Fall Creek Falls Reteat

I am currently at Fall Creek Falls Sate Park near Pikeville, Tennessee at a Metro Nashville Public Schools retreat. Principals, SLC Change Coaches, and selected teachers from each of the district's Comprehensive High Schools are in attendance. The event is being hosted and facilitated by the Nashville Chamber of Commerce. I arrived yesterday afternoon while the meeting was in full swing, and I also participated in the discussions this morning. Basically, this session is geared toward implementing Smaller Learning Communities in our high schools. We are talking in depth about the types of experiences we want to provide for students in our schools, and we are using people at other schools in our district as brainstorming partners. My first reaction to this event is this: We have some very sharp people in this district, and meetings like this that include leadership and faculty are great. It has been a tough Summer for many in the district, and it is understandable how some people are frustrated and tired. However, at events such as this you can visibly see people's spirits and moods change when they begin to get involved in the collaborative process of envisioning again what is possible. I am a new teacher (last year was my first year), and as tough as last year was for me I still carry with me a sense of excitement about what education will become in the not too distant future. That being said it is easy to become bogged down by the daily grind of beaurocratic education systems. Events such as these allow school leaders and faculty to step back, look at the big picture, think about possibilites. I feel privilaged to be here. This school year I will be teaching in the Pearl-Cohn 9th Grade Academy. It will be separate from the rest of the high school. It will be a new operation, and it sounds like we will have many new teachers - ie. not averse to doing new, creative things. I am looking forward to doing the best I can, and helping shape this new school. Now it is time for me to get more information on how this SLC model works, and how I can be an asset to my school. As usual I feel I am behind the curve, and will be playing catch-up. Stay tuned.