My Realties Comments

My Realities: Money. Money. Money. The state continues to take away money from our district even after we have accomplished nearly ten straight years of excellent ratings. If we had the money, we could afford to add some of the luxuries that other schools are currently enjoying. In all truth though, our school is better off than probably 75% of the schools in the state, so I can't complain. Our community is unbelievably great, and the students excel in every aspect of school life. I wouldn't change anything other than the state punishing us for being successful. I sound like a real complainer now, so I will stop. I learned from this blogging activity that things will be much different down the road if I do indeed become a principal. I will be the one behind the decisions to make our school the "ideal school" that I have envisioned in this excercise. This is a challenge that I will embrace if it ever offers itself to me. Good activity; I might even keep this blog open for my students and basketball team to keep an open forum with them.

Building an Facilities Usage & Governance

V. Building an Facilities Usage: The building is new and it's designed like a huge U. The two seperate wings are long and three stories high. These contain all of the academics including science, social studies, English, and math. There is a common area in the middle of the school for students to walk across when the weather is nice. The gym is very big, and the school has a great technology department as well as Performing Arts Center. One main custodian is in charge of the other 8 maintenance men who make sure everything is in working order as well as the school being maintained and clean. The layout has already been described. People come together in one of three places: Huge events - the gym, middle sized events - the performing arts center, and smaller events - the large media center/library. The walls are filled with motivational sayings, it shows the school's excellent rating from the state the past decade, and the athletic achievements are posted in the trophy cases. Finally, the history of the school is posted with the different classes being on the walls. People feel safe because it's an electronic pass entry for anyone who enters the building between 8:15 and 2:55. Without the pass key, the only way into the school is to be buzzed in by Deb, the school's main secretary.

VI. Governance: I am in charge of the building because I am the principal. The superintendent has his own district wide building right across the street from the school. I know this because we discussed it when I received the job. It's my school, and I need to make it run like a well-oiled machine. Principal - in charge, Assistant Principal - 2nd in command, and finally, the athletic director is third in charge. After this, it come down to the teachers to lead as one. When the superintendent is in the building, he is in charge if the situation ever calls for it. It's not conveyed; it's simply understood. It's been this way for a while, and people have just kind of picked up on it as time as gone on. As for the students, they know this because of discipline & the power rankings of the administrators within the building.

Personnel & Curriculum

I. Personnel : The men and women who work in Sunnyside Unified School District come from a variety of backgrounds. There are people of all different cultures who work in this school including whites, hispanics, african americans, asian, and combinations of people, which makes this school diverse in both the population of the people who work there and the students who attend the school. They look and sound like midwest Americans. I assume they are pretty laid back; it's like being in a school like Bexley High School in Columbus, OH. It has a variety of staff, and it's located near OSU as well as Capital University being within the Bexley School District. All positions are valued, but in particular, the special ed department seems to take great pride in its work. Apparently, they relate very strongly to one another as the school district is sought out by those who move into the area, which means its a strong school.

II. Curriculum: The different curricula that seems to be used are those that just about any wealthy, big school can offer. It seems to have the regular core classes, but it also has a technology center or vocational school. I also assume AP classes and a lot of electives like journalism are offered with in Sunnyside. It seems like a challenging place to be for a student that also offers a lot of variety. The subjects that are taught and emphasized the most would probably be the math and sciences as these are the most challenging when getting students to post high school education. A variety of activities flow from the curriculum into the school including the business aspect of the school and the special ed classes that make the school so unique and special.