Leading and Learning Under Construction

Several parents have asked me to blog about the construction as a way to help them stay informed. While I am willing to share my personal observations, please keep in mind that I am not involved in planning or overseeing the renovations.  (I am happy to leave those decisions to the experts!).  My role is as an educational leader; my focus is on ensuring Merrimac children receive a solid educational experience.  

Since the construction projects are under the jurisdiction of the town, it has been reassuring to see the Town Building Inspector and Health Inspector spending significant time on-site to check the progress.  With the nice weather at the start of this week, the roofers were able to tackle areas above both the first and second grade wing.  The heating/ventilation crew also continued to work on installing duct work in the ceiling.  To work around each other, and take advantage of the daylight, the crews have worked both day and evening shifts.  I have never lived in a home while it was being remodeled, but several teachers who have mentioned this has a very similar feeling.  The secret is to stay flexible and keep reminding ourselves that this work is needed to create a safe, warm, dry school for these and future students.

I have been truly impressed with the response from Sweetsir Staff!  Despite the increased activity, teachers and paraprofessionals are doing an amazing job keeping the focus on children and on learning.  Classroom norms and routines have begun to settle in and the students are delving into the curriculum.  They appear happy and their behavior has been stellar.  The beginning of the year math assessments and DIBELS (reading) scores have already been completed and are being reviewed.  On the first early release day, teachers met in small groups, also known as 'Professional Learning Communities', to outline thier goals for the year.  The topics included: co-creating focus lessons for Reader's Workshop, examining students' work to drive instruction in Writer's Workshop, designing social stories and other differentiated activities to meet the needs of all learners, and using smart board technology to enhance math instruction.  All goals have the common element of using collaboration to create powerful learning environments for children.