Yesterday, at about 5:50pm, Mr. Pete Graham, our board chairman, asked me during a conversation, "How was your day?" After responding, I thought it would be a good topic to share with you.

My yesterday started at 7:30am at the Griffin Welcome Center as I attended a Chamber of Commerce's Governmental Affairs Committee meeting. The presenter was involved with foreign investments zones, and she shared what they are, how they operate, and the benefits they provide to businesses. She then shared that we have a foreign investment zone right here in Griffin - a company called Perkins. It reminded me that we live in a global economy, and that our graduates are competing with people from all over the world for jobs. The world is indeed flat.

8:15am
Went to Atkinson Elementary School. If you saw today's front page of the Griffin Daily News, you saw a picture of Atkinson principal Aveory Allen and Al Horford, who is the center for the Atlanta Hawks, and 5th grader, Dante' Graydon. The Hawks star had actually sponsored an anti-bullying writing essay contest called "Why Bully Free is the Way to Be," and the competition's overall winner was Dante'.

  

Photo: Dante' and Al Horford

As a reward for Dante', Mr. Horford visited Atkinson Elementary. The basketball star hosted a quick assembly program and spoke about bullying. In Dante's class, Mr. Horford shared how tall he was in 5th grade, that he was not a bully, and that he was a good student. He even demonstrated his fluent Spanish. They were able to see and listen to this super-star millionaire talk about when he was their age, some of the complications that life can bring, and how they can be handled.

Students wrapped up his visit with a clap-out, where Dante' and the other students who had competed were recognized. They walked through the halls, with students and teachers lining the hallway clapping and cheering. For the first time, I directly participated in a clap-out by walking the halls with Dante' and I'll tell you - even though the clap-out wasn't for me, it was a great feeling! I understand why it's so powerful for students. I commend all the schools conducting clap-outs because it makes school special for students.

9:00am
A former student (from when I was principal at Griffin High) had called and asked me, "Please talk to my son. He's a first grader, and he's having difficulties, not paying attention, and I want to intervene." After talking with the student's principal, I decided I'd go to the school and meet with the student. It just so happened that the parent came in for a conference at the same time I was there, so the principal, the student, the parent and I discussed the situation together. We developed a plan of action and now we're moving forward.

9:30am
I was able to attend the University of Georgia Griffin Campus' celebration of the 22nd Annual Employee Recognition Ceremony. Campus president Dr. Jerry Arkin had designated yesterday to recognize employees for 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 years of service.

I was impressed with the university's effort. This is the direction our system is moving, but we're not there yet. By now, you're probably wondering, "Okay, so Jones, why were you there?"

Well, I had the honor and privilege of being the guest speaker. I was asked to speak for 20 to 30 minutes. What did I tell them? It should come as no surprise - I talked about you. I went back to our first auditorium assembly and shared the story about Daring to Do Better. I explained to them that the very best employees are those who Dare to Do Better, because they are courageous, have used what they've learned, and care about something bigger.

I was there for their program and luncheon because of our partnership with UGA Griffin Campus (Young Scholars, MAPPS, science fair, etc.). I had a great time helping recognize outstanding classified staff and hope the presentation was well received.

Early afternoon
After returning from UGA, I met with parents who had complaints about our school system. One case was about a middle school dress code issue. Another case was about enrollment difficulty in our school system. That complaint came to us via the Georgia Department of Education. I had a number of drop-in visits from parents.

4:00pm
I was glad to meet again with the teacher advisory council in the GSCS Learning Center. We shared the budget situation as we currently know it. Jim Smith gave a presentation. Mrs. Louisa Melton gave an overview of the current status with the Pre-K program and Mrs. Denise Burrell shared some of the competing priorities we have for additional funding, such as for academic coaches, transition coaches, parent involvement coordinators as well as furlough days and the potential for increasing class sizes.

The advisory council then broke into small groups and were asked to share their thoughts on priorities and how we should move forward. (I'll share with you that I think that the next fiscal year is going to be the toughest yet and I'm very appreciative of the advisory council's advice.)

6:00pm
This is where the account of my day began when I was met with school board chair Pete Graham and vice-chair Mrs. Barbara Jo Cook.

As you know, many people try to tell us what to do in education, how broken we are, and how it should be fixed. Well, the Georgia School Boards Association and the Georgia School Superintendents Association came together about two years ago and said, "We want to have input on how to improve public education in Georgia." After 18 months of intensive work, those two organizations have produced a document which is a vision for public education, equity, and excellence. Last night's meeting was to share the vision with Griffin RESA area school board members and superintendents.

Truthfully, it's been a great effort to improve education. As we left just prior to 9pm, we were very proud that our school system had been a part of this process. We will continue to talk about and integrate this vision into our strategic plan.

~~~

That was my yesterday. I'm sure your days are filled with events just as varied, challenging, and rewarding. I thought you might find it interesting to hear some of those activities that I'm involved in that you may not know much about.

I close with this: I'm very proud to be your superintendent. I'm honored to work with you. Yesterday reminded me of how good you are, and I want you to know how much I appreciate you. Enjoy your weekend, and continue to Dare to Do Better!

  

Heard presentations on:

 

Griffin-Spalding Retired Educators Association 

    - The deadline for applying is Friday, April 29, 2011.

    - $500 to any employee enrolled or accepted in a  
      teacher education program.

    - For additional information, please contact:

      Mrs. Kathryn Lance

      770-227-0265 or klance97@comcast.net 

 

PAGE 
(click above link to access scholarship)

    - The deadline for applying is April 1, 2011. 

GSCS 
(click above link to access scholarship)

    - For classified employees

    - The deadline for applying is March 23, 2011. 

 

Griffin-Spalding Education Foundation 
(click above link to access scholarship)
    - For certified employees & GTAPP employees

    - The deadline for applying is March 25, 2011.