The Meaning of Meetings

This past week has been one meeting after another for me, and believe it or not, I am thankful to have the opportunity to begin the year this way. These meetings are meaningful in that I vow to learn as much as I can at each and every one, while at the same time developing and nurturing those educational relationships that are so important.

I began the week meeting with our school district's Principal of the Year and talking about our philosophies and visions of education. If only I were certified to teach elementary school, I would love to work for her as she is an administrator who has the expertise to manage an exemplary school while at the same following her heart when it comes to nurturing her faculty and staff.

My next meeting was my weekly Education Policy Fellowship Program, and this week's speaker was such a treat! Dr. Jim Johnson, from the Kenan School of Business at UNC Chapel Hill, gave a compelling presentation on the changing demographics of our country and the impact on our schools. Again, I'm learning so much from just sitting and listening to experts who work and live right down the road from me.

Of course, this was a State Board of Education week, and it coincided with my first ever North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards Board meeting. Back in the fall, I was appointed by Governor Easley to serve on the commission, and it was an emotional moment for me as I swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States. I found the Board to be a group of committed educators who took me into the group with such compassion that I didn't feel like "the new girl." We were excited to be able to speak to the State Board of Ed on the successes of the new Teacher Evaluation instrument that is being implemented in thirteen school districts (including mine) this year.

I looked around the State Board of Ed meeting and realized that there were five (former or current) North Carolina Teachers of the Year in the room. Of course James Bell (07-08) and I are serving as Teacher Advisors to the Board, but also in attendance were Melissa Barlett (02-03 and National Finalist) who is a member of the State Board of Education; Diana Beasley (06-07) who after serving as a Teacher Advisor to the Board continued in her role as committee member to the 21st Century Professionals Committee; and Allison Ormond (03-04) who is a member of the North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards Commission. Allison was a member of the Regional Teacher of the Year Selection Committee that interviewed me and visited my classroom last winter, and Diana was a member of the State Teacher of the Year Selection Committee last spring so it was like a family reunion for me. All of these wonderful teachers have been mentors and role models for me. I want to be like them when I grow up!

Here I am with James Bell, Allison Ormond, and Melissa Bartlett. Diana Beasley slipped away before I could get her in the picture...

On Friday I returned to North Carolina State University to meet with the Teaching Fellows there. This time my friends from Western Carolina University were there to visit, and I called in Teaching Fellows Alum and Sandhills/South Central Regional Teacher of the Year Trisha Muse to help me present. We offered our "Teachers Are Professional" (TAP) presentation and then enjoyed a brisk round of tap dancing (clogging) with award winning clogger Trisha. We had a ball and worked off the spaghetti dinner we had just eaten.

NC State Teaching Fellows are talented cloggers!

Trisha Muse, center, teaches us clogging steps while Jackie Smith, Western Carolina Teaching Fellows Director (right) practices.

I'm thrilled to continue to have the honor of representing North Carolina teachers in 2009. Happy New Year everyone! I'm off to another meeting....see you next week!