O.K., the lights were in the Middle School Commons. And it clearly wasn't football. Football players get pads. Here's what happened:
Due to an unexpected influx of in-district students over the summer, Corbett Elementary School became over-crowded, necessitating the advancement of the Corbett School sixth graders to the middle school where there was space available. Because we had no mechanism for detecting this influx until students began to register over the past two weeks, we were faced with a last minute decision that was going to have significant and immediate impact on a large number of students and families. In recognition that this would cause legitimate concerns, we called a parent meeting so that we could talk over the changes with the community. It was easy to anticipate that there would be some anxiety and frustration over the timing of the change. And a parent meeting had to be just what all of them wanted to do on the last Friday night before school opens. Certainly not the way that we had planned to spend this evening when we closed school last year with an immaculate plan regarding how this year would unfold. Not an auspicious start to the new year.
In fairness, 90% of the participants in the meeting were assembled to learn about the last minute changes to the middle school configuration and to share their concerns with the staff. And it is entirely legitimate to have concerns when dramatic changes are introduced with short notice in response to unforeseen circumstances. The participants were thoughtful and asked good questions regarding the plans for making this a great school year for all of our kids. It was a good meeting.
And right in the middle of it all, I made a mistake. I mistakenly claimed that most of the Middle Schools to Watch were 6-8 buildings. They are not. I was wrong. I was distracted, I suppose, by the status of Corbett Middle School as a School to Watch being used by some as an argument not to change anything. It's no excuse, but in the moment I confused one list for another and the rest is history. I apologize. But it is important to understand that we didn't gain the status of a School to Watch by applying a formula that can never be altered. In fact there was no formula involved. We won that status because of a successful approach to education that is independent of the ages of the students in the building or the number of classrooms. That was my larger point, which was probably somewhat diluted by my lapse. This is me embarrassed...
After the meeting, many of the parents who were present (many parents were unable to make it on short notice, and a number had been kind enough to visit prior to the meeting) thanked the staff for their service and affirmed their confidence in the work of our extraordinary teachers. As for the teachers, they were nearly giddy at the prospect of having 6th graders join their classes, with one going so far as to say that the middle school NEEDS the sixth graders in order to fully capitalize on the multiage approach that we have employed for years. He knows of which he speaks. I entrusted my then-12-year-old daughter to the care of these teachers and wouldn't hesitate to recommend the same to anyone. I've never even heard rumors of a better group of educators assembled in one place. (The only exceptions might be the elementary building and the high school building.)
All in all, I left the meeting reminded again of what a privilege it is to work in a community that wants so much for its young people and where differences of opinion can be shared in open and positive exchanges. I can't imagine another place where such decisive action so close to opening day would have been met with the strong support and encouragement of even those parents who brought important questions through the door with them. Corbett is a great community, and deserving of its schools.
And I'm beat. No doubt others will have different perspectives regarding tonight's meeting. I'm sure it looked different from different place in the room. This was my view. FTHM.
