New Year Resolutions

There's this new bar that I love, called Community. I went there with some friends on January 1, 2011, and they had a stack of post its, a couple of markers, and a large wall to post your new year resolutions on. So I did. A couple. So did my friend, Caroline, and some strangers. Below is a selection... 

I love this bar for three reasons.

1. The people - the bartender Mark is awesome and was drunk the last time he served me alcohol. The manager is Bob and he is an AMAZING cook who just has this personality that makes total sense for someone who runs this kind of establishment. He's a flirt. Ladies love him. I love him.

2. The food - OH MY GOD. So it was January 1st and the bar was pretty empty and I asked if Bob was running a full kitchen. He came over and said he had only prepared one thing since it was the day after new years eve and he was hungover and it was for his lady, but he would get me a plate if I wanted. It was amazing. And then the next time I went to Community, I had the best steak of my life.

3. The drinks - The Moscow Mule. First time I had this, Mark was drunk when he made it and I almost stopped him because he poured so much vodka into it. But then I tasted it... DELICIOUS! Vodka, ginger beer and fresh lime juice. Perfect.

We're getting to the end of January, and I'll be in DC soon for the Teach For America 20th Anniversary Summit. Can't wait.

When Your Family Breaks

Team and Family.

It's a KIPPism that I LOVE. And I love MY Team and Family. I know that I am lucky to work in a building filled with trust, honor, and humility. I come to work every day and know that my Team and Family is there for me and for the kids that we all teach.

Yes, I am lucky.

That is why it is so hard to understand why someone would tear this family apart. We work well together. Our family is cohesive and we've accomplished ALOT (Hello, 16th best high school in the NATION!) But that is exactly what happened when I returned to work on Monday. I expected our faculty meeting to focus on some sort of inspiring professional development. Maybe we'd talk about rigor, or scaffolding, or vocabulary in the classroom.  Instead, we were informed by our school leader (principal), that he would not be returning next year and it was not by his choosing. It turns out he had made some mistakes a few years ago with the budget, and that he was not going to return for the 2011-2012 school year.

This announcement brought an immediate outpouring of emotional thank-yous and stories of how Ken has changed our lives. There were few dry eyes during these couple of hours, and it was made VERY clear to the two people in the room who did not work at the high school that this outcome is not what we would have chosen. It's hard to imagine this team, which Ken has built, without him.

I'm a bit angry over all of this. It seems that the higher powers ignored the good (and there's LOTS of good) that has happened at KHHS over the past few years.  Sigh.

Looking Back

I learned a lot in 2010, but I think the most important thing I learned was that I have a good, knowing, gut feeling. And I learned to trust it. I learned to trust it when it felt good, and when it felt bad. I'm never going to ignore this feeling and I'm thankful to all of the things that happened this year that helped me learn this lesson.

So here's to 2011 - I can not wait to see what happens.

Cheers!