Greetings! I hope your summer has been wonderful. The DeFrang’s had a good one. We stayed close to home for the most part, did some camping and spent some time at the coast. It was nice to have extra time at home for gardening, following the Olympics, and trying to catch up on house projects. Lots of family time. Priceless.
Each August brings the excitement and anticipation of a new school year. I am particularly looking forward to this year and the opportunities it will provide for our staff and school to reconnect to a full school year of in-person instruction. While we will still be masked as we begin the year, we are planning that many of our school and staff routines will be able to return more to normal.
Regardless of how long we have spent working together, as we reconnect this year, it is important for you to understand what you can expect from me as principal. What follows is a lengthy and important description of who I am as a leader and some of my beliefs. I like to refer to it as leading from a place of “Warm Demand”.
On the warm side, I am relentlessly positive (or at least try to see the opportunity in the challenges and changes that are inherent during school year), believe people have the best intentions, and believe in the importance of relationships. Trust is crucial in these relationships. During my 17 years as a building principal I have experienced actions that build trust and others that wreck it. As examples, making a mistake, disagreeing with me or a decision we make, rooting for the Ducks, and forgetting duty are examples of things that will not damage trust or our relationship (Yes, even the Duck thing). On the other hand, gossiping, talking behind other people’s backs, and not respecting colleagues are not ok with me as they do not support a positive culture.
I operate with the golden rule. I’m going to do my best to treat you how you like to be treated and my hope is that you will reciprocate. If you have questions, concerns, or ideas, please come and talk with me. I will always listen. I may not change anything, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t listen or you don’t have my support. It just means I felt there was a more compelling reason to do it differently. I’ll do the same for you. I’m not a fan of, “Well, I’ve been talking to people and lots of them are very…” or “At lunch today, staff were saying…” Encourage those people you have been talking to to talk or meet with me. It’s similar to when a parent shares a concern with me about a teacher, I will direct them to the teacher to discuss the issue.
I ask for your support and grace. All of us have very difficult jobs when things are going well. I trust you to do your job and will not micromanage. Please do the same with me. Working together and trusting each other is imperative.
On the demand side of “Warm Demand”, I have high professional expectations for myself and for you. I believe that it is our job and responsibility to give our students our best each day. Working in a school is the most important work there is and I believe every day is an opportunity to make a difference. I believe we need to have strong relationships with our students and their families, use the best instructional strategies and curriculum, and be open to learning new ideas that can help us to grow, whatever our role is at Lava Ridge. We are all here to serve our students and families and have each made the choice to do this work at Lava Ridge. There are days when each of us (me included) would rather be somewhere else. I get it. On these days, I fake it. I made the choice to be here and serve in this position and owe it to our students to be the best principal I can be every day (even when I might rather be skiing).
This professional “Demand” is typically left at school when I leave at the end of the day. Having a healthy work/life balance is important to me. Time for me as a dad is going way to quick and away from school my job is being a dad and a husband. You will most likely not see my car in the parking lot on the weekends or receive emails from me at 9:00 at night. When I’m here, I work hard, move fast and try to be as efficient as possible. My goal when I leave Lava is to spend as much time with my family as I can, navigate the grocery store with ease, and do things I like to do (ie. swimming, skiing, exercising, watching college football). Time is precious and I encourage each of you to also have a healthy work/life balance.
I am really looking forward to this year and working with each of you!
Here is a grant opportunity from Selco Credit Union. Grants are awarded for up to $1000 for classroom projects through September 30th
The Pre-School Year Calendar for Certified Staff can be found here. No changes from years past. Please let me know if you have any questions about the details.
Work Hours for 2021-22: Certified Staff hours this year are 7:15-3:15
Details below for August 30th-September 8th (More specifics will post in the blog next week)
Monday, August 30th
- New Teacher Day at Summit
- Kindergarten Assessments
- Potential Day to Work in Classrooms (ie day #188)
Tuesday, August 31st
- First day for all staff (certified and classified)
- Welcome back at Bend High School. 7:00-8:15 Breakfast and mingling. Welcome Back Celebration begins at 8:15.
- 11:00-3:00 Meet at Lava. Lunch will be provided.
Wednesday, September 1st
- Inservice and Meeting Day at Lava beginning at 8:00
Thursday, September 2nd
- Work in Classroom Day
Friday, September 3rd
- Potential Day to Work in Classrooms (ie day #188)
Tuesday, September 7th
- Potential Day to Work in Classrooms (ie day #188)
Wednesday, September 8th
First Day of School! Half of our kindergarteners will attend on the 8th, the other half on September 9th, with all here on the 10th.
