Happy Birthday to you. Uh, me. Errr, us!

Alright, it's a little early, but on May 14 of last year, I posted the first entry on this blog. It was after a very disheartening meeting with Lean King, Dan Grider and a group of parents and teachers in the library of PEC to discuss our hopes for a principal. If you were there, you might remember there was some discussion about communication between all of us being a problem. That's where the idea for this blog came from. I appreciate you checking in and commenting over the year. The ranting, not so much. To commemorate a year, I had some work done, a little nip here, a little tuck there, you like? Thanks for spreading the word. Highlights and lowlights of the last year include:

• The hiring of Adriana Chavarin as our principal at PEC. I was impressed early on, and think she can lead this school to more great things.
• The many hours spent at Board meetings on the Hazelton's mismanagement of the Theory into Practice Academy, leading to its shutdown and displacement of a lot of families.
• The election. I supported Skiljan/Page and still think think it was the right choice, but I appreciate Mo Muir's dedication to her constituency: parents who feel they are not being heard by the board. She reminds her colleagues frequently why she is in the chair. Let's see if the board settles in to a working peace.
• Lean King's raise. Followed by his retirement announcement. Hmmmmmm.
• The budget crisis and Abby Saddat's handling of district finances like James Bond in Goldfinger driving an Astin Martin DB5 in a car chase. I wish my school district had it so together.
• How awesome Central School looks and feels with the great work of our principal, PTA, parent volunteers and, of course, students.

What's next?

• Big items for the year obviously start with what looks like the hiring of our new superintendent, Dr. Timothy Baird, and the continuing budget crisis. Special meeting is Monday, May 11 at the DO. A new era in EUSD politics or more of the same?
• I still see equity between schools as being something that we all need to look at. The Del Mar Foundation is now distributing all income equally to all schools. It might knock some people out of donating, but what gets donated will be spread equally. Can we do this with EEF?
• Aligning the ALP programs at Capri and Paul Ecke Central. The board is looking for test scores to improve at both schools. If this alignment goes well, it could make this program a bright feather in the cap of the district. If not, I don't know how long the program will exist.

What do you remember from the last year? What do you hope to see in the next?