My apologies for slacking off at the end of the year. I have copied my welcome back letter to the faculty below:

Hello everybody-

I hope you have had a restful, relaxing summer. Like all of you, Jocelyn, Sam, Madeleine and I took advantage of the incredible weather we’ve had this summer. We enjoyed our local beaches and lakes as well as making our annual pilgrimages to coastal Maine, Martha’s Vineyard and New Hampshire. At this stage in their life, I think my kids grow as much from what they accomplish during the summer as from what they gain during the school year. Sam hiked close to ten miles with me and his grandparents earlier this summer and Madeleine made great gains both swimming and biking. It’s great to see how happy they are living a more simple life, concentrating on the things they truly enjoy. We also were able to take our six month old puppy, Ginger, on all of our outings which added a new dimension to our summer fun.

As always, summer signifies a time for less action and more reflection at SKHS. I was able to participate in conversations with some of you about what SKHS might become in the future. Those conversations included URI professors, parents, students, and town officials. Throughout those discussions, I tried to connect all of these ideas to what we already do so that anything we initiate that is new or different is a logical extension of where we are already going. In that light, I witnessed a small group of teachers and support staff meeting throughout the summer on how PBIS can move from rewarding positive behavior and reinforcing established, clear expectations to providing interventions for those who are not getting the message. The math department met regularly to refine and fine-tune curriculum. I talked with many of you about the need for providing learning opportunities for our kids outside of the classroom such as on-line classes, internships or classes at URI. One of the most rewarding professional experiences this summer was meeting over two days with a group of students, parents, teachers and community leaders to review and refine our mission and define our core values, a requirement for our NEASC self study. It was nice to witness such a diverse group of stakeholders reach consensus on defining The Rebel Way.

I know that when you come back to school in a few weeks you’ll be primarily focused on getting your classroom ready for your students and all that that entails. As the year goes on, in the midst of the NEASC self-study and inevitable rumors about contract negotiations, you’ll be challenged to maintain your focus on what’s happening with your kids in the classroom. So at our first meeting, when I start talking about the year ahead, just as you focus on your kids I will do my best to keep the conversation focused on what’s best for students. Throughout the year, I will do my best to continually ask how the structures we have in place and the ones that we build in the future support that focus on SKHS students and their teachers. That summer workshop reinforced for me that we’re all coming from the same place, sometimes it’s just a matter of reminding ourselves that we’re all headed in the same direction.

I’m looking forward to a great year where we enjoy and benefit from all that this community, your colleagues and SKHS students have to offer.