Convocation 2021

Each school year on the day before our new school year begins we gather as a Worthington Schools team for Convocation.  Convocation is designed to bring our schools together and help everyone remember that we are all part of a larger organization than our school or department and we’re all working for our children of Worthington.  Additionally we attempt to impart a theme that can be used by our schools as a unifying concept for the school year.

Because of COVID this year we have divided convocation into two sessions in order to maintain distancing in the auditorium.

This year our theme is:  “Everyone has a story…but not everyone has someone to listen to that story.”

After a very disjointed 15 months of schooling our goal for this year is to reconnect with our students and to help our students reconnect to one another and to school.  We’ll discuss how technology has changed how we interact, how the pandemic has created a level of isolation, how those two items have combined to create a toxic culture and how we’ve learned that we need to be together.  We believe that relationships with our students are most important because learning only really occurs when students know they are cared about and that people believe in them.

As Superintendent I have an opportunity to speak with our team and it’s something I cherish.  Here’s what I plan to say this morning:

“It’s early morning.  The sun has yet to come up in Worthington Ohio and I’m sitting in my favorite chair in my living room with my laptop balanced on my lap.  I’ve got a cup of coffee that the steam is still rising off of.  It’s a Peets Major Dickenson’s dark brew coffee that is deep black in my mug.  It’s my first cup of the day.  It’s quiet still in my house as Doreen and the girls are asleep.  This is when I focus best, when I can write, respond to emails without disruption and get a head start on the day.  

My old beat-up iPhone 7 is on the kitchen counter maybe five feet away.  It vibrates.  Because while I did silence it, it’s never really turned off.  The vibration notification causes a reflexive response in me.  It’s a learned response.  I attempt to ignore the text and focus on my writing.  But, what if it’s important?  What if it’s transportation with an issue?  What if power is out at one of our schools? And power always seems to be out at one of our schools.  I set my laptop to the side and get up to check my phone.  I reply quickly to the text but leave the phone on the counter.  I add a little more coffee to my cup (I like it hot) and sit back down with my laptop.  But it takes me a few minutes to recover my train of thought.  I decide to check my Twitter feed. I’ll just check my Worthington Schools list quickly to see what happened last night.  But then I see some sports scores.  I click on an article about college football recruiting.  I look up and fifteen minutes has passed.  At this point, I might as well check my Facebook account.  You know, wish a few people happy birthday.  My phone vibrates again.  It’s only a weather notification but I had to get up to check.  What if it was an emergency?

Text messages, Twitter, Facebook, my weather app, you can’t get away from it.  Even to get to my never-ending email!  The harm here is not simply in the numbing effects of technology.  Statistics show that we as Americans consume something like 10 hours of media a day, over 100,000 words and 34 gigabytes.  I’ve turned the screen time function off on my iPhone because I’ve decided I don’t want to know. I try to rationalize that it’s mostly work related…but, likely that’s not true.  We are under a constant barrage of the trivial, urgent, traumatic, heart-breaking and boofonish.  Much of it unfiltered, unexplained, unproven, unexpected and often unworthy of our attention.  And, yet…I can’t stop.

In the book “The Shallows: What the Internet is doing to our Brains” Nicholas Carr recounts numerous conversations with bright men and women who all confessed a similar phenomenon: the noticeable deterioration of their attention.  They couldn’t read books anymore, couldn’t read articles.  Didn’t have the patience for a long blog post or the school newsletter.  He explains how the internet is reshaping not only our ability to take in information, it’s altering the structure of our brains.  We don’t like being asked to focus on anything for very long anymore, we are addicted to the quick short stimulus of the internet and our mobile devices.  You work with kids, you see this every day.  But if we’re honest as adults it’s happened to us too.  We’re addicted to distraction.  We’re addicted to likes or feedback from our Facebook posts and we revel in the group think of Facebook groups we’ve joined.  

Technology has been slowly changing who we are and how we interact for some time.

And, then the pandemic hit.

Social distancing, masking, stay-at-home orders, health departments orders, health department recommendations, who even knew what health department we were part of in Worthington Schools.  I didn’t, but I do now!  Virtual school, hybrid school, co-curricular shut-downs, zoom meetings….

In March of 2020 when the shut-down occurred I never questioned it.  It made sense from my perspective.  We were flattening the curve.  Every day I tuned in to Governor DeWine and Amy Acton’s press conference for information.  For the first few weeks, the change of pace was actually kind of cool.  We played more games as a family, the calendar was clear of running from place to place.  

By July we were expected to have a plan for the next school year.  It started as red, yellow, green.  Things like distancing from one another, remaining virtual as much as possible and masks seemed like no brainers to me personally.  With the information we had, we attempted to make the best decisions we could for our community.  By August the community was clearly split on the best path forward.  Some argued passionately that being physically safe was the highest priority and that came with employing the most possible restrictions. Others argued that physical safety came at too high a cost from a social isolation standpoint and much of life should go on in person.  Personally, I wanted to find middle ground.  Conflicting information was the norm.  Everyone knew someone who was a doctor and knew what we should do.  There was seemingly no middle ground.  

And then it became toxic.  At one point last fall I deleted my social media because no matter what I posted I was accosted with threats, told I was insensitive, toxicly positive, stupid, people on both sides told me that because of my decisions people would die and I would have blood on my hands.  I didn’t want to visit schools because no matter what we did a percentage of you was split and angry like everyone else.  My colleagues at the WEC weren’t much better as they too often disagreed on the path forward.  It became unsafe for Doreen to walk with friends in the neighborhood because association with people on one side of the issue or another made people draw conclusions about how our family felt about the issue.  And, if you didn’t agree with how we felt we were going to be demonized via technology and sometimes in the grocery store.  

At one point my daughters went to see their grandparents in Florida at the urging of my parents.  I didn’t love the idea personally but for the mental health of my parents I allowed the girls to go and people who I once thought were friends, and are always great to me face to face, called for my resignation on social media because they didn’t feel I was taking Covid seriously enough.  I grew up here and during this pandemic, many people I’ve known for 15-30 years were calling me names, threatening to sue me, and making it unsafe for my family to go out in public without being accosted.  Technology and the pandemic had combined to create a toxic environment in our community and all of those communities around us.  

It was toxic for me and I’m sharing my experience, but it was also toxic for you.  How you thought about the restrictions.  How the decisions impacted you or those you loved.  How you viewed people who disagreed with you.  How you interacted on social media.  What you read, or didn’t read.  It changed how we viewed colleagues, it damaged relationships. It created anxiety that was real and may be lingering.

The struggle to balance literal survival with all the things that make surviving worthwhile has never been so clear, with the pandemic forcing everyone to sacrifice social connections – and therefore quality of life – for life itself.  

Social isolation and loneliness were prevalent in the population prior to COVID-19, however efforts to reduce the virus’ spread via stay-at-home orders, quarantine, and social distancing recommendations exacerbated an already serious problem. Preliminary surveys suggest that within the first month of COVID-19, loneliness increased by 20 to 30 percent, and emotional distress tripled. While several surveys are still ongoing to capture the full extent of the problem, current evidence suggests the pre-existing public health crisis of social isolation and loneliness may be far more widespread. 

Social distancing has been most challenging “for older kids, especially adolescents and teens. The social drive is so key to what they’re doing developmentally, because the need to connect is so powerful, and the impulse control isn’t there yet, so we’re seeing that teens are not making good choices. Adolescents are so socially driven that social isolation presents unique risks,” both to their mental health and, by extension, their physical well-being.

When we were forced to teach virtually and/or in a hybrid format I’m amazed at what you were able to do.  I’m literally in awe of your hard work, your devotion, and the teaching and learning that occurred last school year.  YOU were amazing and I will personally always be grateful for what you did. But while learning continued virtually, technology has lulled many of us into a feeling of false connection.  

The reality is that we’re living in a time of true disconnection. While technology seems to connect us more than ever, the screens around us disconnect us from nature, from ourselves, and from others. Wi-Fi alone isn’t enough to fulfill our social needs – we need face-to-face interaction to thrive. Technology should be enhancing our connection to others, not replacing it.  There are two forces at work here: Technology and the Pandemic.  They have worked together to keep us from true connection with one another.   We all need connection and community.  Our students need connection and community.  We need to be together.  We need to feel the shared emotions of being in the same room.  It’s why we’re here right now.

Physiologically this is how we’re made.  We all know that just holding a baby is critical.  A baby who is simply not touched and not held will quickly devolve into a failure to thrive.  Simple human touch is critical in life.  In 2011 Scientists from Cal Berkeley did a study about NBA teams and it turns out that those who touch one another more won more games.  A pat on the back.  A high five after and positive play.  A fist bump, a hug.   Obviously in our culture today and in public education we have to be very careful how we touch, who we touch, etc…But, the simple truth is the same.  We are made to be together physically.  A computer screen between us is not the same.

So what does that mean for us in Worthington Schools?

As we embark on a new school year.  I believe we have a moral obligation to do everything we can to connect with our students and to help our students and our community reconnect with one another.  

Each year in Worthington Schools we administer the Panorama social emotional survey to our students.  Last year our data took a massive drop in our students’ sense of belonging  Their connection to school and one another.  That wasn’t a surprise with the disjointed schooling and the restrictions in place.   Each year that data tells us that as adults we believe that we really know our kids but our kids aren’t sure we really know them.  Some of that is adolescence and how their developing minds think.  But how do we as an organization combat that?  In Worthington Schools, we believe that every child should have a trusted adult or many trusted adults who they know cares about them and believes in them.  Our expectation is that no matter what your job function is in our school district, teacher, aide, office staff, kitchen staff, custodian, bus driver our number one job is to get to know our students and make sure they feel connected and cared about.  

So the question we want to ask this year is: what’s your story?  Everyone has a story.  Everyone has a lived experience that has shaped how they see the world.  Six years ago I stood on this very stage and shared part of my story about growing up in Worthington as a student in our special education program identified with a specific learning disability.  That’s shaped who I am. (That talk is available on our Worthington Schools YouTube page) But would you have known it?  It’s easy to see the social media highlights of our lives and think we know someone’s experience.  You see my vacation pictures and they’re idyllic.  Of course, they are.  Our family is on a beach somewhere and everyone is smiling.  The picture is real and it’s usually an honest and authentic moment.  But the picture doesn’t show the 11 hour drive to get to the beach.  It doesn’t show me yelling at everyone in the house to try to get them packed and in the car so we can leave at 3:30 in the morning and beat the traffic.  It doesn’t show the outbreak of ants on the counter in the beach house we rented or the wind on the North Carolina beach blowing the sand into our face.  The picture doesn’t show the 98% humidity or the fact that I ate ice cream from Beaches-n-Cream every night on vacation but failed to exercise even once.  The Picture only shows what I want you to see.

Much of our life is like that.  I see the successes of those I work with.  We brush over the real life stuff.  I may not really know about the financial struggles at home, the death of a parent, the betrayal of a spouse.  I may know some of the story cognitively, but not really know and brush over it.  When we look at a person, any person, that person has a story.  Everyone has gone through something that has changed them, shaped them and continues to affect them.

Tomorrow almost 11,000 students will walk into our schools.  Every one of those students has a story.  When you see them you likely know part of that story. The part you think you know shapes your expectations for that student.  The part you think you know shapes whether you give mercy and grace on an assignment or whether you hold tight to your stated rules and guidelines.  When we know more we do more.  When we really know someone’s story it changes everything.  It changes how we think, how we interact, and even what we expect.  

Everyone has a story, but not everyone has a person to listen to that story.

Technology has changed the way we think and interact.  The Pandemic has created an isolation that is real.  We weren’t made to be behind a screen.  Those two things combined and created a toxic climate for over a year.  Tomorrow we’re back in Worthington Schools! We know that we need to be together.  We need connection and community.  I’m convinced that the path forward is in person in a meaningful relationship. This school year in Worthington is about bringing people back together.  If each student in Worthington Schools is really going to have a trusted adult who they know cares about them and believes in them, then each of us has to seek to really know the story of those we serve.  Each of us must strive to be the person that listens.  That takes the time to invest and show we care.

So that’s our question for the year.  What’s your story?  

There are 1,325 adults who commit to working every day in Worthington Schools.  Collectively if we each seek to ask this question and listen face to face to those we serve we’ll help our students rebound from this pandemic and will create the school communities that we desire for our students and for one another.

Go Be Awesome!”

If you’re interested here are our previous Convocation Talks

Believe in Growth 2015

What’s Your Why 2016

Big Things Big, Small Things Small 2017

Your Words Matter 2018

How 2019

Interview With Ryan Danley 2020

This Job is Still a Privilege

Education Week published an editorial piece this week that was titled “Why the Worst Job in Education Right Now is the Superintendent’s.”  I could never agree with that title.  First, the job of the Superintendent will always pale in comparison to what our teachers do in the classroom.  Second, I view this job as the greatest privilege of my professional life, and I believe whatever I do for the next 15 years it’s unlikely to compare to the opportunity to have been the Superintendent of Worthington Schools.  Worthington is a place I love and a place that has provided so much to me personally and to my family.  

That said, I’ve never experienced anything in my 25 years in public education like what we’re experiencing today.  A percentage of our public thinks we need to keep schools closed and if we open we’re putting students and staff at significant risk.  A seemingly equal percentage believe that kids need to be in school and that COVID is one risk factor but that there are other equal risks of students not being in school.  Both sides have news articles and data to back-up their views.  Even doctors in our community provide me conflicting opinions.

I’m not complaining.  I love this job.  It’s a privilege but I want to provide a small snippet of the communications I’m receiving.  We all know this is where we are.  I don’t think what you’ll read will surprise you and likely you like everyone else will agree with half the comments and not the other half.  Thus it is an amazing time to attempt to lead and make decisions.  Do I feel good about what we’re doing?  No.  I don’t really like any of the options that are presented right now.  There are major downsides to each of them depending upon your personal life circumstances.

So, I present just a snippet of where we are today:

Doctor #1

“I am a residency trained, board certified Emergency Physician with twenty years of experience.  Your recommendation for all remote learning and no extracurricular activities is being driven by case volume and not outcomes.  You cite a case rate of 17% in the age group of 0-19 years of age.  As of a few days ago, there were 2 deaths in the entire state ages 0-19.   Most teenagers I have seen haven’t social distanced or refrained from gathering since March.  Teams have played and practiced all summer.  Where are the bad pediatric outcomes?   They aren’t there.

These recommendations are certainly made to protect someone, but it isn’t the students.  This is harmful to students.  Has there been any consultations with practicing physicians?   The overwhelming consensus amongst practitioners is that this virus has not been harmful to children, but your recommendation is.  The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended return to school.  They traditionally are a very cautious specialty college.

I would ask that you revisit your recommendations after consultation with a broader group of physicians.”

Doctor #2

“As a family physician, residency director, and front-line hospitalist caring for COVID patients at ________ Hospital, I feel strongly that rescinding your commitment today for remote learning is the wrong decision. While local cases have slowly begun to downtrend, these are far from acceptable levels to limit community transmission, and pediatric cases are on the rise nationally (see attached AAP report released this week).” 

“This is down right appalling and I no longer have faith that you or this district will do what is right for our children, their families or your teachers.” 

“I appreciate all of the honesty and transparency during a time where we are all adapting daily. Decisions are tough everyday about everything and our administrators lives are no different.”

“As a community, we expect more from our leaders. We expect leaders to do what’s right for the majority. Saving lives should be the primary concern. In-person schooling can wait until we are truly safe to return.”

“Now for the first time in the process, my trust and faith in those guiding Worthington City Schools is disappearing, just like that illusion of certainty.”

“What plans do you have in place to help with the  emotional/psychological toll on students if one of their beloved teachers dies during the school year from Covid-19?”

“Trent Bowers clearly does not care!”

“Trent Bowers when kids and teachers get sick and live the rest of their lives with health problems or even die, this is all on you!”

“Worthington needs to do better!”

“You need to “Man up!”’

“You do understand that the idea is to PREVENT an outbreak, not create one, right?”

“Things are not equal in Franklin County.  Time for Worthington leaders to step up and lead!”

“You know that we all face risks every day we step outside our door.  There is a greater chance of a kid being killed in a car accident than dying of Coronavirus.  There is no end in sight when it comes to risks in our everyday life.” 

“You should lean toward our freedom of choice.  Your decision to shut everything down, leans toward totalitarianism.”

“I just can’t understand why the AAP and the CDC who clearly state that kids should go back to school are disregarded.  Total failure to our kids in the public school system.”

“Please consider the whole child when making this decision. I personally want in person school 5 days per week.” 

“We have roughly 25,000 active cases in all of Ohio with a population of 11.69 million which is .002 %.  I’m sure you have seen all the numbers and I know you still feel the need to blindly follow the recommendations of Columbus Public Health”

“I just ask that the district own it’s decision and not try and take cover by using what is clearly a recommendation and not an order.”

“I KNOW shutting down our world is hurting everyone – I KNOW we need our leaders to walk the middle of the road without leaning to the right or the left – I KNOW there are kids and adults suffering mental & physical harm due to the overbearing restrictions we are living under.  Fifteen days to “flatten the curve” is now 150+ … it needs to end – we need to live our lives.  I’ve been very vocal – I want our families to have a CHOICE to put kids in school – or keep them at home.”

“Parents who want that have an online option. I want an option for my kids to be in school. As parents we should have a choice.”

“I hold some hope that at some point we can make informed decisions on data that we now have.  I hope we can educate at an acceptable level remotely.  But at this point it’s only hope, as I’m losing confidence in the one thing that has always been superior in our community.”

“We need to strive for excellence in the classroom as well as in our athletic programs.  A child cannot develop unless they experience the growth from 8th grade into their Freshman year.  Everyone can hide behind the “Corona Shield” all they like but if even one local 8th grade program gets to compete and Worthington does not, it is not fair.  We are robbing our kids of the ability to excel at the next level.  We are robbing our kids of memories.  We are literally robbing our kids of their youth, all the while, other schools are moving forward with football as scheduled.”

“Please be advocates for our kids and stay focused on what is best for them and please keep politics out of the decision making.”

“I would like to thank you for your strong leadership.”

“Thank You! Great communication in this chaos!  Thank you for your leadership.”

“Thanks for being our leader through this troubled time.  I know it’s not easy and I thank you for admitting you are not an expert on certain issues.” 

“Appreciate your open communication.”

“Man that Superintendent is a charming, intelligent, and good looking fellow”  (j/k no one actually said that one…I added it so you end this blog post with a chuckle…)

-Trent

HOW

Every year as Superintendent I have the opportunity to talk with our Worthington Schools staff as we open the school year at our Convocation.  It’s the one day where all 1300 of our team members are in the same place. I cherish the opportunity to spend time with our team and attempt to set the direction for the school year.  

Each year I attempt to give a TED style talk and this year our focus is on how we navigate the inevitable changes that must occur in Worthington in order to create our shared positive future.  Here’s the speech I plan to give….

“In the fall of 2008, I had the opportunity to come back to Worthington Schools as the Coordinator of Human Resources.  This was my first of several positions working at the Worthington Education Center. Back in 2008, our Director of Curriculum and Instruction was Jennifer Wene.  Jennifer had been in this role from some time and led our Academic Achievement and Professional Development work in Worthington until she retired in July of 2017.  Thus, for my first nine years working at the WEC we followed the structures and processes that Jennifer put in place. Sometimes I agreed with those structures and processes, sometimes I didn’t.  When I became Superintendent in 2015 we made Jennifer our Chief Academic Officer. I was smart enough not to mess with Jennifer Wene and whether I agreed with everything she did or not, things were predictable and I understood how things would work.  

When Jennifer retired we selected Angie Adrean as our Chief Academic Officer.  Angie had recently been the Principal at Worthington Kilbourne High School and while she was an experienced and very successful school administrator she was new to the WEC.  For the 17-18 school year Angie did a lot of listening and learning. Most all of Jennifer’s structures stayed in place. From my perspective things were running great. Last summer Angie came to me and explained that she was going to make a few minor shifts in how we meet, when we meet as a WEC team, etc….  I really didn’t think much of it. I mean, O.K. Make some shifts. But…then she kind of rocked my world a bit.  

Under Jennifer our AAPD team would meet on Friday mornings.  We had Friday morning stand-up meetings, full department meetings, meetings with our instructional coaches, etc… Friday always started with these meetings and I enjoyed that.  But Angie wanted to move the Friday meetings to Thursday. After watching, listening and learning Angie had a very strong rationale for this change. While sitting across from me in my office she laid out her rationale and all I heard was the teacher on Charlie Brown.  My brain was frozen. I couldn’t listen, I was thinking, but, but, but these are FRIDAY meetings! You can’t have FRIDAY meetings on Thursday! Seriously, who would move a Friday meeting to Thursday? If it’s a Thursday meeting it’s not a Friday meeting and seriously this is a ludicrous conversation.  I mean, it’s a FRIDAY meeting, duh! Luckily all of this stayed in my head. With a dazed and confused look on my face I think I was able to mumble a quiet, “O.K. sure” Thursday meetings….

All year I was confused.  Why were all these people standing around on Thursday?  Why didn’t I ever see the instructional coaches on Friday anymore?  Then it would hit me. We don’t have Friday meetings anymore. We moved all of that to Thursday to better support our schools on Friday.  Right. That was the correct call. But, man, for such a small change I was struggling to adapt. “Come on. Pull yourself together dude. You’re the Superintendent a small change shouldn’t be this hard…”

Likewise, I’ve been working at the WEC for 11 years.  I have a level of seniority at the WEC. I mean obviously old dudes like Keith Schlarb and Tim Gehring have been here longer but I’ve been here a long time and I liked to park my big old Ford F-150 in a spot at the edge of the parking lot far away from the building.  Really this was for two reasons. 1. I need the steps and 2. I’m a kid from Worthington and my truck parking skills may leave a little to be desired. Thus, I parked everyday in the same undesirable spot straight North of Christy Dewees’ office.  

Two summers ago I pulled into the WEC and there was an SUV parked in my spot.  Initially I thought, “Man, we need to stop letting the public use the WEC!” But the spot was not reserved or anything. I mean it really didn’t need to be, it was a bad spot.  But on this day it had been taken. By the time I left that evening the spot was empty.

The next morning I pulled in and the SUV was in my spot again.  Hmmm… Not cool. Again, by the time I left for the night the spot was empty.  The following day, the same thing. And again, and again. Now, rationally this shouldn’t have bothered me.  There were other spots to park in and this wasn’t even a good spot. But…when it comes to change we sometimes throw rational thought out the window.

I began to spend long periods of time in the afternoon looking out Christy’s window trying to see who had parked in my spot.  Eventually Christy asked, “Trent, what’s the deal? Why are you hovering behind me looking out the window?” I was a bit embarrassed but Christy knows me well so I told her the truth.  Plus she had better access to the window and she could help me watch. Christy was like, “You know I could just go out and put a cone out there.” I thought, hmmm good idea but I didn’t want to admit that I was a bit neurotic and I just said, no, no it’s not a big deal but maybe you could just keep a look out for me.  Weeks passed. For weeks I had to park in random spots. One of those weeks I stood on this stage and I shared with all of you that we need to keep “Big things Big, Small things Small.” (I still wear the bracelet as a reminder.) Clearly this was a small thing and yet…man it was bugging me. Who stole my parking spot? Are they just trolling me?  Am I somehow on Candid Camera? There are 500 parking spots at the WEC. IT’S NOT EVEN A GOOD SPOT!

It shouldn’t have mattered to me at all.  But it did. The change was small but I didn’t like it and I certainly wasn’t reacting well to it.  By the way, about a month in we discovered our new Food Service Director, Brian Hunt, had taken my spot.  Brian!

In Worthington we have a group of Central Office Administrators that we call Cabinet.  It includes all of our Directors at the WEC along with Treasurer Jeff McCuen and Assistant Treasurer TJ Cusick.  We meet twice each month to review the work and direction of the school district and we always meet in room 220 of the WEC.

For those meetings the room is set-up as a square.  It’s been set-up as a square since I joined Worthington in 2008.  There are no assigned seats for the meeting but most of the time people choose to sit in their normal locations.  Last spring I walked into 220 a little late and everyone was in the room but me. They were ready to meet. They had their materials.  Some had lap-tops open. Cell phones had been left outside the room. Everyone was ready except the room was set-up like a U with a table up front.  All of the tables weren’t connected and it certainly wasn’t in our usual square.  

I looked around incredulous.  I appreciate that everyone is here on time and ready to work but I’m thinking to myself I work with savages.  Why aren’t the tables set-up? Now the story I’m telling myself in my head is not a good one. Are these people so lazy that they couldn’t move a few tables around?  Do I really need to do everything in this school district myself? Now, I work with incredibly dedicated people and thus this story in my head is ridiculous, but come on now, why aren’t the tables set up correctly?  

They looked at me.  I looked at them. Then they all burst out laughing knowing that this table set-up would be more than I could bare.  They got up and moved the tables around. I was a bit sheepish thinking, am I really that predictable and obvious? I could have held the meeting like that.  Really, I could have…. I’m cool with change. You know Big things Big, Small things Small…

Whether it’s moving the Friday meetings to Thursday, where I park my truck (which btw I sold since I couldn’t park in my spot anymore) or how the room is set-up for cabinet I guess maybe I do struggle to handle change well.  And I suspect I might not be alone in this regard. Public education and Worthington Schools have changed greatly over the past ten to twenty years but our brains have not. Part of the challenge we face is that we are working in a 21st century school district with brains that are designed for living on the savannah.

One part of our brain, the prefrontal cortex (PFC) where we do all our planning, considered thinking and reining in our emotions, has evolved but the rest of the brain has not changed much at all, and therein lies the problem.

For our brains the key aim is survival, and they have done a good job of this, which is why we are all here today. To enable us to survive, the brain wants to do two key things: avoid threats and seek out rewards. Of the two, avoiding threats is by far the more important.

We can go without food, shelter, even water for a while but if the predator gets you then it’s ‘game over.’  As part of this drive to avoid threats, the brain wants to be able to predict and have certainty. If the brain can predict what is going to happen, then it is much better placed to protect us. It follows that when our brains have information and certainty they find this rewarding – it feels good.

For us in Worthington what does organizational change big or small mean? It means the brain cannot predict and certainty is taken away. Our brains find this very uncomfortable.  It is as if an error alert has gone off and our brains cannot settle. The ‘fight or flight’ response has been triggered, sending blood to those parts of our brains that prepare us to run away or fight, and away from the prefrontal cortex where we do our considered thinking.

It takes a strong will to push past such mental activity — and the same is true on the level of organizational change. With even a small change we will experience discomfort. The brain sends out powerful messages that something is wrong, and the capacity for higher thought is decreased. Just trying to change a routine behavior sends out strong messages in the brain that something is not right. These messages grab our attention and they can readily overpower rational thought. Change itself thus amplifies stress and discomfort; and we all tend to underestimate the challenges inherent in implementation of change.

Yet, change happens all the time.  It has been accurately said that the only real constant in our life is change.  In Worthington we’re about to experience significant change. We’re planning to move 6th grade to our middle schools.  We’re redesigning all of our middle schools and opening a new middle school in Perry. We’re working with our community in changing our middle school and high school feeder patterns.  We’re adding modular classrooms. This year we will open with 20 modular classrooms across the district. We are constantly changing how we assess and teach primary reading. Recently, we’ve changed our math program and we live in a rapidly changing community and culture.  

In addition, our students are changing and it’s clear that they have poorer emotional health thanks to new media. Twenge finds that new media is making teens more lonely, anxious, and depressed, and is undermining their social skills and even their sleep. iGens “grew up with cell phones, had an Instagram page before they started high school, and do not remember a time before the Internet.” They spend five to six hours a day texting, chatting, gaming, web surfing, streaming and sharing videos, and hanging out online.  In addition, students are considerably less independent to begin the school year and parents are far more protective than parents were in previous generations.

I recently heard that there are two truths:  No one likes change and no one likes when nothing changes.  So, if we’re wired to resist change and change is constant HOW do we respond? As we begin this school year we all have to ask ourselves that question.  Change will happen. I know my brain is wired to resist it. But HOW I choose to respond means everything.  

I can resist and just allow it to happen.  That’s an option. When I choose that path it puts me in survival mode.  I’ll likely live through it but I’ll spend my emotional capital bemoaning the change.  I’ll remember the past with fondness but likely not accuracy and that tension will always be bubbling right below the surface.  If we’re not careful we can spend our lives in survival mode. Never rising out of it. Showing up for work everyday just thinking about how much better the past was.

A better option than choosing to live in survival mode is to recognize that our expectations shape our reality.  If we’re intentional in the change process we can move from survival to belonging. HOW we react to change matters.  Through focusing on the positives of the change and through dedication, hard work, and caring for one another we can move from survival to belonging.  When we move to belonging our energies and talents come together to fulfill the greater purpose of our work in serving others.  

HOW we do anything means everything!  How we choose to react to change big or small will determine the life we live.  Collectively, when we understand how we’re wired to resist but instead choose to focus on the positive aspects of change we can come together to create the future we seek both for one another as professionals and for the students we serve.  In Worthington our mission is to empower a community of learners who will change the world! In our constantly changing environment HOW we do anything will mean everything!

This year in Worthington we’re focusing on the HOW.  How we care for our kids. How we work with our community.  How we together tackle the inevitable changes that we seek. How we do anything means everything.  Together we will grow and excel! Go be awesome this year!” 

Your Words Matter

 

Convocation for Worthington Schools signals the beginning of our new school year.  It is the one time each year where we have all 1,250 Worthington Schools employees in the same room at the same time.  One of the great honors of my position is having the opportunity to speak with our team at Convocation. This year I will be joined in our keynote by our Chief Academic Officer, Angie Adrean, Worthingway Middle School Principal, Nathan Kellenberger and Certified Personnel Analyst, Diane Shadi.  We will each be sharing stories about how words have shaped our lives both positively and negatively. Here’s our talk for this year. Our hope is that it sets the tone for our interactions…

Trent Bowers…

I’ve titled my talk for this year “Your Words Matter.” It’s important for all of us to keep in mind that as an employee in Worthington Schools what you tell people about our school district, what you tell people about our students, and what you tell people about your particular school, is what our community members believe.  Survey after survey tells us that the number one way that community members receive information about our schools is from talking to our employees. So, what you say matters in our community. Your words matter!

More importantly, your words matter when you talk with our kids.  The words you speak will likely stick with a child for the rest of their lives.  The words you speak will quite possibly change the trajectory of a student’s life.  

It was the summer of 1962 in Linden, Ohio.  You likely know the Linden area as just east of the State Fairgrounds and what is at least for a little while longer Crew stadium.  Officially, Linden is a neighborhood in the northeastern part of Columbus. It extends south to north from Eighth Avenue to E. Cooke and Ferris Roads and west to east from the Conrail tracks to Joyce Avenue/Westerville Road. The neighborhood is officially bounded on the south, west, and east by Conrail-operated railroads. Hudson Street divides the neighborhood into North and South Linden.

In 1962, Linden was a middle-class neighborhood full of one and two story homes built to house the generation of families returning from World War II.  The houses were mostly between 900 and 1500 square feet and air conditioning was not yet a thing. Kids born in Linden in 1945 had a mostly carefree childhood. They played softball at the local parks and rec and they walked most anywhere they wanted.  Often when the State Fair was going on throughout August they would climb the fence and spend the day fishing in the natural resources ponds. Dads went to work during the day and moms were at home. There was no such thing as a helicopter parent. Kids left their homes in the morning and came home when it got dark.

One of the boys at Linden-McKinley High School grew up in that exact scenario.  Fishing, playing whatever sport was in season and generally trying to stay out of any serious trouble.  His dad was a railroad engineer and used to walk the tracks next to his trains with a set of brass knuckles to use for protection.  His mom was home but she could be distant. His parents played cards in the evening and drank on the porch. The kids in the house were free to pursue what they wanted.  There was no talk of preparing for their future. They lived like many other families did at that time.

This particular boy was a “C” student.  He could handle his school work but no one was pushing him to achieve more in school and he did just enough to get by.  In the early summer of 1962 that abruptly changed. Mrs. Evelyn Cummings was a guidance counselor at Linden-McKinley High School.  She’d spent her whole career working with boys just like this one. He was signed up for a full set of classes for his senior year, but they were average classes and he was certainly moving through high school without any discernible direction.  She had watched this boy walk the hallways for three years and she felt like he had much more potential than he exhibited. In Evelyn’s mind, it was time for that to change.

Without prompting, Evelyn decided this boy needed to go to college.  And, if that was going to happen he would need to reschedule his senior year classes.  What he was signed up for was not going to cut it. So, it was a hot summer day in early June of 1962, in a school with no air-conditioning when Evelyn Cummings called the boy down to her office to review his schedule.  He wasn’t sure what she wanted but while he was walking down the hall he was fairly certain he was in trouble for something.  He just wasn’t sure what…

Evelyn asked the boy to sit down.  A fan circulated the hot air around the room and there was only one chair in the office.  He moved a pile of papers to the floor and sat timidly. He still wasn’t sure what he had done wrong.  Evelyn didn’t beat around the bush. She had a mission to accomplish. She began quickly and told the boy that she had been watching him for years.  He was full of potential and was much smarter than his grades would indicate. She told him that he was going to college after high school and that to do so he was going to have to change the classes he had scheduled for his senior year.

The boy sat there trying to concentrate.  It sounded good, he thought. Apparently, he wasn’t actually in trouble.  That was positive. But, college? Did she say I should be going to college?  No one had ever mentioned college before and it wasn’t something he had ever personally considered.  But… she thinks I’m college material? Quickly, he was sitting there with visions of fraternity row and college girls.  As these visions played out in his head Evelyn plowed forward. She promptly informed him that this schedule would not cut it if he was going to go to college and he should be planning to go to college.  Without his consent, she changed his courses to a college prep load and insisted that he plan to attend Ohio State after graduation.

Here’s the thing…Evelyn said he could, Evelyn said he should….and so he did. 

Angie Adrean….

It was 1986 and I was a misplaced junior enrolled in Calculus class.  Yes, I was veryyyyyy misplaced. Not only was I taking a Calculus class during my junior year, it was a Calculus class with one of the most respected, most demanding and extremely intimidating teachers at Pickerington High School, Mrs. Tyson.  

Like any other class, I was assigned to a front row seat, right next to Mrs. Tyson’s desk.  With both my first and last name starting with an A, I never knew what it was like to sit in the back of the classroom and if there was one class I wanted to do this in, it would be Calculus with Mrs. Tyson.  

I still believe that Calculus was not a “choice” class for me, but rather one in which my previous teacher thought I should take to “challenge” myself.  Well, it did just that and Mrs. Tyson knew this from day one. Remember, I got to sit right up front every day – right beside her desk.

Within the first week of class, Mrs. Tyson quickly realized that much of my note-taking was really doodling in the margins of my paper or finishing a sketchbook assignment that was due the next class period for my favorite class, Art.  

Like most of us, if it’s difficult, we avoid it.  I avoided math. I preferred to draw because I was good at it…so I did!   Now mind you, my doodling or note-taking as I referred to it, were sometimes visuals depicting math concepts but regardless, Mrs. Tyson did not always agree with my style of note-taking and sometimes took my notes from me with a verbal reprimand that was typically heard by the entire class.  

Our school ran on 6-week grading periods, so much, if not all, of the first 6-weeks was a constant struggle as Mrs. Tyson and I just did not see eye-to-eye on my style of note-taking.  If my memory serves me correctly, because 1986 was a long time ago (32 years to be exact), I believe it was not until the semester break that Mrs. Tyson finally realized that there might be something to my doodling.  

It was a three day week before the holiday break and a dreaded three days for me.  It was three days of midterm exams. Now mind you, I loved school, really….I did. In fact, I knew in the 4th grade that I wanted to be a teacher.  I loved everything about it, except for Calculus class as a Junior and mid-term exam week. Who likes to spend two hours answering 200 plus questions and filling in a scantron?  It’s grueling and for that matter, super boring.

When I walked into Calculus class that morning, I proceeded to the front of the room right beside Mrs. Tyson’s desk with a somewhat slouched posture…that was typical behavior for me when entering this room.   I sat down with two, No. 2 pencils, my calculator and a blank piece of notebook paper and waited for the entire class to be seated. Hoping to be unnoticed and proceed with my midterm exam, Mrs. Tyson started class by calling me out.  I hadn’t even started doodling yet.

She was standing at the front of the class with a rectangle-shaped picture frame against her chest.  She said she had something to say and something to share and that it needed to be said in front of the whole class.  Of course, I am thinking….she says everything that she is dissatisfied with me about in front of the whole class why would today be any different?

So, Angie, I need to say something to you and it must be shared in front of our class…

Because of your drawings or doodlings as you call them, you helped me to think about not just teaching the steps of solving a problem but to value the thinking process for all of my students.  

Because of your drawings, you have helped me to not just teach the steps of solving a problem but to value the thinking process of each of my students.  

I heard, “You have helped me….helped me value the thinking process…”  

Really, I helped Mrs. Tyson?  She is the queen of Mathematics, how could I have possibly helped her?

Mrs. Tyson flipped over the picture frame and enclosed was a collage of all my note-taking doodles.  Mrs. Tyson really did value my thinking and immediately, I was a much more confident math student. So much, that I was no longer slouching in my chair and thought…I just might have to teach math instead of art.

This thought was just for a brief moment because as you might expect, Mrs. Tyson quickly told me to stick with art.  

Mrs. Tyson’s words mattered to me on that day back in 1986.  So much, that I still remember them.  While it was a combination of her actions and her words, I remember both!

Nathan Kellenberger….

It was the fall of 1989, I was a 17-year-old high school senior.  To that point, school and I had not been a great fit. I struggled to apply myself; I was very immature and lacked drive.  Early on in that year, I decided to make a change and joined the United States Marine Corps. I realized I needed to grow up and I wasn’t ready for college.  I had the ability, not the drive. I knew the Marine Corps would change that.

As part of joining the Marine Corps, my recruiter had to meet with one of my teachers to discuss my ability and character.  I had not made a lot of connections with teachers to that point in my life, but I was a decent football player. I thought my position coach would be a good place to go.  I had played four years of football and spent many an hour with this particular coach looking at film, etc. I had even earned all-city defensive lineman honors at that time and the defensive lineman of the year award for our team.  Defensive linemen were a lot smaller in my time. I thought that if there were any adult in my life that would have something good to say about me, it would be this coach and teacher. I had also had him for two years in class.

My recruiter came to my school to meet with the coach.  With me present, the recruiter told my coach why he was there and asked the coach about my Marine Corps potential.  The teacher looked at the recruiter and stated, “Nathan doesn’t have a lot of talent or potential. I don’t see him amounting to much in life. I think you’re wasting your time with him.”   

I have, and I will remember this conversation for the rest of my life.  This was a five-second conversation that I think about every day. I even made a small sign stating “You will never amount to anything” and hung it in my barracks room in the Marine Corps.  It traveled with me from Ft. Sill Oklahoma to Camp Pendleton California, to Okinawa, Japan. I was a 17-year-old kid who admittedly had not lived up to his potential to that point. But, I was trying to make a change and get myself turned around.  I have often wondered how many students heard a similar message from this teacher, took his words to heart, and did not amount to much in life.

Those words have made me who I am today, and they are the reason I am an educator.  I will always support my students. I will always find the best in them. I will always work to offset the negative words adults may say to them.  I will always tell my students that I believe in them, that they are talented, and that they will amount to something and that I am always here to help them do that.  Every conversation I have with my students has the potential to be remembered. I want to be remembered for the good things that I say.

Diane Shadi….

It was October 1992, I was at the end of my job with Elford Construction and soon to be a single parent of two toddlers.  My whole life is upside-down and I am scared and unsure of myself and my future. My family is 350 miles away in Buffalo NY and I have no support system in town.  It’s time to find a new career.

I have sent out numerous resumes which resulted in a few interviews but no real connection or fit.  I begin to question myself, my confidence and abilities. I want a position that I can grow and develop into someone greater.  When I least expected it, a friend called me regarding a position with Worthington Schools in Human Resources. I inquired about the position and I thought it sounded interesting.  I never considered working for a school district. I complete the application and scheduled a preliminary interview. I was excited! As I interview with Terri Gresh I was nervous and “giddy.”   The interview went well. I liked the type of work described and thought I would be a good fit. I pictured myself working for Worthington Schools. Terri indicated she would get back to me.

A few days had passed I had not heard back from Terri.  I was getting nervous. I soon received a phone call and it was Worthington Schools!!  My heart raced and my throat tightened as I heard the words “Thank You”, “BUT” you are overqualified.  At first, I could not speak. I was in shock. I felt this was the job for me. Somehow I gather the strength to ask, “can I interview anyways – will you give me a chance?” She said she would check and get back with me.

Again, a few days passed and no call.  My heart is not into looking through the paper again for other possible opportunities.  Finally, I get a call, its Worthington Schools. I got the interview with HR!

As I arrived at 752 High Street for my interview, I was scared and nervous.  What if I mess up, make a fool of myself? I was the one who asked for this interview.   Shirley Neidelander, the receptionist, was kind and her words were warm. Soon after, Joe Borst, the Director of HR greeted me and took me back to his office.  There was another person sitting at the table, Shirley Vidmar, Coordinator of HR. This threw me off a bit, as I was not expecting two people to interview me. Shirley spoke first and welcomed me, and I immediately started to relax.  Her kind smile and the tone of her words made me comfortable. We talked about my work history and skills, then, they wanted to know about me. What is this? Why would they want to know me? No other employer had ever asked me this. For the next 30 minutes, I talked about myself and my family.  I could not believe how good I was feeling. I just talked with the most caring, kind people. I had never felt this way before about an employer. I thought to myself, I would be honored to work for Worthington Schools. Joe asked if I would be interested in accepting the position. Immediately I said “Yes”.

I started my career in Worthington on December 7, 1992, Pearl Harbor Day.  I was told it would take 18 months before I would fully understand the position.  I learned by watching and listening on how to be considerate, compassionate and understanding when working with staff.  It is not only what you say, it is HOW you say it. Time and time again I watched Shirley and Joe handle difficult situations, from Non-renewals to new Hires to medical tragedy.  Never before had I worked with such genuine individuals that truly touched my heart and soul with their “words.” I wanted to continue this level of compassion.

Twenty-six years later I continue to strive each day to help staff with whatever comes my way, whether it be “IPDP’s” or licensure renewal to name just a few.   I may not always give you the answer you want, but I will always listen and treat you with respect and understanding. I care about you and your success, just like you care about your students and their success.

We here because someone took a “chance” on all of us.  What we say and how we say it really does matter.

Trent Bowers…

Your words matter!  See, Evelyn Cummings changed my life.  I never met Evelyn Cummings but without her pulling my dad into her office at Linden-McKinley High School in the summer of 1962 and literally changing the course of his future with her words and her caring, I don’t believe I would be standing here this morning.  Because Evelyn believed in my dad and told him how much she believed in him, my dad did change his senior year course load.  He did graduate from Linden-McKinley, and he did go to The Ohio State University where he graduated with his Bachelor’s Degree.  He used that degree to become a Special Agent in the U.S. Secret Service and to eventually move to Worthington, Ohio where it seemed everyone’s parents I knew had a college degree.  Because dad went to college I never even thought about not going to college. Evelyn Cummings’ words and actions changed my dad’s life, and that changed my life, and will likely impact the lives of my children and potentially their children.

Your words matter!  Words have power! Therefore, we must learn to measure our words because the right choice could change someone’s life. 

To that end, we must constantly be aware of the effects that words, both spoken and written, have.  As you heard from Angie, Nathan, and Diane our words have the power to:

• Heal or hurt, soothe or enrage
• Clearly explain or further confuse
• Change minds or harden hearts
• Bridge divides or cement separation
• Enthrall or bore, charm or repel
• Move people to action or to tears

Your words matter!  This year we must strive to measure our words when speaking with students—it will make all the difference in our relationships with them. With words well chosen, we can guide, congratulate students on their achievements, and encourage them when they come up short.  I believe that the words we speak to our students have the power to change their lives. We’ve all seen this happen. We’ve likely all experienced this at some point in our own lives both positively or negatively.

In Worthington Schools, our mission is to empower a community of learners who will change the world.  If our students are going to accomplish this mission they need to hear words of belief, words of encouragement, words of positive challenge from the trusted adults who are part of their world.  By our words, we have the power to help our students accomplish great things. Things they never envisioned on their own. Unfortunately, if we’re not careful we have the power to do significant damage as well.

This year and every year in Worthington Schools Your Words Matter!  Let’s together commit to using our words to make a positive difference in the lives of our students.  

Have a great school year!

In Need of Cereal

Recently I learned that the Worthington Family Resource Center was in need of cereal donations.  The resource center serves as our local food pantry and significantly impacts students in Worthington Schools.

When I learned that cereal was needed I immediately reached out to our Director of Certified Personnel Jeff Maddox.  Jeff is a cereal connoisseur and has spent more time evaluating cereal’s than anyone I’ve ever met.  Before my family went shopping for cereal for the pantry I asked Jeff what kind of cereal we should purchase.  Here’s what he said….

“Cereal makes me happy.  Always has.  Some of my fondest childhood memories involve a good bowl of cereal.  Over the years, it is quite possible that I have sampled every cereal in existence.  I think of myself as somewhat of a cereal connoisseur, a savant of cereal, if you will.

My love of cereal has become somewhat of a joke amongst my friends and family.  They cannot understand why a 46 year-old man has so much to say on the topic.  But rest assured, I am the first person they call when they have a cereal conundrum and need to know what the best base cereal is, or what they can mix with their Rice Krispies to create a fun-filled breakfast bowl!

Cereal is the all time conversation starter!  The next time you are introduced to someone new and are struggling to make conversation, simply ask them, “What is your favorite cereal?” This is guaranteed to generate a lively discussion, especially if you reference my cereal rubrics!

Base Cereals

	Flavor	Saturation	Milk-Drinkability	Bowl Beautification	Prize	Back of Box Fun	Pallet (cuts the mouth)
Quisp	3	4	4	2	4	4	5
Frosted Flakes	3	2	5	2	3	3	5
Waffle-Os	3	5	5	2	4	4	0
Cap’N Crunch	3	5	4	2	4	5	0
Life	3	2	3	2	4	4	5
Honey Combs	3	3	3	2	2	2	1
Corn Flakes	2	2	2	2	1	2	5
Wheaties	2	2	1	2	1	2	5
Cheerios	2	2	1	2	1	1	4
Rice Krispies	2	0	1	2	2	1	5

0 = worst, 5 = best

Base cereals are those that are pleasing to eat alone, and generally better for your health (when no additives are placed in the bowl), but are best when mixed with a Party-in your mouth cereal.

Party-In-Your-Mouth Cereals

	Flavor	Saturation	Milk-Drinkability	Bowl Beautification	Prize	Back of Box Fun	Pallet (cuts the mouth)
Fruity Pebbles	5	3	5	5	5	5	5
Cookie Crisp	5	5	5	2	3	3	3
Lucky Charms	5	3	5	5	3	3	3
Smurfberry Crunch	5	5	3	5	5	3	2
Peanut Butter Cap’N Crunch	4	5	4	2	3	3	1
Count Chocula, Frakenberry, Booberry	5	2	4	4	2	3	4
Apple Jacks	4	4	3	3	2	2	2
Honey Smacks	3	2	2	2	4	3	4
Crunch Berries	4	4	2	5	2	3	1
Cinnamon Toast Crunch	3	3	2	2	2	2	4

0 = worst, 5 = best

Party-In-Your-Mouth cereals (also known as the cereals moms won’t buy their children) are those that are pleasing to the eye and a sheer pleasure to eat.  From the first bite, your taste buds engage and continue to beg for more until the last drop of milk has been licked from the bowl!

When discussing cereals with your new acquaintance, you may find they, and you, have some strong opinions about cereals.  You both may even disagree with my rubrics!  Hopefully what you will agree on is that cereal is a delicious way to start the day, no matter what your cereal choice is, and that you will both donate cereal to the food pantry to help bring a smile and a full belly to as many people as possible this holiday season.  

You may be thinking you should buy a bunch of base cereals to stock the food pantry shelves with because they’re the healthy choice and you’re making a donation to the food pantry, so you should make healthy donations.  I, on the other hand, will be stocking the shelves full of Fruity Pebbles, the world’s number one cereal, so that everyone who receives items from the food pantry has the opportunity to enhance their holiday with a party their mouth.  

I hope you will join me and my friends in the Worthington Community as we fill the food pantry shelves with a variety of Base and Party-In-Your-Mouth cereals and wish everyone in our community happy holidays!”

Jeff said it well.  Please consider donating cereal to the food pantry.  You can access their donations page here.

 

Three-peat

At our most recent Worthington Board of Education meeting the board recognized the Thomas Worthington Girls Field Hockey team for winning their third straight Ohio State Field Hockey Championship. This year’s team went 21-0 and outscored their opponents by a combined score of 117-6.  They were a dominant team that played disciplined field hockey.  It was a pleasure to watch them compete and certainly an honor to get to award them their medals.

In looking back in Worthington’s history I believe this field hockey team is the first Worthington team to win three consecutive State Championships since the Boys 1989, 1990 and 1991 Lacrosse teams from Worthington High School.

According to the May 29, 1991 edition of the Worthington Suburban News, the Cardinals “mashed” Cincinnati Moeller winning the championship 15-6.  The three-peat was led by legendary Worthington lacrosse players, Keith Poss, Will Morris, Bob Basom, Jon Mackey, Jeff Tyack, Dalan Zartman and Raif Webster.  Youngsters Craig Kahoun, John Lyons, Ryan Pirnat, Jason Turpening and Scott Cebul played major roles on the team.

Some have said that the 89, 90 and 91 teams which also included legends like Tim James, Jon Tyack, and Dave Bickell were like a cast of Marvel Superheros playing against mere mortals.  I’ve heard those athletes described as a team full of Bo Jackson’s in his prime playing against middle schoolers.  They were a dominant bunch for sure.

The 1992 season brought the opening of Worthington Kilbourne High School.  Future college lacrosse players Jamie Tyack, Mike Szabo and Corey Kahoun went to play at Kilbourne.  The 92 Thomas team made it back to the state championship game but fell in defeat in a rematch with Cincinnati Moeller.  

Next year our girls field hockey team will have a chance to do something that the 1992 boys lacrosse team could not.  It will be fun to see if the team led by Sarah Charley, Isabelle Perese and Rachel Rinaldi can make it happen!  Go for four!

The Eye of a Hurricane

It’s Sunday afternoon in Columbus, Ohio.  It’s a ridiculously nice 71 degree September day with bright sunshine outside.  I’d like to be watching the Bengals game but 10tv is showing the Browns game so instead I’m glued to the Weather Channel watching the eye of a hurricane.

My parents moved to Ft. Myers, Florida as their primary residence back in 1999.  My sister and my nephew moved down there in 2009.  My brother-in-law and his family moved to South Florida in 2014.  Many of you in Worthington can tell a similar story.  The Gulf Coast is like a southern Columbus, Ohio and many of us have family and friends in the path of this storm.  Thus as Hurricane Irma batters South Florida I can’t help but think about the numerous people we know who are there right now or who, like my family, are safely out of Florida but own property and businesses that will certainly be impacted.

My first trip to South Florida was in the back of our family Dodge Ramcharger in 1984.  It was the first of what would be many drives down I-75 to Florida.  As the oldest child I claimed the back seat and my younger sister was relegated to the luggage area behind the back seat.  Apparently seat belts were unneeded in 1984 as long as we weren’t in the front seat.  My family spent that spring break at the Bonita Beach Beach and Tennis Club.  We’ve been going back ever since.  It’s home away from home.

My nephew is a 6th grader in Lee County Schools.  As I write today I can’t help but think about the Superintendent of Schools in Lee and Collier Counties (Ft. Myers and Naples).  Many of their schools are serving as shelters for those riding out the storm.  They cancelled classes at the end of last week and who knows when they’ll be safe to resume classes.

In Worthington I sometimes get mired in the muck.  I forget how good we have it and I spend time worrying about how I’m going to adequately explain a state accountability system that has changed how we measure proficiency in Ohio.  I worry about how our community will respond to our facilities challenges of Aging buildings, Balancing high school size and Capacity for all students.  I stress about the upcoming Board of Education elections and about Friday night’s Thomas Worthington v. Worthington Kilbourne Football game.  (I want our teams to compete like crazy but I want us to remember that in the end we’re one school district and one community.  They are us and we are them.  Compete hard.  Cheer like crazy.  Do it all with respect for your opponent and your neighbor.)  All of these things are part of my job and worthy of my time.  

But, Big things Big, Small things Small.  The challenges that others face today, this week, and likely for a while in South Florida (and in Houston and with fires out West) will help me keep things in perspective.  I’m hopeful for the safety of our friends in Florida.  I’m hopeful that the property damage is less than expected and I’m hopeful that kids can get back to the safety of school as soon as possible.

Today, and everyday, let’s be thankful for our many blessings in Worthington, Ohio.

Life is Funny and Sports are Weird

In Worthington Schools we believe in co-curricular participation for our students.  We know that students who are connected to their peers in a positive way do better academically and emotionally.  In addition we believe that competition through sports is a way that students can gain some of the critical life skills they will use for success in their future.  Students learn grit, perseverance, leadership and how to work hard for a goal.  Sometimes the parents learn some things along that way too…

After a difficult loss for the Kilbourne girls varsity soccer team on Tuesday of last week  Worthington Kilbourne parent Pete Crozier was reflecting on the nature of sportsmanship, leadership and lessons learned through athletics.   I love Pete’s perspective and he gave me permission to share his thoughts.

Things I’ve Learned from My Kids

Chapter 87: Life is Funny and Sports are Weird by Pete Crozier

How many youth sporting events have I attended as a parent?

Some quick math: Sarah and I have 4 kids. Multiply that times 50 sporting events per kid per year times maybe 25 years of cumulative participation. That equals 5,000 games, matches and meets to which the kids have been chauffeured, 5,000 uniforms that have been washed (thank you, Sarah), and 5,000 water bottles that have been filled up (okay, maybe 4,990 … sometimes we forget).

That doesn’t include the thousands of practices to support those games, matches and meets. Or the piano lessons and band concerts and Girls Scouts’ meetings and Indian Guides’ campouts and ballet performances and talent shows and … and … and … and …

Believe me, I’m not complaining. It’s what I agreed to when I signed the Middle Aged Guy, Suburb Bubble, Contract of Life. It’s all soccer cleats and softball treats, basketball hoops and cross country loops, volleyball matches and batter’s box scratches.

Each game within each season within each year has peaks and valleys. Glorious comebacks and inglorious failures. Sunny spring evenings and blustery winter afternoons.

If you’re like me, parents of other players sweep in and out of your life based on the sports season. “Hey, how you been?” (You don’t say his name because you can’t remember.) “How did she do at lacrosse? (Again, you have no memory so no mention of his daughter’s name. You just hope like hell that lacrosse is right.)

Through it all, we hug our kids after the game, smile and say, “Great job. I am proud of you.” And we mean it.

But never more than last night.

Our daughter, Maggie, is a senior at Worthington Kilbourne High School. She was honored to be named one of the captains of the soccer team this year. She’s not extremely vocal. Not a screamer. Not a rah-rah cheerleader type.

Leader by example, I guess.

Last night, her team played Dublin Jerome High School. Jerome is a perennial top team and we all knew it would be a tough game. By halftime, Kilbourne was down 6-0 … and it wasn’t that close.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with soccer, losing 3-0 is an absolute blowout; a crushing defeat. By that measuring stick, losing 6-0 at halftime, well, that can make or break a season.

As a slight drizzle fell, the parents in the stands continued to be supportive, cheering each girl by name as they came off the field. “Great job, Ashlyn. Keep fighting, Emma. Nice run, Courtney.” I’m proud to be part of this pack of Wolf parents.

I watched the halftime team huddle. Coach Meghann stood confidently in the middle of the circle as the girls raised their hands to speak. Respect. There were no tears. There was no finger pointing. Hands and heads held high.

The center ref blew his whistle for the second half and I saw the girls smiling as they came back to the bench. One girl jumped on Eleni’s back, piggyback-style, laughing.

With all the weight that we parents put on youth sports (guilty as charged), my God, they are just kids playing a game, piggyback-style, laughing.

Note to readers: As you scroll through this post, you probably think this story is going to lead to an epic comeback and a legendary win for Kilbourne. Sorry, no.

It’s much better than that.

The second half began and the seventh goal was scored.

A few minutes later, the eighth.

Then it happened.

As the referees retrieved the ball and walked from our goal to the half line to start once again, Maggie sprinted the other way. Against traffic. A salmon swimming upstream. She ran to our goalie and said, “You got this. You made a good decision on that play. We’re playing better and we have your back.”

Her instinct was to show compassion. Empathy. Caring for a friend. A simple gesture that embodies a grander purpose.

Leadership through love.

I wish I could take credit for it. But that’s all her.

When the final horn sounded, Kilbourne had lost 10-0. Both teams had played physical, but clean. The refs were not a factor.

We have always taught our kids that when an opponent plays dirty or is beating you so badly you want to quit, don’t push back or trip or hold them out of vengeance or frustration. Instead, be faster. Be stronger. Be smarter. Learn.

We’d rather they lose with honor then win through deceit.

Play hard. Play by the rules. May the best team win.

Last night, both teams played hard, both teams played by the rules and the best team won. Learn from it and move on.

After the game, I told Maggie that it’s easy to lead when things are going well. True character is revealed in times of adversity. Champions are not defined by wins and losses, but rather by effort, integrity, and how they treat other people.

I couldn’t possibly be more proud of these coaches or players.

On Tuesday, August 30, 2017, the Worthington Kilbourne Girls Soccer coaches and players showed grit with grace, resilience with respect, and determination without defeat. The final score is not indicative of this team, these coaches or their expectations for this year. Sometimes the other team is just better.

I am certain Maggie will walk away from this year more prepared for whatever comes next in her life. As parents, can we ask for anything more than that?

She will look back and know that the greatest win she ever had was in defeat.

Like I said, life is funny and sports are weird.

The 5,001st game is on Tuesday night. And I can’t wait.

I might even give Sarah a piggyback. Laughing.

Big Things Big…Small Things Small pt.2

Ever since last winter and my conversation with Greg Ross this phrase “Big Things Big…Small Things Small” has been rolling around in my head.  It’s our theme for this school year in Worthington.  In that context it’s about managing change and how that change always feels big at the time, but later when we look back it’s usually small.  It’s not where we teach kids or what our attendance lines are that really matter.  Those items change over the years and as we look back they’re small things.  The big things as a school district are how we take care of our kids, how we build relationships with them, and how our students are able to grow and achieve because they know they have a trusted adult who cares about them and believes in them.  Those are the big things!

But, Big Things Big….Small Things Small applies equally in our personal lives.  The phrase is helping me focus my time on what matters most and to let some things roll.  (I’m not naturally good at that.)  

This summer we rented a beach house at Holden Beach, North Carolina.  The house had an amazing porch that faced the ocean.  On the morning of our first full day there I was drinking a cup of coffee on the porch gazing at the ocean when I had what I thought was a brilliant idea.  My middle daughter loves to hammock and we had brought the Eno hammock to the beach with us.  I decided I would string the hammock across the porch and my daughter could lay there and read a book while still looking out at the ocean.  It’s seemed idyllic.

I strung the hammock from two main poles on the porch and decided to hop into it and check out the view.  As soon as my bottom hit the hammock the porch exploded!  I fell to the ground onto my backside and because the hammock was still attached to the poles the side pole came crashing down and hit me in the head.

So, I’m laying on the ground tangled up in this hammock, there is a wooden pole next to me that just bounced off my head and the porch railings are sprawled across my lap.  My wife who witnessed the whole episode is on all fours laughing hysterically at her husband who has just confirmed what she has always suspected about his IQ.

Three thoughts went through my mind.  In this order.  First, inevitably I thought, “I’m a moron…”  Second, I thought “this is going to be expensive…”  But, literally the third thought that went through my head while still laying on the ground was, “Big Things Big…Small Things Small.” I’m O.K.,  I can afford to have the porch fixed, and there is no reason to ruin this vacation.  Thus, that simple phrase that has been stuck in my head since last winter helped me to relax and not make a big deal out of something that in the past may have made me angry for the entire week.

I eventually got up.  My wife eventually stopped laughing.  I neatly stacked the porch pieces under the house and then I made the walk of shame to the rental office and promptly explained that we’d need some help because my kids broke the porch….

Big Things Big….Small Things Small.  Both professionally in Worthington Schools and personally.  Hope it helps you a little too!

 

Big Things Big….Small Things Small pt. 1

One of the great privileges I have as Superintendent of Worthington Schools is the opportunity to speak to our staff at our opening convocation the day before school starts.

“I’ve titled my talk this year “Big things big, small things small.”  I first heard that phrase sometime last winter when I was in conversation with Worthington Hills 6th grade teacher Greg Ross.  Greg attributed the phrase to the retired senior pastor at Worthington Christian Church, Dr. Marshall Hayden.

It was the summer of 69.  Me and some guys from school, we had a band and we tried real hard.  Jimmy quit, Jody got married, I should have known that we’d never get far.  Oh, but when I look back now, that summer seemed to last forever….wait, I’m sorry, wrong summer.

It was the summer of 1967.  Worthington was in the midst of a school building boom.  Colonial Hills Elementary had been open for 12 years, Evening Street and Wilson Hill had been open only four years, Brookside was open for a mere two years and the new state of the art middle school, Worthingway Middle School had just opened the year before.  After the passage of a bond issue in 1966 Worthington Estates Elementary was to open in the fall of 1967.

Construction on the new 20 classroom school had been difficult, but the school district had proceeded as scheduled.  They had hired the Evening Street Principal Eugene Putterbaugh to be the Principal and open the new school.  Eighteen teachers had been hired or moved from their current school to the new school.  I can imagine that they had endured countless meetings about redistricting students from Colonial Hills, Wilson Hill and Evening Street to attend the new school.  Families were frustrated because no one wants to move from their school and redistricting had occurred several times in the last five years.  By late June Superintendent Harold McCord knew they had a problem.  Because of construction delays Worthington Estates would not be ready to open school in the fall.

Mr. McCord had been Superintendent of Worthington Schools since 1938.  He’d seen most everything during his tenure but he hadn’t had this issue.  I imagine that he called a late night meeting of his team.  It was summer but in my mind he was still in his full three piece suit and wore a grey fedora.  He was joined at the administrative office building which at that time was in the Old Episcopal Rectory (west of the Worthington Inn on New England Ave in the building that most of us know today as the Doll Museum. The district did not move to the 752 building on the village green until 1978) by Principal Putterbaugh and Board of Education President Dr. Robert Holsinger Jr.  The room was smoky as ash trays littered the table and each meeting participant attempted to calm their nerves with their Camel cigarettes.  On the table were the maps of Worthington.  Push pens showed the precise location of each Worthington student.  These were the very maps these men had used several months earlier in the redistricting meetings that were held in each elementary school.  The very maps that caused the resident on New England Ave to get an attorney to keep his child at Colonial Hills.  These maps were now held down with ash trays and as the night progressed the smoky haze increased.

It was on that early summer night when a plan was hatched.  There weren’t a lot of good options.  School had to open after labor day and Worthington Estates would not be ready.  Mr. McCord, Mr. Putterbaugh and Dr. Holsinger determined that first through third graders would attend Evening Street.  (There was no kindergarten in 1967.)  The Evening Street first through third graders would attend school in the morning and then in the afternoon the Worthington Estates first through third graders and their teachers would use the very same classrooms at Evening Street.  All 4th graders from Evening Street and Worthington Estates would begin the school year at Brookside Elementary.  All 5th graders from those two schools would attend the Kilbourne building and all 6th graders would attend Worthingway Middle School.  It would work.  It wouldn’t be easy.  Teachers at all five schools would have to adapt.  Parents would certainly be upset.  

The meeting went late into the night and sometime after midnight Superintendent McCord headed home.  He was restless and so he went out to his wood shop to work.  It always relaxed him.  It was going to be a long summer explaining these changes to parents and teachers.  But, Big Things Big, Small Things Small.  Where kids go to school, that was a small thing.  The kids would adapt and may be better for it.  Now the parents on the other hand….Superintendent McCord went and found a drink.

Fast forward 31 years and it’s 1998.  I’m in my second year of teaching at Evening Street Elementary.  I’m teaching sixth grade on a team with Jo Hall and Barb Spears.  Down the hall from me is a young Tami Hinz who I was certain was a better teacher than I was and I was developing a complex about that.  I had been hired at Evening Street as a fifth grade teacher the year before.  When the school year ended I looped with my kids to sixth grade.  

Back in 1998 it was common to be RIF’d after your first year of teaching.  (Reduced in Force.)  I held my breath all school year and as the end came and went I hadn’t been reduced.  But, I was still nervous and so I mustered up my courage (and it took significant courage) to go talk with the principal at the time Dr. Anne Heffernan.  Frankly, I was scared to death of Dr. Heffernan and truth be told, I kind of still am…. But, I puffed out my chest and Mrs. Given ushered me into Dr. Heffernan’s office.  I asked her if I would have a job the following school year and she just kind of looked at me confused.  Eventually she said, absolutely.  You’re in good shape.  “Sweet” I thought.  I would move up on the seniority list for the next year and I felt like I was set.  I felt so good about it, that my wife and I purchased our first home.  321 E. Selby Blvd in Colonial Hills.  Neighbors with Tom O’Leary Jr and Meredith and Pete Bruns on the other side.

Teaching sixth grade was great.  I just did whatever Jo Hall did and the fall flew by.  Sometime in March of 1999 Dr. Heffernan asked me to stop by her office after school.  That stopped my heart for a few seconds.  I’m thinking, do you think she’s still mad that I didn’t complete my cumulative folders in the correct way last June?  Or, maybe, does she know that I’m using John Ayre’s copy code and not sending my papers to the copy center?  I’m ashamed to say that many thoughts went through my mind, but none of them prepared me for what she actually needed to see me about.  When I got to Anne’s office she was behind her desk and she stood up and immediately handed me a sealed letter.  She said, “I was told I had to give you this.”  Uh-oh….

Slowly I opened the letter.  It was only a few sentences but it informed me that I was being RIF’d for the following school year for .5 of my job.  .5?  How would that work, I don’t teach Kindergarten?  What would I do?  Dr. Heffernan didn’t have any answers but she certainly registered my concern.  A few days later a man appeared at the doorway of my classroom.  It was Dr. Gerald Prince the Director of Human Resources.  He asked if I could speak to him for a minute in the hallway.  No problem, I thought, my students are just busy writing their spelling words five times each.  (Good instruction this was not…)  Dr. Prince talked to me about the letter and just told me to be patient.  It would all work out.  I was like, um, how will it all work out…? Gerald had no specifics.  He just repeated in the extremely kind and patient way that is Dr. Gerald Prince, “Trent, trust me it will work out.”

Here’s the thing.  I couldn’t see it.  I could see not having a job.  I couldn’t see how this .5 thing was going to work.  Would they make me teach kindergarten.  Really?  I had planned to teach and coach for my career.  My goal was to have the kind of impact that a Vince Trombetti or Jon Sprunger have had over their career.  That’s what I wanted to do in public education.  I had never considered doing anything else.  Now circumstances had changed.  I became the Dean at McCord Middle School in the fall of 1999 (following Dan Girard’s departure from public education for a business venture) not because of any grand plan.  I became the Dean because it was a full-time job and the job I had planned to stay in was no longer available.  Or at least I was not patient enough to see that it would be available.  

At that point in my life this was a big thing.  In the end, it really was a small thing.  Sometimes change happens like it did back in 1967.  Kilbourne Middle opened as a 1-8 school.  Eventually it became a 1-6 school and then it became the 9th grade school.  In 1992 it served as our Linworth AP campus. Now it’s a 7-8 school.  Every one of those changes was big at the time for those involved.  In 1986 Sutter Park opened as an Elementary School.  In 2005 we closed Sutter Park as an elementary school only to reopen it as a preschool.  Big changes at the time for all involved. At one point the sixth graders from Slate Hill went to McCord Middle School and an 8th grade team from McCord was housed at Worthington Kilbourne High School.  When enrollment dipped we closed Perry Middle School and created Phoenix Middle School.  25 teachers were reduced out of Worthington Kilbourne High School.  If you were involved in any of these moves or if you read about them in the Worthington News they were big things.  Staff were upset, people ran for school board seats to show their displeasure, parents hired attorneys.  Big things at the time, small things in retrospect.

My personal story of change.  To me at the time.  Big.  Giant!  Rocked my world!  I look back 20 years later.  Small.  Best thing that ever happened to me career wise.  Put me where I needed to be.  It’s true Tami Hinz was a better teacher than me.  

Big things big, small things small.  People tell me all the time that nothing ever changes in Worthington Schools.  I tell them that’s a myth.  Change has been constant.  And, I’m here today to remind you that it will continue to be constant.  Some of that change may include you.  It may include where you teach, it may include what you teach, it may include where your own children go to school.  Nothing stays the same and the only constant is change.  I’m not certain what changes will be occurring in Worthington Schools in the next five years, but based on our enrollment trends I am certain that change will be occurring and it’s going to affect most every one of us, some of us in multiple ways.  When that change happens, Big things big, small things small.  

So, if everything I’ve listed is on the small things list, and in retrospect it is, even those things that felt big at the time, what qualifies as a big thing?

James Ford was the 2015 North Carolina Teacher of the year.  In the January 31, 2017 edition of Ed. Week he said this, “ The relational part of teaching may very well be its most underrated aspect. It simply does not get the respect it deserves. When teachers are good at building relationships with students, the skill is sometime seen more as cover for a lack of content knowledge or wherewithal to instruct with rigor.  James said, I see it differently. I’ve learned that when students enter a classroom with so many different base-level needs, a certain foundation has to be laid before true learning can take place.

Most beginning teachers are well-schooled on Benjamin Bloom. We’ve memorized, discussed and written about all of the stages of his taxonomy of the cognitive domain, from Remembering to Creating. In classrooms of our own, we continually push our students to the highest rungs of this cognitive ladder. What we often neglect, however, is that students have needs that transcend academics that must be met for learning to happen. These needs aren’t in the standards or curriculum.

Psychologist Abraham Maslow knew this. He theorized that there is a hierarchy of needs that humans constantly strive to meet. Our most basic needs begin with the physiological—food, water, rest, safety. Only when these are met can we concern ourselves with higher needs like social skills, education, esteem and self-actualization.  

With that in mind, our first job as educators is to make sure that we learn our students, that we connect with them on a real level, showing respect for their culture and affirming their worthiness to receive the best education possible.  Our students’ learning and high achievement are just the fruits of this labor. But the truth is before the seed is planted, the ground must first be prepared.

In the classroom, Maslow ALWAYS comes before Bloom.  In Worthington we frame this focus on relationships with our students as our first priority.  Be Kind to Kids.

Big things big, small things small.  Change happens.  In 1967 when Worthington Estates was to open that change was massive.  It’s happened in large ways every decade for the past 50 years in Worthington.  It will happen again soon.  Likely both on a district level and potentially on a personal level.  It will be O.K.  It always is.  Our focus in Worthington Schools is and always has been in taking care of our kids.  In making sure they have a trusted adult who they know and cares about them and who believes in them.  No matter where we teach kids.  No matter what our attendance lines, we’ll keep things in perspective.  How we take care of our kids, how we build relationships with them, invest in their lives, and help them grow and learn to meet their potential, those are the big things! Our mission in Worthington is to empower a community of learners who will change the world.  In order to do that…Big things big, small things small.  Be Kind to Kids! Have a great school year!”