Ahhh...summer vacation!

My family and I took off almost immediately after school let out and headed east to Niagara Falls. It was exceptional. There is just something about millions of gallons of water pouring over a cliff that is inspiring. We thoroughly enjoyed our time away and I feel very blessed to have had the time with my family.

And now, back to reality. Much to my dismay, the budget woes have not been solved...I was hoping....

Unfortunately, contract negotiations have not progressed and arbitration looms on the horizon. I am afraid that this does not bode well for our district or our pocket books. The union is asking for a raise and I am told that the 2% raise that the district offered has been rejected. Is anyone else thinking that you can't get blood from a stone?

It has also come to my attention that several teachers attended a white privilege conference in La Crosse. Obviously, with the racial tensions that this district has been experiencing, a plan and goals need to be established. No child should ever feel afraid to come to school. That is just unacceptable. However, I have heard negative rumors about this conference. Whether or not they are true remains to be seen, but I certainly hope that the conference does not advocate the idea of "dumbing down" education to one set of students in order to bring up the scores of a different set of students under the guise of "closing the minority gap". That hardly seems like an admirable practice. I was not able to learn very much from the WPC website, but I will keep looking. If anyone out there has any factual information about this conference, I would be happy to hear it.

And now...the evening calls. What a gorgeous day it has been. Time to relax and enjoy it!

The Lessons We Learn From Our Children

I picked my son up from school on the big last day and decided to get there a little early because I knew the parking lot would be congested. It was a happy decision because I got there in time to see a video put together by the staff. The video showed many photos of the kids and staff throughout the year, marking highlights, holidays, parties, projects and every day learning and was set to music. There was nothing but smiling faces. No where was there any indication that there was trouble in our district. There were no photos of angry parents at School Board meetings. No stacks of paper reviewing budget cut recommendations. There were no contract negotiations. No where on the video was the grade configuation study or overcrowding statements or anything that gave even a hint that trouble was brewing. And then it hit me. While we were storming and fighting and arguing and pointing fingers and attacking each other in the paper and in blogs, our children were carrying on with the business of learning.

Well done. We should all learn the lesson.

3rd graders go international

The world became a much smaller place at Cottage Grove School today. The entire 3rd grade class took part in an international fair and it was amazing. Each classroom had 5 or 6 countries and groups of 4 or 5 kids worked on each country. My son Tyler, in Ms. Melde's class, presented the country of Morocco. Other countries that I saw were Cambodia, Costa Rica, Canada and South Korea and I was so impressed by the amount of work that these children put into their reports. They had large trifold presentation posters with varied information from climate to population to customs. Many groups presented different foods, music and national costumes. I ventured off to other classrooms and visited Germany, England and Sweden, just to mention a few. It was a very cultural morning. Way to go 3rd graders!!!