Last week’s 50 year celebration of KPB, KPC and KPBSD was a great chance to reflect back on the district’s past, and to look forward to what will be. My review of our early days uncovered dozens of neat tidbits of a district in its infancy and a borough with much less infrastructure than it has today. It also showed that change is a constant- the district has been in a constant state of improvement for fifty years. Now that the ceremony is over, my take-away is that while it is easy to simply state that change will happen, it is critical that we are more and more analytical and then selective with what we pursue as a way to improve. In sum, it’s best to spend some time looking beneath the shiny wrapper before completing the purchase order.
Each morning I get dozens of emails from vendors promoting a program or product that will help our students find academic success. Although I appreciate that the programs are well done, I approach them with skepticism knowing that an overdependence on outside entities is not a long term solution to how to get better. I am convinced that we have the internal capacity to improve and that by making small changes to what we do, we can take the needed strides forward. Certainly, there are times when we need to buy materials and we do benefit from programs such as Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports, but I feel it is wrong to look too far beyond our borders when so many talented people on the inside are working together to make the needed changes. For after all, who knows better what we need?
Constant change
Last week’s 50 year celebration of KPB, KPC and KPBSD was a great chance to reflect back on the district’s past, and to look forward to what will be. My review of our early days uncovered dozens of neat tidbits of a district in its infancy and a borough with much less infrastructure than it has today. It also showed that change is a constant- the district has been in a constant state of improvement for fifty years. Now that the ceremony is over, my take-away is that while it is easy to simply state that change will happen, it is critical that we are more and more analytical and then selective with what we pursue as a way to improve. In sum, it’s best to spend some time looking beneath the shiny wrapper before completing the purchase order.
Each morning I get dozens of emails from vendors promoting a program or product that will help our students find academic success. Although I appreciate that the programs are well done, I approach them with skepticism knowing that an overdependence on outside entities is not a long term solution to how to get better. I am convinced that we have the internal capacity to improve and that by making small changes to what we do, we can take the needed strides forward. Certainly, there are times when we need to buy materials and we do benefit from programs such as Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports, but I feel it is wrong to look too far beyond our borders when so many talented people on the inside are working together to make the needed changes. For after all, who knows better what we need?