My principal cares!

I visited the middle school that I will be partnering with today and met with the principal. What a fantastic man! He was actually prepared to discuss his needs/wants with me and the executive director of my agency. He was PREPARED. Yea, major winnage, right there.

{Flickr: yourdoku}

He told me his ideas, and I’m on board with all of them:

• Help collect and analyze data: This idea will need to be further explored as it might not fall within my job scope.
• Coordinate volunteer activities: Yes, this is way important. He mentioned needing volunteers for chaperoning, events, helping students with projects, etc.
• Start a psycho-educational group: Student’s get a flex hour 4 days a week. Some use it for tutoring and behavioral things, while other use it to participate in extracurriculars. The principal would like me to start a group and get kids talking, learning how to communicate and feel comfortable doing it. I AM SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THIS ONE!
• Staff Development: He would like me to think of some things I can help the staff learn, or train them on. I am thinking of possibly putting together a training regarding how social and environmental issues can cause problems in the academic setting. Some might not understand how these issues can heavily influence a child’s ability to focus, etc.
• Positive Behavior Intervention: This school implements a system where the students who have had referrals must check-in or out with a staff member each day, to hold them accountable and to build relationships. Mr. Principal wants me to take on a group of these kids.
• Case Management for the at-risk kids
• Building relationships with agencies to bring resources to the students and families

As I type this blog post, I was blind copied on an email from Mr. Dedicated Principal to the faculty and staff:

As indicated in our September Leadership Team Minutes; we have been awarded a grant through Communities in Schools to fund additional Support Staff.

We are extremely pleased to introduce Mrs. SWS as our new CIS Site-Coordinator. Mrs. SWS brings a wealth of experience and knowledge working with adolescent populations, as well as family systems. Her major strengths include effective communication, documentation, attention to detail, organization, planning, and multi-tasking. Her past experience includes 8+ years of administrative support and project coordination.

We’re confident that Mrs. SWS will work collaboratively with our faculty and staff to enhance our school.  Welcome Mrs. SWS !

AWESOME. Anywho…I start Monday!

-♥SWS