First Week of School

It was so wonderful to meet so many students and families on Thursday.  Thank you for taking time out of your evening to meet your teachers, gather information, and take a look at our school.

The teachers have been very busy this past week preparing for the first week of school.  Our goal for the first week of school is to make students feel safe, welcome, and energized for a great year.

To that end, we have dedicated the first two days of school to help students become oriented to life at Crosswinds.  Students will spend the majority of their time working with their homeroom teacher.  Along with several team builders and ice breakers, students will get a chance to tour the campus, practice their locker combinations, organize their materials, and learn about existing school rules while beginning to develop their own social contract.  New and returning students will get chances to meet and get to know each other, as we work very hard to build a strong, supportive learning community.

One thing research has demonstrated very clearly is that a student’s relationship and sense of belonging with teacher and school is the best predictor of academic success.  We start with strong relationships and build quickly to strong academics.  We are committed to excellent learning opportunities for all students in our community.  This is who we are and what makes us a beacon for integrated education in Minnesota.

EMID — S.O.S.

Unfortunately, there are some in our communities who are not convinced that our identity is necessary in the educational landscape of the East Metro.  As you may have heard from the news or from our strong and united parent group (EmidFamilies), decisions are being made about the future of our two schools, Harambee and Crosswinds.

I cannot begin to explain how thoroughly our schools serve the students and families in a single blog post.  Therefore, I will attempt to share MY story of Crosswinds through my blog posts this year.

It is important to note that I am an employee of the district and, as such, it would be completely unprofessional to “call out” or do anything that raises the public ire about our school or district.  Therefore, if you are looking for “juicy” details or heated rhetoric, you will not find that here.

To his credit, Dr. Robicheau has encouraged building principals to bring our stories to the school board, and both Mr. Bass and Ms. Griebel will happily comply with that request.  The same invitation has been given to all of our stakeholders, including teachers.

What you will find is my experience with students, families and colleagues through the past five years of working at Crosswinds.  I have worked in two school districts prior to EMID, and though they certainly do right by their students, I have never worked with such passionate, caring, and innovative professionals as I have had the honor of serving with at Crosswinds.  On this blog, from time to time, I will share their stories.

Finally, I want to strongly encourage every reader of this blog — families AND students — to share your stories as well.  Write letters.  Make phone calls.  Attend community and school board meetings.  Bring along and inform other families and students.  This is a great opportunity to have a real voice in education as well as to model for your children what civic duty looks like.

You do not need to limit yourselves to our school board (contact information on the Emid website).  Please also consider contacting the school boards in your local community as well as the superintendents of your home districts.  Our board members are elected officials in their home districts, and they have the precarious task of serving both groups.  I had little reason to worry about that conflict of interest until these recent events.

I firmly believe that if the School Board hears our collective voices and stories, then our program will be able to continue to serve these remarkable students.

And I can honestly tell you, our programs are just getting started.  The professional work that we are completing in the “background” of our classrooms is awe-inspiring and will deliver amazing results.  Our work to build relationships and acadmic achievement, our targeted efforts to close the achievment gap, and our commitment to international mindedness as well as service to the community will help all of our children achieve their hopes and dreams.

At Crosswinds, though we are deeply disappointed that “school closure” is an option that is even being entertained, we are pumped-up to have the best year of our careers.  In sports jargon, we are playing with a “chip on our shoulder.”  We have “something to prove.”

I invite you to join us this year.  Continue your excellent support of our programing and classroom by being loving parents to your children.  Also, if you are so moved, join those who have begun to share their stories with the decision makers of EMID.  If you are a parent or guardian and have not checked out www.emidfamilies.org, I invite you to take a look at what they are working on right now.  Take a few moments to read the letters that have been written to various board members and superintendents.  When you’re finished, tell a friend, write a letter, make a call.  Or, simply call your child into the room, tell that child you love them, and then tell them to get their homework done, especially the 6 books a quarter homework from Mr. Livingston.

But more on that topic in another post…

Thank you for supporting EMID Schools.  Please contact me via phone, e-mail, or leave a comment on the blog with questions or concerns.

~ Mr. Livingston