Three weeks completed and we’re off to the most successful start of the school year we have had in eight years! The energy level could be explained as contagious, but the aura is one that you have come experience in person!

So what is REALLY going on at school? Students are learning on a more personalized level, and that’s the bottom line! How are they learning? They are learning NOT like WE did when WE went to school – that’s the difference! What’s wrong with how WE learned 60, 40, 20, 10 even 5 years ago? Nothing was wrong with how WE learned, but learners NOW are not the same as learners THEN. What’s the difference between learners NOW and learners THEN? Educators are preparing learners NOW for jobs that did not exist to learners THEN and we are doing our learners a disservice thinking that what was once done is applicable to learners TODAY! There–that’s it. It’s simple but hard for us swallow and comprehend. WHY do things have to change? Again, my response is WHY NOT?

Something else going on is that our teachers are learning too! They are also learning on a more personalized level–no more ‘one-size-fits-all-professional-development’. Staff meetings are no longer the sit and get role call of announcements (we started this last year, but continue to make improvements).

Our teachers are enjoying reviewing Tech Tips by playing the game ‘heads up’. We also changed our traditional staff recognition from one person being recognized to everyone celebrating the positive things that have happened or the #onenewthing they have learned! For our first official staff meeting of the year, we invited everyone to IGNITE IT, 14 minutes of celebration in which the staff mingled with unfamiliar personnel having a dialogue about what has ignited their passion in education over the past month. Remember, everyone was invited, this was not mandatory–but the picture above says it all!

So what is REALLY going on? Students and teachers are finally enjoying coming to school and work knowing that their voices are being heard!