What’s Happening at Journey School

July 31^st, 2009, Issue No. 2

By: Shaheer Faltas, School Administrator

“When faced with a mountain, I will not quit! I will keep striving until I climb over, find a pass through, tunnel underneath or simply stay and turn the mountain into a gold mine!”-anonymous

Administrator’s Note

My first encounter with Journey School was in June 2009 when I visited as an administrative candidate. During that short stay, I was struck by the community’s perseverance, resilience, and capacity to weather storms. Dozens of parents, staff, and stakeholders described serious setbacks and pressing problems. Yet, these people persisted and remained ready to serve and start anew—even if they were understandably guarded or cautiously skeptical. In the days following this inspiring introduction I felt increasingly drawn to the school. I’ve always admired the tenacity of certain people. I was even reminded of my own family’s history as immigrants from southern Egypt. As a boy, I watched my parents and older brother struggle, yet eventually triumph over a myriad of complications that might have sent lesser opponents packing. My folks taught me that when you are faced with an obstacle in pursuit of a dream, you should never quit. Through hard work, unity and faith it is possible to move mountains. I’ve now been on the job for twenty-two days. It feels great to be on your team. So long as we acquire togetherness, or lokahi, we will have all the ingredients necessary for success. Journey School can become everything (and more) its founders dreamed it could be.

Personal Challenge: Do one thing in the next 7 days to create togetherness in our school—even if you’ve been hurt, disappointed, or unfairly treated; resolve to take a small step toward unity.

Big Rocks v Small Pebbles—Part II

In the inaugural issue of What’s Happening at Journey School, I emphasized that successful school leaders—whether they are parents, teachers, or administrators— wear “blinders” and focus with laser-like precision on important priorities, or “big rocks.” In an effort to clarify what matters most for Journey School, I’ve organized our school’s big rocks into the following 3 categories:

The Kids: How Children Grow and Learn

1. Promote a safe, clean, and inspiring learning environment

2. Establish challenging learning goals and effective assessment

3. Guarantee a rigorous, age appropriate, and holistic Waldorf curriculum

4. Provide powerful daily lessons and student support

The Teachers: How We Provide and Support Great Teachers

5. Retain, hire, and support a highly qualified instructional staff

6. Leverage and grow school resources to maximize student achievement

The Community: How We Decide and Interact

7. Adhere to mission, core values, and reliable data when making decisions

8. Develop high levels of collegiality and professionalism

9. Create meaningful partnerships with families and the community

10. Ensure healthy governance and communication

How You Can Help!

§ Practice “The 13 Habits of High Trust Leaders” (see attached)

§ Be sure your communication, including e-mail, bursts with integrity

§ Participate in school activities (see Upcoming Events below)

§ Maintain healthy habits at home while promoting a rich array of experiences for your child (ren)

§ Support summer office hours: The office is open from 9:00-3:00 for general business; Shaheer is available to meet daily from 3:00-5:00 p.m. by appointment

Current Progress

Accomplished!

(1) STAR Test Results: Individualized student test results arrived less than 1 week ago and have already been mailed home. We will not receive official school scores or ratings until a later date in August. As you review your child’s report please remember to place test results in their proper context. Namely, they only represent 1 form of assessment and do not measure your child’s intelligence or potential.

(2) End-of-the-Year Reports: Student progress reports and teacher narratives have been mailed. We are taking action to ensure our assessment and reporting practices can improve next year.

(3) Calendar Update: A school calendar for 2009-10 is now in place (see attached). Though it still needs slight adjustment, such as specific dates for Parent-Teacher conferences, etc., it was developed as a values-based document with at least some input from all stakeholder groups. I appreciate the good intent and spirit of compromise which teachers brought to the process. I was also pleased with Council’s effort to think about all perspectives before adopting the calendar. As we move forward, we will work hard to ensure the calendar is well-coordinated and made available via the website.

(4) Mentorship & Educational Excellence: Tim and Patti Connolly, expert Waldorf teachers and seasoned coaches, have already begun their work as on-site teacher mentors for the fall term. This means Journey School is following through on its responsibility to provide every teacher with consistent and meaningful support (visit www.journeyschool.net in the coming weeks for details).

(5) Instructional Institute: The 1^st Annual Journey School Institute for Instructional Leadership will take place from August 24^th through September 4^th. The institute will provide important professional development and team-building opportunities for faculty and staff. A preliminary agenda is in the works and will be disseminated once teachers have ample opportunity to contribute to the agenda.

(6) Governance: Journey school has been selected to engage in a year-long strategic planning process through a cutting-edge grant project (GRASP—Governance, Renewal, Assessment and Strategic Planning). Current school governance practices have already been analyzed by charter school and legal experts. On Friday, July 31^st the results from this analysis will be discussed (1:00-4:00 p.m. at school). A needs- assessment will be used to develop a strategic action plan. We will also receive training on “The 5 Dysfunctions of Charter School Boards”, the Brown Act and Conflict of Interest.

(7) Assistant Positions: A new First-grade Teacher Assistant position has been approved. Additionally, at least one (perhaps 2 depending on costs) Kindergarten Assistant position was also approved. Both positions will be advertised in the coming days. Accurate job descriptions are currently being created and/or revised. Interested candidates should contact Shaheer on or before August 13 at administrator@journeyschool.net

(8) School-Family Partnerships: A comprehensive parent education and development program has been approved (more information will soon be available on the website). This means our parents and community members will be supported as they grow and invest in our unique educational approach. We’re grateful for the support Parent Cabinet (PC) has provided for parent education, mentoring activities, and the specialties program! Please be looking for a parent survey inquiring about the most important topics for us to cover in our year-long parent development program.

In Active Process

School Handbooks: Employee, parent, and student handbooks are being revised for the start of school. This will ensure clear agreements are in place so commitment and follow-through can occur.

Specialty Staffing Needs: An administrative proposal for staffing needs was introduced to Council last week. It calls for a wide array of specialty classes, such as: Handwork, Games, Movement, Music, Spanish, and math support. The Council is in the process of reviewing current financial information to enable wise fiduciary decisions. The next regular Council meeting is currently scheduled for August 20^th. However, there may be changes to the meeting schedule if needed to meet the deadlines for school opening.

Hiring in the Grades:

§ 1 grades position remains open

§ 1 Kindergarten position is now vacant

§ Ms. Gourley informed me on Tuesday, July 28^th that she decided to decline a teaching position.

She feels it’s best right now to prioritize precious moments with her new baby daughter.

We wish Ms. Gourley and her lovely daughter the best of luck. Thank you for your service!

§ Energetic, optimistic and hard-working candidates should contact Shaheer before August 13^th

§ The Teacher Search Committee has been expanded and is working hard to attract the best candidates

§ The ideal candidate possesses a California multiple-subject teaching credential, Waldorf certification and experience, a successful teaching track record, and high levels of emotional maturity.

Although searching for teachers in August can be unnerving for some, vacancies are opportunities to add even more depth and energy to a wonderful team! We would love your help as well! If you know any superb teachers who you think would be perfect for our school, please let us know.

Stewardship Days/Campus Clean-up: 2 campus clean-up days will occur in August. Volunteers are being recruited as we speak. Please volunteer through Parent Cabinet or Shoon in the school office right away! This is a wonderful opportunity to build community as we roll-up our sleeves to make this campus worthy of our students. The tasks we accomplish will give the school a big boost by adding vibrancy and life! I especially encourage teachers to infuse their classrooms with new colors, natural woods and materials, crystals and beautiful art or furniture. The classrooms could also be enhanced by more organization which might include organized libraries or centers for special activity. I look forward to fulfilling our teacher’s wish lists as soon as possible. Again, please sign-up through Parent Cabinet or the front office. See the page which follows for more upcoming events.

Volunteer Update:

Plant TLC: Thank you to all the families who volunteered to help take care of the campus plants this summer, all the slots have been filled through the first week of school.  April Perrin-Jones will be managing the Plant Watering Schedule from this point on, so if you have any questions, contact April at 600-5389 or bootsykitten@yahoo.com.

Workday Volunteers Needed: Parent Cabinet (PC) is in need of volunteers to help organize the upcoming Campus Clean Up Days on Saturday, August 8th and 29th.  If you are able to help organize or provide hospitality assistance (coffee, tea or bagels), please contact Lisa Skibsted at 218-7573 or oscarski@yahoo.com

Hospitality Volunteers Needed: If you make awesome biscotti or can bake tasty cookies, PC is looking for you!  Volunteers needed to provide refreshments and light snacks for our teachers, while they participate in the upcoming Institute for Instructional Leadership.  Please contact your PC representative or Lisa Skibsted at 218-7573 or oscarski@yahoo.com, if you can provide a day’s worth of hospitality during the Instructional Institute which runs between August 24th and September 4.   

Appreciations: Last week we were remiss in not acknowledging Ms. Kathleen Hudson, Mr. Allan Cook, and Mr. Michael Martin for their many contributions to Journey School in 2008-09. We wish each of these wonderful people the very best!

Important Upcoming Events

Dates	Times	Events
7/29	4:00-5:30	Teacher Search Committee Meeting
7/31	1:00-4:00	Council Meeting (strategic planning with charter school experts)
7/31	N/A	Remaining end-of-the-year student reports mailed
7/30	N/A	Individual student STAR testing results mailed
8/4	5:00-6:15 6:30-8:00	7^th grade meeting for new families 7^th grade meeting for all 7^th grade families
8/7	10:00-12:00	Optional Institute Planning Meeting for Grades Teachers
8/8	8:00-3:00	Campus Clean-up (teachers please join your families)
8/10	After 12:00	Teachers may come pick-up Teacher Institute materials
8/18	10:00-12:00	Health Coverage Presentation for full-time Teachers
8/20	TBA	Regular Council Meeting
TBA	TBA	Parent Cabinet Meeting
8/24	8:15 arrival	Teacher Institute Begins
8/29	8:00-5:00	Campus Clean-up
TBA	TBA	School Orientation, grades K-4
TBA	TBA	School Orientation, grades 5-8
9/8	8:30	First Day of School!
9/9	12:30	Parent Cabinet Picnic on the Front Line for Everyone (more info to come)
TBA	TBA	Class Meetings and Schoolwide Gathering

Onwards and Upward!—Shaheer Faltas, Journey School Administrator