The Winds of Change are Blowin!

Every year at this time it happens...in both dh's and my jobs....people start talking about changes. As a pastor in a denomination where appointments are made annually, you can imagine how the rumors fly about who is leaving, who is staying, etc. We go through it every year. He hears who, what, where, when, why, and how.

My job is no different. I work in education. It's the time of year when we turn in our intention forms for the coming year. It's a time when we let our administrators know what we'd like to do in the organization. It's also a time, as my principal says, that the administration makes sure everyone is in the "right seat on the bus". Every year it happens and every year I hate it. Rumors start flying....people "dig" for information....quite frankly it frustrates me.

Today, though, I realized that the wind may be blowing my way and could bring changes in my world. I have a GREAT job that I LOVE. One of the things that I love about it is the team of people I work with from the top down. I am very fortunate. I work for a visionary leader who loves creating unique and exciting learning environments for kids. He surrounds himself with "can-do" people and we have been able to create a GREAT school for some of our county's poorest students.

Today may have changed things in our district though. You see, today our county passed a referendum for education. This is not a new tax. It's simply extending a tax that has been in place for the past four years. What's different is the plan for the money. The plan is to overhaul our secondary schools and really turn up the expectations for teachers in those schools in hopes of closing the achievement gap that exists in our county. It's a HUGE plan with a lot of unknowns.

As I said, rumors fly. People are talking about some of the middle and high schools and impending administrative changes that will be made there. I fear that my boss may go. He is a visionary. He is clear that learning MUST be kid-centered. He is unafraid to take the bull by the horns and look mediocrity in the face. He is unwilling to settle for second best for any kid. Why WOULDN'T "they" want someone like that to lead a middle or high school?

So, here I am wondering....what will my future bring? Where will I be? Is there a reason that I am getting endorsed to teach Reading in K - 12?

Time will tell. In the meantime, I'm going to hold on, because the winds look like they could be pretty strong this year!