Lessons Learned

Most of my 30 years in education was spent serving students in Title I schools. Title I schools have high percentages of students receiving federal free and reduced lunch.. Many students coming from homes that are proud but struggle to meet the basic needs of a family. Some students are not coming from supportive homes. These are my kids. We take care of our students. No kid goes with out. In return, we are rewarded by kids who inspire adults. Today, I am a proud princ ipal. Each year Columbus Children's Theater conducts a writing project. Over 1,000 entries are received from Ohio elementary students and only 20 are selected annually to be turned into skits which are then performed through out Ohio by the Columbus Children' s Theater touring company. Our schools students writing has been selected 12 of the past 13 years. Today, we learned two fifth grade students stories were selected. I cried when I learned that AK's story was selected. The odds are stacked up...

On a warm summer night, I sat at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario eating a hot dog with  ballpark mustard and cheering on the pride of Cleveland. The sounds of whipping balls and cracked bats were met with the cheers of “Let's go Tribe”!   The humid lake shore summer air was a balance of downward sorrow and uplifting hope. Baseball is a game of overcoming the grind and keeping hope alive when your back is against the wall. A Tribe pitcher, Carlos “Cookie” Carrasco, had his back put against the wall earlier in the summer with a diagnosis of cancer.   Cookie would endure chemotherapy in the morning, rest, and be at home games in the evening to support his teammates. He continued to train to prepare for the day when he would return to toe the rubber and throw his fireball past an opposing batter. Cookie, the father of five, was in the fight of his life. Northeast Ohioians from around the nation rallied to have his back. “I Stand with Cookie” s...