Nomination for Edublog Award--Best School Administrator Blog

Beginning this year, the Edublog Awards includes a category for the "Best School Administrator Blog." I think it is a great addition. Speaking from personal experience as an administrator, few things were as worth the time as blogging in terms of communication and being able to influence not only the direction of your own school, but to share with readers whom you may never meet. My nominee is a shining example of how a principal in a small town can use a blog to make a huge difference both to those in the community and to a world-wide readership.

Just shy of three years ago, Pattie Thomas became a brand new principal in the middle of the year at Raymond L. Young Elementary School. This K-6 school serves just over 300 students from Talladega, Alabama. I wrote this post to describe the impressions of what I saw in those first days.

Over the last three years, the school has improved in a every way imaginable. Not only are test scores and attendance up, but so is the feeling among the staff and the community that "a good place to learn and grow" is not just a motto, but reflects the child-centered approach at the heart of every decision made.

Through it all, Mrs. Thomas has used a blog to share the triumphs, the needs, and feeling of community at Raymond L. Young. Upon receiving her appointment as principal, she realized tardies, checkouts, and absences due to frivolous reasons were far too frequent. It was on the blog that she introduced the "Top Dog Club." As the prestige of being a "Top Dog" caught steam and attendance improved, the blog was right there to celebrate that success.

Following a newspaper article where Mrs. Thomas was quoted on the subject of bullying, it was the blog that allowed a concerned parent to write a lengthy, yet thoughtful comment. It was on this blog that Mrs. Thomas was able to respond with an equally thoughtful response that communicated not just to one parent, but to anyone anywhere in the world who chose to tune in, the philosophy and warmth that permeates the school. You can read that exchange here.

Elementary schools are places where memories are made, and this blog captures every one of them, whether it be a celebration of the holiday season, the sights and sounds of "Forever Young" Field Day, or the words of a student serving as a guest blogger.

Maintaining an 80-year-old building is no easy task, and with funding being tight, the school relies on outside supporters. Whether the project is the restoration of an auditorium, the replacement of a "mud pit" with fresh sod, or providing laptop computers for students, this blog has used the power of technology to open the doors of this elementary school to friends both near and far.

Take a moment to meet Pattie Thomas through her Principal's Message. Most of all, enjoy the blog, and see why they call Raymond L. Young Elementary School "a good place to learn and grow."

I am proud to nominate in the category for "Best School Administrator Blog":

Raymond L. Young (Principal Pattie Thomas)

 

Since this post was created, EduBlog received nominations from across the country and beyond. Nominations closed December 3, and the nominations were narrowed to 20 in this category. The Raymond L. Young blog was not selected for the "short list" from which people will vote. To view the nominees in all categories and to vote, go to EduBlogAwards.com. The fact that the Young blog was not among the top 20 says something about the large number of principals who are blogging. Being a principal is a position where there is never enough time to do all one would like. Blogging is something that is worth the time. With the R.L. Young blog, it's worth the time to compose for it and well worth the time to read its contents.

More on Principal Blogs in Education World

Education World is featuring an excellent article on blogging for principals. A large portion of the article talks about the Raymond L. Young Elementary School blog. Pattie Thomas, the principal at Young and a close personal friend is the primary author of the blog. To read the article, click on the Education World logo below.

Christmas at R. L. Young

There was a time in our history when schools felt it important to come together as a student body on a regular basis, and singing together was usually a part of the activity. We learned how to be a audience, how to be respectful and respective. We also took our turn at being part of the program, going through the process of preparation and practice, and then getting up and doing something in front of other people. We found out through the process we really could produce something of quality, and that we could get up before others, be interesting, and be respected.

Those days are still alive and well at many schools, and I had the pleasure of visiting one of them Friday. Click here or click here to learn more about the whole-school Christmas Sing-A-Long that has become a tradition for this school.

In a Million Words or Less

A new school is about to begin. If you are a parent, what is it that you want the teacher(s) to know about your child? If you are a teacher, what is the best way to learn about the students who come through the door?

Pattie Thomas, principal of Raymond L. Young Elementary (Talladega, AL) shares with teachers throughout her school system a vehicle which she used as a teacher. I invite you to read about her yearly ritual in this post. The idea is so simple that it actually works! It offers parents an opportunity to compose something that may well be meaningful for a lifetime. It provides the teacher valuable information to help him/her connect to the child and the home.

"Forever Young"

Sixteen months ago in a post entitled "Little Things are Big Things," I wrote, "Doing little things, and doing them well, is a big thing. Virtually every task we perform is insignificant when viewed alone. Knit together, those small accomplishments move mountains..."

The post spoke of the challenges of beginning leadership facing an interim principal. This post provides, in words reminiscent of Paul Harvey, the rest of the story.

As days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, the little things began to add up. Grass and flowers began to grow where only dirt had been. A pothole-filled parking lot was re-surfaced. Awnings were erected to keep rain off of children and out of the building.

Inside the building, a spirit of cooperation united parents, teachers, children, and the community. The school became as financially solid as it was academically solid. All of it happened because of little things--little things all moving in the same direction.

Soon, it became apparent that the best person for the job was the person already doing the job. With more degrees, better people skills, a flair for creativity, and far more years of classroom experience at the elementary level than anyone around, fate had created the best of situations for this school.

This past Friday, the Board of Education made a great decision for the stakeholders at Raymond L. Young Elementary School. Ironically, it was on "Forever Young" Field Day that the Interim Young Principal became the "Forever Young" Principal. Congratulations to Pattie Thomas, and may the best days for "a good place to learn and grow" be those still in the future.

You've got to think about the "big things" while you're doing the small things, so that all the small things go in the right direction.

-Alvin Tofler

My Favorite Principal Blog

During my final year as a principal (before moving to the central office), I started a blog to communicate with parents and a blog to communicate with staff. Creating and maintaining the blogs was a joy and provided one of those creative outlets that we all need in order to stay fresh. The two of them, along with two blogs I created at the district level, have served as an inspiration for other principals in our school system to create their own. Aside from our small corner of the world, many principals around the country have found blogging to be a key element in building a culture where communication is frequent and positive.

In this post, I want to share my favorite principal blog. A little background is in order first. When Pattie Thomas became principal at Raymond L. Young Elementary School, she felt there were far more tardies, checkouts, and absences than necessary. Rather than dwell on the negative, she saw the situation as an opportunity to accentuate the positive. That was the start of the "Top Dog Club."

A "Top Dog" is someone who has no absences, no tardies, and no checkouts for an entire six-week grading period. Unlike the yearly "perfect attendance" award, getting sick one day does not blow your chances. You get a new chance to be a top dog every six weeks!

Mrs. Thomas used the blog as a way to let parents know about this new award within her first month as principal. Here is that post.

Has the idea worked? A picture is worth a thousand words. Can you believe a school with 315 students would have this many boys and girls go for an entire grading period without being absent, checking in late, or checking out early?

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then pictures that dance to music ought to be worth even more. Here is one reason why this is my favorite principal blog:

Click the link and then click the arrow in the middle of the photograph.

If you are a principal looking for a way to connect with stakeholders in a positive way , take a little time to scroll through the year's worth of posts on this blog:

http://RLYoung.blogspot.com

Workshop for R. L. Young Faculty

"Life doesn't have to be hard" was the theme of a short workshop for the faculty at R.L. Young Elementary School here in Talladega, AL. There are tricks and tools that can reduce the monotony and help us get our lives in order. Often, the tools are already laying around; we just need to know how to use them.

In about 20 minutes, teachers had a good grasp of how to create data with the Renaissance Place dashboard and how to get e-mail from "In to Empty" using Outlook's drag and drop feature. If you would like to read more about the workshop, here is the post from R. L. Young's blog.

Christmas Memories

The days leading up to Christmas vacation are always exciting times in an elementary school. During those last three days I had the opportunity to participate in musical events at two of our elementary schools.

Fancy restaurants often feature live musicians to entertain their important customers during the Christmas season. Figuring that the lunchroom at C. L. Salter Elementary qualifies as a fancy restaurant and that the students are important customers, I teamed up with reading coach Allison Gray to entertain the students during lunch. Starting when the kindergartens came in and continuing through the lunch wave, I played flute and Allison played keyboard on a steady stream of Christmas carols. I wish I had a picture or two to post, and who knows, someone may send me some.



On our last day, I was invited to be a part of the Annual Sing-A-Along at Raymond L. Young Elementary School. The musical quality that is present in that school despite the fact there is no music teacher on staff is really quite impressive and speaks volumes for the faculty and leadership there. I was absolutely blown away by Carolyn, a first grader who sang "Silent Night" while I accompanied her on flute. Her beautiful voice, complete with vibrato, and keen sense of pitch serve as reminders of what children can do when their talents are nurtured. More pictures from that program can be found here.

What's On TV this Christmas Season?

If you are looking for your favorite Christmas-time television shows, there is no need to search. Here is a list in chronological order.



I borrowed this link from a post on the Raymond L. Young Elementary School blog. Of all of the principal blogs I have read, this one is particularly warm and keeps the focus on the kids.