#JustBe

I love education! I love the fact that I am entering my 20th year with the same excitement, enthusiasm, and inspiration I felt my very first day as a first-grade teacher in room 20 at Valle Vista Elementary School in Delano, CA. I enter into my fourth year in my current district, Bakersfield City School District, with an enhanced sense of emotions about the current state, and future, of our organization. 

EXCITEMENT

This past school year, I was privileged to have the opportunity to spend a few hours with one of my eduheros, Jimmy Casas (@casas_jimmy) who listened intently as I shared the journey of our district. To have Jimmy Casas sit with me engaged in my narrative was frankly, AWESOME!!! Later that evening, I had the opportunity to have dinner with Jimmy and in true Jimmy style, he inspired and encouraged through his words and pushed me to keep moving forward. Later that week, Jimmy blogged about his day in our district (you can read about it here), http://www.jimmycasas.com/want-to-be-a-successful-leader-learn-to-arm-yourself/, which only reinforced what I believed, we were doing the right work for the students we serve. 

Fast forward to the current month of June 2017. Our Curriculum & Instruction Team along with our Instructional Support Services Team, have designed quite the professional learning experience for our #teambcsd staff. Our Summer Institute 2017 is unlike any prior summer experience. Our teachers and administrators are immersed in social-emotional learning and academic topics aligned to the Ḱey Levers'of our districtś goals. We are focused on fostering a positive culture conducive for students to be academically successful. Our theme, #JustBe is the brain child of our outstanding Curriculum Team and has been positively embraced by our staff. The idea of #JustBe leaves the statement open ended for every individual to define how they will #JustBe for the 2017-2018 school year. A few examples that have been shared are shown below. 

#JUSTBETHECHANGE

#JUSTBETHEDIFFERENCE

#JUSTBEBETTERTODAYTHANYESTERDAY

#JUSTBETHEONETHECHILDNEEDSTODAY

#JUSTBEAWESOME

#JUSTBECOURAGEOUS

#JUSTBETEAMBCSD

ENTHUSIASM

To gain a sense of the enthusiasm I am feeling, conduct a Google search for #teambcsd, or if you are on Twitter, search the hashtag #teambcsd. The team, each individual member, is creating their own ripple which in turn is forming positive waves across our organization. To further exemplify the enthusiasm felt, our creative EdTech staff creates short videos titled, 60 Seconds of Awesome, which is a combination of highlights from the day prior our Summer Institute along with messages for the current day. Side note, itś difficult to confine our awesomeness into 60 seconds, so the videos are a little longer.  

In the videos, you may have caught the large wall with the ´JustBe´ theme. All attendees were encouraged to record their name and simple message for the 2017-2018 school year. The results are inspiring. Our teachers have demonstrated a willingness to be part of this organizational change we are experiencing. 

photo credit, @Stephanie_Tiede

INSPIRATION

I am continually inspired by the team I have the great fortune to work with every day. Our team of administrators, teachers, and support staff is the very best. As you can see, by searching our districtś hashtag, great learning is taking place while strong relationships are being established and fortified. 

In late May, we challenged our administrative team to jump into the Twittersphere, and they excitedly created accounts and began to explore. As part of our Summer Institute, we challenge our teachers to do the same. They too have made the jump. During the same month, a few of our site principals started a book chat and encouraged administrators and teachers alike to jump into the conversation. During the month of June, dozens of #teambcsd members, along with educators from other districts in our area and as far away as Texas, joined our conversation. The book of choice, Shifting the Monkey by Todd Whitaker (@toddwhitaker), was the perfect book to begin our book chat experience. Our team will begin our second book chat in July. Our second selection, Innovatorś Mindset by George Couros (@gcouros) is sure to be as successful as our first. Through this experience, I have been moved by the willingness of our team to learn and grow together. 

THE POWER OF #TEAMBCSD

All of the effort and work put forth by #teambcsd staff is inspiring. To pull off a professional learning experience for 1,600 teachers is no small feat. Together, our Curriculum Team led by Rachelle Montoya (@dvsblond) and Instructional Support Services Team led by Tim Fulenwider (@drtfulenwider) have designed a learning experience that will not soon be forgotten by our team. Together, along with countless teachers and support staff from across the district, we have inspired the nearly 1,100 teachers who have already attended the first three summer sessions, with one session remaining in July. As we inch closer to the start of our new school year on August 16, 2017, we are excited, encouraged and inspired as One District, One Voice, One Team, in our efforts to embrace, support, encourage and empower our students to greatness.