Saturday, March 28, 2015

Where did this come from......


So I am sitting in my office on this cold Atlanta morning trying to catch up on teacher observations, ordering items for next year, emails, and some other odds and ends. I keep thinking, where will I be this time next year; waking up to a beautiful sunrise, or packing for a quick weekend getaway to Dubai, or planning to go to the beach in Abu Dhabi, or seeing some of the many sites in Al Ain with my family. What a huge contrast to what I am doing now:) The latter sounds so much more exciting and fun but a funny thing happened to me this week........

Before you can understand why I'm conflicted you first must understand my drive. I have spent about 12 years in education with 8 of those being in administration. I spent 2 years as an elementary SPED teacher, 2 years as a middle school SPED teacher, basketball, track coach, and football coach. I then moved and worked a few months (literally) as a high school SPED teacher. ALL the WHILE, I knew I wanted to be an administrator. I left no stone unturned, no opportunity did I let pass me by. If there was a chance to lead, be apart of, or learn something from any experience, I was involved. I was promoted to Admin Intern within months of working at the high school. An Admin Intern is nothing more than an AP without the pay:) After doing that for a year and a half, I was promoted to AP. While serving as an AP, I monitored early bird, which were classes that started before the actual school day, I served as AP during the day, and night school principal.....YES, LONG ASS DAYS!! But I knew what I wanted!!! An opportunity came to lead an elementary school that had just opened. It was beautiful and had all the amenities of a new school. It even had mini lounges for students and staffs to work in. And it was working with a population of students that would allow me to continue to  work with...low socio economic African American students. This had always been my educational life's work and my only experiences thus far in my journey had been working in these types of schools. So the opportunity to lead one, and a NEW one was exciting. Now mind you, I had only been an AP for a year, but over the past few years serving as an AP and Admin Intern, I felt like I had logged enough hours equivalent to 10 years as an AP. So I stepped out on faith and applied....and what do you know. After countless panels, and interview/interrogation by the Superintendent I was hired.

Yes, I admit initially I was in over my head but I learned the job and I worked hard at it. After three years (and a divorce) I wanted a change. I wanted to start over somewhere new and Atlanta was intriguing to me because I had spent many summers there as a child but had not visited quite as much as an adult. I even managed to steer clear during the FREAKNIC days:) LOL Atlanta was also looking for new leaders after the "Cheating Scandal". So I interviewed and was placed at one of the lowest performing schools in Atlanta. One year later........we were a Georgia Reward School for being in the top 10% for Highest Progress. It was hard work...it was a lot of work! What made it more gratifying was that I felt like I was changing a community that deserved better for its children! Children that looked like me and but for the grace of GOD, could have been me.

Which brings me to these new feelings..... I had an unannounced visit by the Chief Academic Officer on Friday and we spent, or should I say he spent, most of the time sharing his vision for me and my school. It was awkward because he was asking me to serve in a few different capacities for next year and that he wanted to provide mentorship to me, necessary to get to the "next level". This meant a great deal to me as I love smart people and I love learning from smart people, especially those that have DONE THE WORK and not just read about it. The fact that he had been a former Superintendent twice was also appealing because he had credibility. Later in the afternoon, I have a scheduled meeting with the Superintendent and my Associate Superintendent. This meeting was to last only 30 minutes, but the conversation was so rich and I felt so empowered (maybe because I am leaving) to tell her what I liked and did not like, that we spent almost an hour and a half talking. She gave me a huge compliment as she was leaving that meant a great deal to me because I felt like she was being honest, and she also told me that no one had ever talked to her like I did. Yes, I have been know to "push back":) Toward the end of the day, I received a phone call from my Associate Supt's aide who wanted to let me know how much my name had been circulating throughout the district the past few weeks and how much the Supt. enjoyed our conversation....As Ice Cube would say...today was a good day....BUT it wasn't over!

Shortly after that, one of my teachers who I had been counseling for a NEEDED career change/shift came and notified me that today would be her last day. Hallelujah!!!.....but there's more.

I am not going to go into all the details but a parent brought a students back to the school to alert me that she had caught him with the vacuum cleaner cord wrapped around his neck trying to kill himself. We spent about 2 hours talking about him, the family dynamics, resources, and how to heal the entire family. There were SO many moving pieces that Iyanla: Fix My Life would have had to devote a whole season to it.

After that I sat in my office trying to absorb the highs and lows of the day....and a few simple questions came to me....IS THIS WHERE I BELONG? IS THIS MY LIFE'S WORK/CALLING? WILL I GET AS MUCH JOB SATISFACTION THERE? WILL I FEEL FULFILLED?

I understand and do not stand in judgement of those who are taking this opportunity because they are fed up with where they are, or want to make more money, or think that it is easier...but my journey has never been about that. I have always wanted to do the right thing by kids and as a result have been blessed to be well compensated, even though I would like more. So my spirit is conflicted. Admittedly, I have not been in contact with GOD as much as I should have the past few weeks.

I'm somewhat amazed because last week I was so excited and wanted to pack and leave immediately! 7 days later, I sit and wonder....IS THIS REALLY the best decision for me?

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Did I really just start packing......

SO this is my reality....well some of it at least....How do I fit what you see and sooooo much of what you don't see in two cases....HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Im not even going to fool myself...I see extra baggage fees $$$$$$ in my future.

I began the process tonight by boxing up all my winter sweaters....I felt amazingly "glutness". How many purple sweaters can one person have? I didn't even realize I have like 3 red sweaters...and I'm not talking about a red one, a red stripe one, or a different type of red sweater. I'm talking about the SAME DAMN RED SWEATER:) LOL I really am ashamed, but it was nice knowing that with the exception of a few light sweaters, for the next few years I won't have to worry about snow or weather below 50 degrees! 


Sunday, March 22, 2015

New Friends, Great Conversation, Same Excitement, Similar Worries

This weekend I had an awesome opportunity to meet some other teachers who are traveling along this  highway. I highly recommend other teachers who are similarly located to get together and talk, laugh, vent, and just open up about this WILD and CRAZY experience! As an administrator, as times, it was somewhat uncomfortable to hear teachers talk negatively about their administrators and their schools. I was thinking to myself, is that me....is that my school? I think far too often administrators and teachers end up on the wrong side of the isle working against each other, rather than finding ways to work together and support the work of all. One of my "new" friends asked me why I was leaving and I think she found my answer enlightening. I am leaving because of some of the same reasons that teachers leave:
  1. Feeling unsupported
  2. Higher levels of accountability without any high levels of guidance/support
  3. Having to do more and attain more with less
  4. Having to push more initiatives to teachers (who know better) and make them sound like those initiatives are what's best for kids.
  5. Feeling like each year, no matter the gains made the previous year, you have to start back at the bottom of the mountain pushing the rock back uphill
But I am also leaving because:
  1. I can allow my wife to focus on motherhood!
  2. I can expose my kids to the other side of the world
  3. Financial freedom
  4. We can afford to have our parents to come and stay with us for extended periods of time
  5. The opportunity to travel!!!!!
  6. The opportunity to LIVE outside of the rat race and hamster wheel!
Overall, everyone was excited. Some of us a knew a little more than others about the process and what to expect....but then again, that's what this experience was about..SHARING with each other. I look forward to the next one in May...but for now...packing and waiting is my life:(

Monday, March 16, 2015

One Step Closer

Paper never looked so good!!!

Sooooooo......... I got my authenticated documents back today. I must say the process was really quick and ProEx was amazing! I went straight to Kinko's and scanned them into a PDF packet and emailed it to my recruiter. Now I have the 2nd of three waiting  periods. Those that are familiar with the process know that the first waiting period is after the interview when you are waiting to get your official offer letter. The 2nd waiting period comes after you submit all your documents and wait for the email letting you know that your Visa is being processed.......which is where I am now. The good news is that I have a bunch of stuff to do and I am excited about meeting other Atlanta area folk who are also on this journey this weekend. It should be a great deal of fun networking and building relationships. Who knows....one of the people I meet may very well be placed in the same school as me!

Saturday, March 14, 2015

A million things....

So it's been a minute since I have posted anything. I placed this countdown app on my phone a few weeks ago with July 31st being my leave date, although I have been told it will be sooner than that. Today I looked at the countdown and it had 138 days!!!! The funny thing was that while this is still quite a few days, it didn't feel like a great deal at all. I came home and "audited" my closet again. Anyone who knows me, fully understands that this is extremely difficult as I have ALOT of clothes, dress shirts, SUITS, ties (regular and bow ties), and SOCKS!!! I managed to find about 9 dress shirts and about 5 suits to give away. This is my second time going through this process! I'm trying to be extremely hard on myself and truthful. I know (insert sad face) that I can't take everything with me so I am trying to configure my closet with only the clothes that I "cannot" live with....I;m going to change the tone of this blog because I am sounding extremely METROSEXUAL at this point:) LOL

Since my last post, I have gotten ALL of the needed documents that need to be submitted and am waiting for PROEX to send me my documents back. They are the best!!!! I also got MARRIED on the 27th! That could be an entirely separate blog:) so far, I LOVE IT! I am excited that this opportunity will allow me an opportunity to provide for my mom and allow my wife and daughter time to just bond! How great is that!!!!

I am really praying that once I arrive, I really LIKE/LOVE my job! I am pretty tough skinned so I can get through pretty much anything. What I hope most is that my wife loves it. I want to get her acclimated as soon as possible and I hope that we meet and begin great friendships with some amazing people!!! The great thing is that I have already met some incredible people!!! I also can't wait to meet my Atlanta crew next week!

I still haven't told my staff or my boss yet:( I am trying to wait until I get the email from ADEC telling me that my VISA is being processed:) At the same time, I am conflicted because I want to be as transparent as I possibly can and there are some HUGE decisions about staffing and funding that need to be made for next year. Hopefully, after we return from Spring Break (April 6-10), I can let them know. The last day of school is May 22nd! Not sure how many days as I have not started the countdown as of yet:)

I still have a ton of things to do and I am not going to wait until the last minute....

Sunday, March 1, 2015

She said YES........

I needed a little help with the proposal:)

SOOOOOO after a week of trying to slip the ring on my sleeping girlfriend and not being able too, I realized I needed a new plan of attack. With a little help from her sister, I had picked out the perfect ring, but I needed the perfect opportunity to DO IT! I decided to enlist the help of our new little one....I figured she couldn't tell her no! I waited until my nightly duty of watching our little one while mom takes a shower. I quickly changed her, propped her up on a pillow and waited. She was a perfect angel. I think she knew something was up because she did not cry one bit! Mom came out, we asked her, and the rest is history! We are going to get married (quickly) and then have a beach wedding this summer so that we can have her paperwork processed in a timely manner. This is such an exciting time. I am SO ready to go... 4 months, 4 weeks, and 1 day......but who is counting!!!

Am I the only one with a countdown on their phone.....LOL