Doors Opening…Perception vs Reality
Back in 2013, I had the opportunity to walk through an open door in which parents in Kentucky have called the Governor’s Commonwealth Institute for Parent Leadership (GCIPL for short) coordinated by an organization called The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence. I wrote a blog post, “The Governor’s Commonwealth Institute for Parent Leadership Opens Many Doors” for EdWeek talking about the experience and the many opportunities it was opening for me in becoming an engaged parent and partner in our school district.
Fast forward two years later, another door was open. That door was at our middle school where we have a Principal, Stephanie Hagerty, @StephaniHagerty, who threw the doors wide open to three GCIPL fellows (Paula McPeake, Kim Webb and myself) who did not even have children in Camp Ernst Middle School yet. She saw the value of building relationships with parents in our district and asked for our input on items at our school or to get parent leader trained perspectives on initiatives.
That same year, wanting to know what is down the road, Paula and I started visiting classrooms at Boone County High School to which we had been invited. We kept hearing the stories and rumors about the school. We have learned over time by visiting the different schools in our district that often perception is not reality and wanted to find out the true story. We were greeted in the classrooms by polite students who were not afraid to speak and share what they were learning with us. They were engaged in their studies and we even picked up on a few new tools to take back to our other schools such as Kahoot!
So today, two years later, another door was opened by our Superintendent Dr Poe (@dr_poe), as Paula and I were introduced to the Interim Principal, Mr. Timothy Schlotman at Boone County High School (@BCHS_Rebels1955) as District Parent Ambassadors. It is a heavy title to carry, but we are up for the challenge. The goal of the meeting was to start building relationships with staff at Boone County High School and help to tell the positive stories of the school from an outside perspective. There are a lot of them to tell! Once again, we did not find the school at all to be what the rumors insinuated. I was suspicious knowing that a number of teachers from Boone County High School have received honors including Kentucky Teacher of the Year and the school has received the top ranking in our district on the KPrep test with fantastic growth scores. I learned today that the school has an award winning student newspaper. Those are not accomplishments to sneeze at, they take a lot of work by a lot of dedicated people. Did you know ten of the teachers are Boone County High School Alumni and come back to teach at a place which meant so much to them?
The school is clean, all the staff were extremely warm and welcoming, the students were engaged and polite and the most surprising aspect to both of us was that it was so quiet that the only sound in the hallways was the music drifting from the auditorium. Mr. Schlotman explained how he and many volunteers spent hours this summer painting the hallways grey and blue, alternating colors and stripes in the different sections. They still have a number of doorways to paint, but the school looks fantastic. We visited a number of classrooms including the art room which had ceiling panels painted like the Sistine Chapel. We hopped into a technology room where students were learning to program a maze and the 3D printers were churning out masterpieces. The Learning Center had inviting displays and plenty of areas for the students to work. We loved seeing the gym being a collaborative classroom where the kids were learning to be inclusive of others.
As someone who did not grow up in Boone County, it was fascinating to listen to these two educators talk about the history of the school. From looking at the aerial views of the school before each addition, walking down the Hall of Fame on the 2nd floor of the gym and listening to them reminisce of their first classroom and each room where they taught students, their genuine pride for the school was obvious.
Upon leaving the school, Mr. Schlotman told us to let other parents know that his door and the door of the school is always open, it is a priority to tell the story of all the good things going on at Boone County High School and finally put those rumors to rest. Parents whose children will be attending Boone County High School in the years to come are more than welcome to come during the school day take a look around and be taken on a tour. Attending a performance or sporting event is another great way to get to know the school and its culture. I guarantee, you will be surprised by what you find. On a side note, if you have an 8th grader who will be attending BCHS next year, there is a Parent Information Night on Tuesday, January 31st at 7pm in the Commons. I highly encourage you to attend and pick up your BCHS Spirit Wear for your student and yourself.
I am proud that my first Boone County High School item was a Parent Power shirt in the school colors of blue, grey and white and I will have eight more years to wear it and to show my #RebelPride.
#BCHSClassof2022Mom #BCHSClassof2024Mom #FlipOakbrookBlue