planning time, just like they do every week of the year, to discuss, brainstorm and develop strategies for our most challenging students. The teachers committed to the Target Team process do the work simply because they believe that every single child deserves the best we have to offer. Intermediate teachers continued to tutor mornings and afternoons on their own time to make sure every child is ready for our state test. A teacher in Hollywood asked me how we get our teachers to commit so much of their time and talent – what about the union contract? I didn’t really have an answer for her except to tell her that our teachers are passionate about the children they teach. They really believe that they can make a difference and they see that difference every day.

While it is fun to share what we are doing, and it is certainly fun to do it in LA, it is the teachers in the trenches that stayed at school to work that deserve our highest praise. Their hard work is the heartbeat of our work. We may have gotten the glory, but they are the real heroes!

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