Miscellaneous Thoughts

My blog this week will simply be a compilation of random and miscellaneous thoughts on a wide variety of topics.

* York Public Schools will celebrate its 146th birthday on June 14th. We became an official school district way back on June 14, 1871. We're proud of our rich history and excited about our promising future.

* I've begun some preliminary work on our 2017-18 budget. It seems to get more difficult each year. Our total revenue will go down again. The budget is something I think about 365 days a year and it gets exhausting to think of new ways to make things work with declining revenue. However, the York Dukes don't give up and we will always find a way to make things work to maximize opportunities for our students.

* I'm excited about our district-wide theme for 2017-18 as we work to "Be One." This theme has many different meanings. Being a unified team where we all focus on YPS as opposed to our individual jobs at YES, YMS, YHS, PLAY, the Enrichment Center, the district office, or the bus barn, is about being "one" with the one being York Public Schools. We are all on ONE TEAM that just happens to have different settings, job descriptions, and needs. YPS is our one umbrella that encompasses all of the other facilities. We all serve YPS.

"Be One" also gives us, regardless of our job title, something to strive for. We all need to work to be one that is admired for strong character and integrity. We all need to be one that gives our best effort at work each day. We all need to be one that our kids admire and want to be around. We all need to be one that is positive and enthusiastic and motivates others. We can be one that helps make YPS better every day. We all need to be one that does whatever we can to help every single one of our students get better. We need to be one that is unselfish and service-minded. You get the idea. We want to "be one" that makes a difference!

* We are very excited to add our 13th and 14th career academies to the mix at YHS for 2017-18. We will now be able to offer Intro to Professional Education and Instructional Technology for students that are interested in these outstanding opportunities.

* I was able to spend some quality time with Mammy, my soon-to-be 97 year old grandmother, this past weekend. It is always so wonderful to see her, talk about the good ol' days, and share laughs about family members. I'm so lucky to be 44 years old and still able to interact with a grandparent that made my childhood so much better.

* Our FREE summer breakfast and lunch program for 1-18 year olds is going well. We are serving over 130 meals each day.

* Acceptance of criticism and deflection of praise is an important trait for leaders, in my opinion. You shouldn't care who gets the credit as long as your organization is getting better.

* I can retire in 12 years and 17 days....not that I'm counting....I probably won't....but I will be eligible.

* I'm excited to speak to some aspiring school leaders in the Doane Cadre this weekend. I get to visit with them on Saturday afternoon about the importance of public relations and messaging. Should be fun!

* Only 64 days until our students return! We will be ready for a wonderful 2017-18 year!