Countdown to kids....

I love my Mentor Teacher.  Seriously.  She's awesome.  I know, we are in the "Honeymoon" phase, but I am old enough to know when I am going to click with someone or if I am not.  Her name is Keviyona Ray.  She's a 10 year veteran and a second year Mentor teacher.   Her get it done no bull$hit attitude is just what I need and what I respect.  She shoots straight and doesn't sugar coat anything.  In addition to being my mentor teacher, she is the middle school team lead and with 3 out of 5 teachers being new, she has her hands full.  On top of everything going on this week, she was moving this weekend.  God bless her.

We met the rest of the teachers and school staff this week as well.  Everyone seems great.  The school Clerk, (Ms. Crook) is fabulous.  And from past experience I know, every great school has a great school clerk! Mrs. Martin is the Assistant Principal and she is the make stuff happen administrator.  She's calm under pressure and appears extremely kind.  Then there is Mrs. Henry, the school Principal. She's fabulous.  Motivating, yet no nonsense, knowledgeable, yet listens intensely, and extremely well put together.  I am so excited to be working at her school.  She definitely seems fair, but has the kids best interest at heart.  I mean, that's why we are here, right?


We had a lot of meetings with people from Central office and outside vendors as we are a "welcoming school" for one of the schools that closed at the end of the school year, Pope Elementary.  I was amazing by all the work that went into the transition plan for the students who will be joining our family.  Events as early as last May were taking place, student pen pals, a middle school dance, and then Friday a community and school barbecue and carnival.  There were bouncy houses and games, a dj and good food.  It was so nice to meet some of the kids and some of MY kids too!  Nervous and excited, I seemed to find my "teacher voice" when talking with the students.

We had a lot to do for our classroom, it was basically a pile of desks and dust before we got to it.  AUSL has a very specific classroom environment checklist that includes a standard beautification of each class as well as very visible rules, regulations, school vision and mission.  Each class must have a rug, curtains, a plant with flowers, a classroom library space and a lamp and adhere to the AUSL classroom environment checklist.  You may be thinking this is a bit militant, but there is plenty of room for creativity- believe me.  What there wasn't room for is cold classroom that is unkept and not inviting. As a teacher, I am OK with that.  As I walked around to other classrooms I loved the welcoming feeling each room had.  While you are correct, I have drank the kool-aid and am passing it out to others, there are some things AUSL does you cannot debate.  This is one of them.  Even the hallways are civilized.  If you have not worked in or stepped foot in a CPS/city school then you might not understand the importance of that word.  Historically, through no single person's fault, our schools have begun to look like prisons.  They are cold (or Hot as hell in late August/early september), dirty, and unkept.  Schools like Juarez, Tilden and Al Raby have made strides against this stigma, adding color and structure to the school where they can.  Part of the problem is the constant struggle and political problems a school in CPS faces.  AUSL is able to remove some of that by making expectations VERY clear before anyone begins to work for one of their schools.  So, more often than not, you won't hear an engineer talking back to a Principal because he doesn't like taking directions from a female and his cousin's husband got him the job so go ahead and try to fire me because I know someone conversation. Yes.  This happens in CPS.

Moving on...Friday we had lots of media at the school.  Principal Henry said we should expect the same on the first day.  In addition to being a welcoming school, we received a health clinic staffed by Erie Family Health Center.  I am really excited for this as it will help our parents and students out a lot! It will also be available to the community during the week.  Parts of the Safe Passage route was painted by students and community members last week and looks really cool.  It's lines of red, blue and yellow and other designs in a zig zag pattern.


I am excited and nervous for tomorrow and am prepared to make mistakes and learn by them as well.  I am still as giddy as I was the first day I went down to NLU for class.  I really feel I am right where I am supposed to be.

Please say a prayer or send good thoughts to all the students walking to their new welcoming schools tomorrow.  That may get to and from school safely and feel the love and support by the city and community which surrounds them.