Dear
Teachers and Staff of Chandler Intermediate School,
Recently,
Texas Schools have received their annual accountability ratings, reports, and
test scores from the higher ups in Austin.
I think it’s also important for you to receive feedback from some of the
local parents and people who witness you in action every day. So here is an overview of how I would grade your
performance in the areas that are important to me and to my kiddos.
School
Spirit – A+
The positive
environment you have created at Chandler Intermediate has encouraged my children
to be proud to be Bears. They have
become familiar with process of hard work and the pride of a finished
product. You all have become some of
their biggest fans. Even after they have
moved up and on, you have continued to cheer for them, and they know they will
always find a smile and a hug in your hallways.
Communication
– A
I have found
your teachers to be very punctual in returning messages, which is a miracle in itself
considering all the things on their daily to-do list. You have also continued to improve in this
area as you have added new avenues to reach parents every year. You have communicated through phone calls,
apps, emails, letters, notes, newsletters, sticky notes, text messages,
conferences, and folders, in order to reach every family with word of the daily
happenings. If anyone has complaints in
this area, I would challenge them to remember three things: 1) Communication is
a two way street. You will be as
informed as you are involved. 2) Your
teachers each have over 100 students a piece and individual daily communication
with each student’s family is simply NOT possible. Be realistic. And 3) At this age, your child should be owning
some of this responsibility. They should
communicate things that they need for school and what’s happening at school on
their own. If it’s important to them –
they will remember to tell you. If it’s
important to you – ASK!
Opportunities
for Growth – A+
During their
time so far at CIS, my children have had the opportunity to participate in MANY
extracurricular activities, such as Band, Gifted and Talented classes, UIL
Academic competitions, Field Days, Field Trips, Leadership Team, Robotics,
Fundraisers, Art competitions, and much more.
One thing I’ve noticed is that MOST of these things take place during
the teacher’s “off-duty” hours. Which
means that these teachers are sacrificing their time for my kids. If that’s not love, I don’t know what
is.
College
Readiness – B-
Now before
you go getting upset about a B, let me explain.
I don’t want my 4th grader to be ready for college at age
9. He shouldn’t be ready for college at
age 9, so I don’t want you wasting your time trying to get him ready for
college at age 9. Feel free to sport
your pennants in your room and to wear your jerseys promoting your school
during Red Ribbon Week. Just enough to
make him aware that Aggies and Longhorns can be cool people. But for now, I’m ok with him not wanting to
go to college. So don’t worry so much
about helping him answer those questions on that silly test that he is not
developmentally ready to answer. I’d
rather you give him more recess and let him do what he was created to do right
now, which is to be a kid. J
Perfection –
B-
Wait,
another B? I thought this was supposed
to be an encouraging letter? Hear me
out. I was going to give you an F, but I
was worried you might not keep reading.
Because here’s the thing – I don’t want you to be perfect, or anywhere
near perfect. You can’t be, won’t be,
and shouldn’t be. Because if you were a
perfect school, my kids wouldn’t be allowed in.
And what better way to model for the students growth and achievement
than to grow and achieve yourselves? My
kids need to see that their teachers aren’t perfect. They need teachers and staff who are real
people. They need teachers who will make
mistakes and say they’re sorry every once in a while. They need to see how you handle adversity and
failure with perseverance. As teachers,
you carry the complex burden of striving for perfection, while simultaneously
and artfully laying it aside to celebrate the joys of simple progress. I’d rather you be joyful than perfect.
Problem –
Solving – A
Because you’re
not perfect, there will be issues. And
as a parent, I will be great at bringing those issues to your attention. (Just not in this letter, because, you see, I
did not take the time to fill out the parent survey that was sent out, which
would have been the proper time to air any complaints, but I was too lazy to
take a minute. Ha!) But in my
experience, as I have brought you my concerns, you have listened well, and you
have found solutions. I have not once
been dismissed or ignored, and I have seen swift action to remedy real
issues. Like the time I told you I came
to eat lunch with my kid and noticed one student only had 5 minutes to
eat. Or the time my kid was bullied in
PE. Or the time the bus came flying
through the school zone and mama bear came marching in to the office wanting
heads to roll. All of these, you fixed
it and you fixed it fast. This tells me
you care about me, and more importantly, about the safety and security of my
kids. So thank you! (Side note to other parents since this is an
open letter: If we want to be heard, we
need to make sure that we’re not speaking all the time. If we have a VALID concern, it will be much
more well received if we don’t have one every day and if we voice it in a
respectful way.)
Fairness – A
In their
time at CIS, I feel that my children have been treated fairly. On several occasions, this has meant that
they were not chosen for something they wanted to do, or to receive. This has also meant that their grades
dropped, because the work got harder.
And I’m glad. I do not believe
they have been either the recipients or the victims of favoritism, and for that
I am so thankful. There have been many
awards and privileges they desired, but did not necessarily earn, so they weren’t
received. Two of my children applied to
be on the leadership team, and they were both told no the first time. The perseverance that taught them was far
more valuable than the immediate acceptance would have been. They have not been the star student every 9
weeks, or even every year. And I’m good
with that. They need to learn to rejoice
in others, and to work hard for what they want.
Life-Readiness
– A+
Several of
your teachers and staff have dealt with difficult life issues during their time
teaching my children. Some have battled
illness, pregnancy, the death of loved ones, and other life crises. As they have taught my kids, they have
handled these things with vulnerability, and with grace. Despite the fact that no lesson plans were
available for these situations, they taught my kids incredibly valuable life lessons.
Value – A++++
The teachers
and staff at CIS have ALWAYS made my children feel valued, and special. I cannot speak for all the students that have
gone through that school, for the 3 that matter to me, thank you from the bottom
of my heart. My oldest has already moved
on, but he knows some of his biggest cheerleaders are still here. He was one of those kids who would rush
through assignments just to get them done.
We would talk to him until we were blue in the face about taking his
time and doing his best. When he was in
6th grade, he spent FOUR DAYS one week on a silly poster for
science. All because one of your teachers
went out of her way to make him feel special.
He felt valued by her, so he then valued his work. He was motived to do his best for her because
she cared. A couple of your 5th
grade teachers made my daughter feel like she was the best student in the
world. They brought out a confidence in
her that I had not seen before. She
began to see herself as beautiful and capable and a leader because they saw her
that way. And just yesterday, one of
your 4th grade teachers walked my youngest to the car and made a big
deal out of him. He felt so proud and
special just because she took 2 minutes to go out of her way and brag on him
for a few seconds.
Now I’m
their momma, so I know mine are special.
But I’m not naïve. I see the hugs
these same teachers give other students.
I know that my three aren’t the only three that are special. I’ve watched how these teachers go out of
their way to make ALL students feel special.
You might not REACH them all, but you’re REACHING OUT to them all, and
for that I applaud you.
So I don’t
know much about Closing Gaps in Academic Achievement and all that stuff, and
for that matter how ONE test determines all those things. But from what I’ve observed over the last 4
years, and in the qualities that are important to our family, we give you an A+
and our eternal gratitude for the job you’re doing EVERY DAY. From the bottom of our hearts, THANK
YOU.
Sincerely,
Mama Bear
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