a second from my soap box

Excited to share some upcoming transitions in the life of this drama teacher...

Most recent news, my man and I found a quaint little, but newly remodeled home in the Highlands neighborhood in Denver, and we will be moving in mid-May. No more bachelorette pad, no more Wash Park, the tides are changing! And I am embracing the next step of our relationship in this new space.

Next year I will be the first drama teacher to teach at the Denver Center for International Studies (DCIS) at the downtown campus. They are a 6-12 school in Denver Public Schools, and if you check out the website, you can learn a lot more about how incredibly awesome of a school it is. I have my work cut out for me, there is already a strong, existing student-led Drama Club that will be putting on their 4th production, and they gave me a laundry list of how they'd like me to provide my courses. I am extremely humbled and enthusiastic about joining the staff and students at DCIS, get me there now!

I am leaving my school on bittersweet terms, I will definitely miss my students and battle with myself about the holes that will be left in their drama education, but I have to be grateful for this opportunity, that is unlike any I would have ever expected to fall into. Of course, I am leaving to further my career, but honestly I am very encouraged to be a part of a progressive, positive team that puts students first.

Recently at my current school, the work environment has not been the brightest. The area of the city where the school is located faces the popping up of new schools that are charters or have innovative status. This means that the school is still considered a public school, but they are run by a charter, or a different set of rules for things like school day hours, rules, strong school culture run by an academic focus, homework policies, testing schedules, whatever they believe is important can impede what the district has set up. Most of the time, these schools are successful, they have committed teachers and staff, they work hard and they set a strong culture of achievement and academics. Now thats not to say that sometimes these charter schools are not successful either, the work ethic of these staff members cannot always sustain.... it's a lot of work! There are still struggling students if they or their families are not on board with the charter, there is still a lot of discovery to made as far as what works the best, but regardless the popping up of these schools gives parents another option than just the neighborhood school that they would normally have to send their child. They have a choice, and in this area, they can shop around for the school they want to send their children.

On the surface, this creates friction between the traditional-public schools and these charters. Teachers feel "burdened" by the kids who did not get accepted to the charter, getting the "leftovers" or the "bad kids." And it also has been observed that they develop an attitude of resentment, or feeling like, "well those schools do this, and we do that," "why do they choose THEM over US," and an overall separation and negative feeling between the schools and their cultures.

Let me be clear, my new school is not a charter school, rather a school that offers an International Studies diploma to graduates who complete the requirements. It is a public school that is high achieving due to the commitment of staff, parents and students to keep the school academically focused. However, I have been feeling the heat from my current co-workers and their opinions about "those schools" threatening theirs. Without more information, I feel they are judging my decision to go to DCIS and that I am contributing to the overall decline of the public school structures in the district. I have sat back and been a fly on the wall while they carry on conversations about their frustrations with "those schools" and frankly, I need to vent without causing more stress in this work environment for the rest of the year!

The purpose of public schools are to provide a free, equitable education for ALL students. Now how this is done is different all over the country, city to city, rural town to mountain town, form old teachers to young teachers, the public school structure is different every where and it is allowed to be. As long as students are LEARNING, achieving and being supported in their goals, then the public school is doing their job. Instead of separating ourselves by structure or status, why don't teachers take time to go to another school to observe the differences, to take notes on what is working well and what is not working, and how they can adapt to the times and the needs of the school. Why don't teachers put the needs of the students FIRST instead of their own preferences and comfort levels with the schedule, with the curriculum, with the expectations. Reach higher for your students and for yourself than just what you are used to.

Maybe this is all easy for me to say, with my TFA background of having high expectations regardless of economic status, but I think it is also a common sense concept. Being a good teacher takes dedication to always reflecting and making yourself better for your students. If a charter school is better, or the structures within a public school are better, than so be it. But take into consideration the population, the needs, the families, the context of the school, the neighborhood. Stop yourself before you say "those schools" and say "all schools." All schools should be focused on cultivating the whole child. All schools should have academic achievement their primary focus, whatever means necessary. All schools should put students' needs before the needs of their students, and work on whatever it takes to make it the best environment for those students to learn. When we separate ourselves based on status or structure, we separate ourselves from the real mission and purpose of public schools.

That's all, thanks soap box for your hospitality.