What a Week!

I put some miles on the State car this week but not so many miles on my own pillow in my own bed. I began on Monday, spending the day in my school with the Grizzlies. I worked with some National Board candidates on applying for the process while others needed some "getting started" ideas. In between I ran from new teacher room to new teacher room sharing some vocabulary activities that we received last year during our Marzano's strategies workshops. And of course there was time for student hugs all around and some Bojangle's for Rahkeesh who is back from the hospital after being air-lifted from the practice field last week. He spent a few days in Pediatric Intensive Care and scared us all to death, but a bacon biscuit and a Sprite brought that never-ending smile back - I was so glad to see him (I went to the hospital, but they wouldn't let me in!)

After the day at school, I jumped in the car to head to the other side of the county to UNC-Chapel Hill. After a fun dinner at Top of the Hill, I spoke to the student group of the North Carolina Association of Educators, UNC Teaching Fellows, and other education majors. These guys were an enthusiastic audience, asking questions and staying engaged for over an hour (even though it was getting late.) I enjoyed my time at my alma mater!

The next day I attended the second installment of EPFP (the Education Policy Fellowship Program) sponsored by the Public School Forum. At this meeting, each Fellow had 2 1/2 minutes to tell about themselves. It was indeed a treat to learn about everyone. I headed home, another late night arrival, and prepared myself for the next day - three stops in one day.

Wednesday started at the Department of Public Instruction, where I attended the first Mentor Task Force meeting. Our legislature has appropriated money for Full Time Mentors in our school systems, and our group brainstormed around issues of accountability and purpose. I left early to travel to UNC-Pembroke and speak to another group of Teaching Fellows. Here I found an eager group of future teachers, and I enjoyed speaking before the overflowing classroom.

They made me a beautiful, welcoming bulletin board!

Here I am with Morgan, a freshman education major at Pembroke.

My last endeavor on that Wednesday included driving to Southern Pines to attend the Public School Forum's Board Meeting to take place on Thursday and Friday. I was honored to share the room with so many experienced educators and businessmen and women. This year's board will be participating in Study Group XIII which will concentrate on two issues - building a seamless system of education from Pre-K to graduate school and devising recommendations that will strengthen the state's ability to identify and train prospective leaders in our schools.

My last activity of the week was an exciting experience as I attended the UNC School of Education's Alumni Awards Luncheon. I was humbled to receive the Excellence in Teaching Award and told the group that I vow to spend the remainder of my career trying to live up to the honor.

Here I am with my fellow language arts teachers from Gravelly Hill Middle School. They were so nice to attend the luncheon on a Saturday when they could have been grading papers!

Here's my nephew, Cole, who's a sophomore at UNC-Chapel Hill.

With a busy week behind me, I'm gearing up for the State Board of Education meetings next week and presentations to the Teacher Cadets in Greenville and teachers in Granville County. This has been an amazing couple of months!