Tuesday, July 1st, I was in the car on my way to work. The first 30 minutes or so of the trip was no different than it had been for the past year; leave the house towards the highway, sip on my coffee as I pass the normal landmarks (beginning of the two-lane highway, Bass River Bridge, Burger King), listen to sports talk radio, and start to plan out the day ahead. However, my trip this day would not end as it had each day the previous year.
Instead, I was set to begin a new journey in my new home as the principal of the Forestdale School. While only one exit different than my previous school, 4.4 miles down the road and still within the same school district, this day still signaled a significant moment of change for me.
I have not been a stranger to change. In my relatively short career I have worked in four different school districts, six different schools, been a teacher and administrator at both elementary and middle school levels, had my job expand as part of two districts merging, and seen a few (said sarcastically) state and federal initiatives implemented. In each instance, I have approached the change with excitement, a sense of ease and with no anxiety. However, something about this change was different and I could not quite put my finger on it.
I have spent a lot of time thinking about why this change felt so different and have determined that the biggest difference this time is that I had not had that time to fully settle into my previous role before having to change. Someone that I have a lot of respect for has told me that, "it takes at least three years in a new role before you can learn everything you need to in order to be effective at the level you want to be." Having only been a principal for one year and then shifting to a new school did not provide me with the time to develop the appropriate comfort level in my first role. As a result, my mind was not fully "open" to this change and I began to struggle with some of the common feelings associated with change; anxiety, loss, fear and unbalance. However, this experience and sense of disequilibrium has afforded me the opportunity to think deeply about change and my role in guiding it as a leader.
Our district is in the midst of a significant change as we reorganize ourselves to best meet the needs of our students in an environment of declining student enrollment and a competitive school choice market. Learning from my own recent experience, I know that many (if not all) members of our school community will experience some level of unease during this process. While there is much uncertainty as we begin the next phase of this transition, there are a few things we can count on:
Change is coming
By this time next year, one of our schools will be closed and the three remaining schools will look and feel completely different than they did at the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year. There is nothing we can do to stop this reality. Just like the changing of the tides, it is going to happen and all we can do is be sure that we are not caught unprepared. We are in this together
These changes effect every single member of our school community in one way or another. While some may believe this fosters chaos and that change should happen in small steps to small populations, I believe large scale change fosters solidarity. It is easier to have empathy for our neighbor when we too are experiencing the same disruption in our life. A good friend of mine shared an analogy with me that I think applies well here. It is as if we are all launching boat from the shore. Each of us has a hand on the boat, we are all pushing in the same direction and we all have the same goal.
Mistake will happen
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This one by far is the most difficult one for me. It is hard for me to admit that I will fail before I have even begun something; however, I do know that mistakes and failures are opportunities for learning. We will face many challenges in this transition (and throughout the rest of our professional careers) and we will devise solutions to meet those challenges. Some will work, some will not. As long as we continue to take a problem-solving approach, as opposed to a problem-identifying approach, we will be able to learn from our mistakes and make the necessary improvements to guarantee our students the high quality education they deserve.
We can do this, and do it well
Change is opportunity. All great advancements have come throughout history when a group of people have challenged the status quo and looked for a "better" way of doing things. We have an amazing opportunity which many educators will never see in their professional careers. We have the opportunity to create two "new" schools. We can work together to build every aspect of the school (configuration, community, culture, schedule, intervention, enrichment, professionalism, outreach, etc.) from the ground up and do so with a singular focus on the development of the best schools in the state.
