The transition time between school years provides me an opportunity to reflect on the 2009-10 school year, and to anticipate 2010-11. Thispast school year was my fourth year as a principal, my first year as a PK-12 Principal, and the first year for our district to have only one principal. I learned as much as any student! I love being a school principal and it is a privilege to have such an important role in the Cook County School District.
Each school day is an “adventure”—never knowing what might happen, who I will talk with and which challenges will emerge. I hosted three graduation ceremonies the last week of school (5th, 8th and 12th grades) and each had its own spirit. Each provided evidence of our successes, our outstanding students and strong parent support. Each graduation provided a shining reminder of why we do the work we do.
As the principal, I take great pride in our “well oiled machine.” School days are highly structured, scheduled, and organized, with multiple adults having assigned roles and students having their own schedule and expectations. Buses arrive and depart, bells ring, classroom doors open and close, students and adults exchange multitudes of conversations, chatter and academic instruction.
Of course, our “machine” does not always operate flawlessly, and it is my responsibility to work with students, parents, teachers and support staff on problem solving. There are many details, challenges, committees, reports, state mandates, emails and more that must be addressed. It is easy to be frustrated with state and federal policies that conflict with what I believe is important for public education, and worry how poorly funded public schools may impact our nation in the long term. It is painful to know some staff members will not have jobs next year, some will have reduced jobs, and several are being asked to do more and more, without compensation. It is important to be concerned about the future of ISD #166 and how we will continue to sustain our success.
However, the importance of our work cannot be overstated and failure (or mediocre performance) is not an option. Our students, parents and community should expect us to do our work better than other school districts. And, we must also continue to put improvement strategies in place.
I am writing to express a very public and heartfelt thank you to the teachers, staff, parents, volunteers and community for our successful 2009-10 school year. Thank you for your hard work, involvement, and support. Thank you for communicating your questions and concerns and I assure you that the Cook County School District will continue to strive to provide every student the best possible education. We will be ready when students return on September 7th!
Gwen Carman
Cook County School District
PK-12 Principal
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