Hello.

I want to talk to you about what I have learned over the last few
months, and I want you to think about what you believe about where
we are today and where we want to go tomorrow.
Along this reflective journey, I want to apologize to you. While my
intentions have been honorable, I have let you down in my actions and
explaining my Why. I thank you, in advance, for your graciousness.
I realized something needed to change several months ago in an
administrative meeting called by our superintendent. As we perused
achievement data, I learned the following:
There is a large achievement gap between our Caucasian,
African American, Hispanic, and non-English speaking students.
There is another between our socioeconomic groups, and our
poorest students are not making growth on their EOC tests.
Nearly one-fourth of our ninth-graders failed to earn enough
credits to become sophomores.
In reality, our graduation rate has decreased dramatically. More
and more students are dropping out earlier grades.
I apologize for not realizing these gaps sooner. Disaggregating data is
something I should have been doing. You should have known before
this year that these gaps were forming.
Until this week, I thought the only group whose needs are currently
being met are economically comfortable white kids. But as I have
listened to parent groups, I am wondering, is that really true? Are we
preparing any of our children to be successful at college and in their
careers? Have we collected enough data to know for sure?
Then, I led several months of small-group discussions. In time, the
small groups recommended moving to a block schedule and
developing smaller learning communities. In the committees, it
sounded like everyone was on-board with this plan. Recently, Ive
realized that some faculty members have very serious concerns about
our plan. I need to apologize to everyone. I should have made sure that
each faculty member had an active role on a small-group so that all
views could be heard and consensus could be reached at the table
rather than dissension in the parking lot. I apologize to those who
attended the meetings because of the time and thought they put into
the process as I had created it.
Finally, I apologize for not seeking first to understand the fears of all
students, parents, and teachers that surround any change to their

traditions and values. I have not shared enough about WHY we need to
make changes. So I am here to rectify that now.
While going through this process, I have been reading a book called
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, who is now a national
correspondent for The Atlantic. He reflects on his experience growing
up in the streets and schools of Baltimore in this book written as a
letter to his teenage son. As I read his words, I wonder which of our
students feel the same way about our school as Coates does: (READ
PAGE 33).
When I think about my sons future, I want him to actually receive a
great education whether he wants it every day or not whether his
teachers believe he deserves it or not. Because lets face it, from
preschool through grade 12, our students are children and they are our
customers. Without them, there is no need for teachers to have jobs.
In thinking about our next steps with our students, Im reminded of
when I was in graduate school, and my friend Jenny OMeara talked
about something called the Growth Mindset. At first, it didnt mean
much, but as I saw her take responsibility for others learning, explicitly
teach grit, and model intelligence as something that is worked for and
not fixed, I saw her live that mindset.
According to the researcher Carol Dweck, mindsets, or how we
perceive our abilities, play a key role in motivation and achievement. If
we can change mindsets, we can boost achievement.
As an educator, my goal is to boost the achievement of all of my
students. It is not my role to weed out students for success in the adult
world. In fact, it is the opposite: it is my duty to set every student up
for success. That is the bottom line: every single child must graduate
ready to be successful in college or career. And that is where Dweck
and Jenny OMeara come in: sometimes we, as educators, have to
convince students and parents and community members that our
students all of our students CAN achieve at these high levels.
I am not trying to inflate numbers for our next superintendents
meeting. What this means to you is that I am trying to help each and
every student regardless of their race, economic level, or who their
parents are: I need your help. The mission of this school beginning
today is prepare students for college and careers where they can make
a successful economic living.
As you leave, I would like to reflect on your mindset. I believe that if it
is fixed right now, that it can grow to become a growth mindset and
that together we can educate all children to reach high levels of

achievement. I want everyone to sign up for a committee scheduling,

remediation/intervention, enrichment, curriculum, parental
involvement, or community relations before they leave. Bring your
concerns and a solution to address them. We will discuss in these new
small groups what our next steps are. Finally, thank you.