"What does a district administrator do on the first day(s) of school?"-Visited all three buildings to see the nervousness and excitement of the new and veteran teachers.
-Video taped an assembly featuring a cover band of high school teachers literally get kids on their feet to show their excitement to be back at school. (Did I mention the high school principal sang a solo?)
-Assisted one middle school student and one high school student find their way to their new classes.
-Sought out teachers during their prep times to ask them what they were most excited about for the upcoming year.
-Responded to several emails from staff members looking for quick responses to IT requests (Goal: alleviate the work load of our short-handed IT staff!)
-Discussed next steps for our district's staff development with teachers who played a role in designing our before school in-service day.
-Started recruiting new community members for our district's school improvement advisory committee.
-Brainstormed ways to continue supporting our second year teachers.
-Met with an extended learning program teacher to brainstorm new and improved ways to serve our brightest students.
-Sent an all-staff email communicating upcoming changes to our assessment schedule for the year.
-Assisted Kindergarten students in opening their milk cartons during their first snack time.
-Gave high fives to first grade students in the hallway.
-Consulted with a teacher and our IT specialist on modifications to our students use of Google Apps for Education
-Replied to emails from staff members inquiring about a setting that needed to be changed in our student information system.
-Encouraged elementary teachers who have put in a tremendous amount of extra time getting their classroom ready for the first day in the midst of an ongoing renovation project.
In total, my email program says I sent 87 email messages over the past two days. Not sure if that's a record, but WOW.
It's going to be another great year!