SIGH

It is done. 

Every 5 years, the Department of Education puts together a team and comes to your district for 2-3 days.  They come to do interviews and look at thousands of pages of documentation.  A district my size should take 3 days.  Because of cuts at the state level, and fewer workers doing more site visits, things are getting leaner but it is still one of the most grueling few days to go through if you are in a position like mine.  Teachers, students and (in my district the principals) don't really experience much disruption.  However, for School Improvement Directors, Superintendents (most of the time) and sometimes principals (not mine)...its grueling.

This was MY show.  I took it on 6 months ago and started preparing.  My superintendent is worthless and I wanted to give my principals a gift and leave them out of this.  I handled everything from writing documents to reviewing documents to doing everyone's job in the process down to baking for the team so they felt welcome.  THIS WAS MY PARTY. 

When I came to the district a year ago, I started to dismantle a system that defines them.  I started to tear apart some things that are broken and need to be torn apart.  Its what I do.  I come into places that aren't working and I do the hard things that need to be done.  I have the hard conversations.   In this district, I have been yelled at and screamed at as though they teach you such behavior in teacher training.  It's been surreal but I'm tough and I've stayed the course.  As a matter of fact, my plan all along was to get them to scream and cry and feel completely hopeless.  That's how tied to the system they were.  They needed to be debriefed and broken much like gangsters in the military or children rescued from a cult.  That may sound harsh, but its been true.  They needed to believe they had been abandoned and the only person or persons that would save them were themselves.  Because I need this staff to start THINKING again. 

I knew I was making progress when several teachers told me that they knew things were not working.  I knew I made progress that even though most teachers in the elementary spent one entire day crying because I was "making" them assess their students reading levels.  I knew I was making progress when teachers stopped making excused and owned the fact that over 50% of their students were not reading at grade level.  I knew I was making progress when they did what I wanted them to do through the tears and anger. 

But today, during the exit interviewof the site visit....I knew I had made progress when the team said "in our teacher interviews and our parent interviews, it was clear that they believe that their school improvement director is very knowledgeable and taking this district in the direction it needs to go.   If they believe in me......I can impact the kids.  If they believe in me, I can make a difference in their abilities to do their jobs.  They don't have to like me....they don't have to think I'm funny....they don't have to be my friend.......but they have to believe in me.  I know what I'm doing.  I know how to fix what is broken. 

And for the first time in a year and a half.....I think we might be turning the corner.....