When I first watched this video, I cracked up because it totally reminded me of my days as a high school principal. Every night before I would go to sleep, I would create a to-do list of all the things I simply had to accomplish the following school day. I would always start my morning in front of the school, coffee cup in hand, greeting students and parents. And although my day would generally start out somewhat smooth and easy going, it would usually ramp up pretty quickly. I would begin juggling a few balls and before you knew it there were hundreds and I felt like I was running around in circles. A sub didn’t show up, a fight brewing in the commons, an assembly getting ready to start, a parent who showed up unexpectedly and wanted to meet, a student looking for support, and thinking about my after school staff meeting and home football game. I quickly had to learn how to prioritize my to-dos, first handling emergencies, reconfiguring my to-do list with the must-dos for the day…what could I delegate? What could I put off until tomorrow? Always feeling like there was never enough time.
The Epic School Partnerships team calls being in the building – “the first space.” We recognize how crazy it can get, making it almost impossible to sit down with your team and just focus on your school’s strategic direction. This is why we are committed to our vision of creating networks of high schools and providing them with uninterrupted time to collaborate as school leadership teams as well as with other high school teams to share ideas, tackle the wicked problems, and continue to develop and refine each school’s strategic vision.
Carmen Gelman, School Partnerships Director