Trimester Check-In

While only a few days into our first foray into the trimester and 1:1 I thought I'd bring up a few observations. First of all let me tell you that you've all done great making the change. I know the last year of preparation has been very taxing with all the PD and endless meetings but it is all starting to pay off. Going into the year there were three looming potential concerns that were possible snags to the plan.

1. The Network: We'll hats off to the tech staff! So far no major technical issues. Great work on the planning and upgrades. We ran out of computers which is a good problem to have as a number of juniors and seniors opted in after the January deadline. Unfortunately the next round is coming from the facility in China rather than Tennessee. They should be here this Friday so we'll have to tolerate a dozen or so students going without for the next few days. I know everyone had to learn Lan School a little late in the game but you're doing well.

2. Enough Time to Eat Lunch: We all know the lunch room is a little more crowded this year than last. A concern that students would have enough time to eat lunch was certainly high on the list. The kitchen staff has done a great job of adding additional lines and making small changes handle larger numbers. We added a number of tables and chairs. All together we can seat 320 while the lunches average about 266 students. The good news is on the time end. During the spring last year we began measuring the amount of time from when the last student goes through the lunch line until the bell rings ending the period. The average the last few weeks of last year was around nine minutes. We were a little nervous on Thursday but the averages Friday and today were between thirteen to fifteen minutes well exceeding last year's numbers. The illusion of being rushed is caused by the line length. Last year the line was more organic. Some students sprinted right there others went to their lockers and then filtered down. This year having all the students orderly lined up when the bell rings is a different look and feel. The end result is certainly more time to eat but the line length can make it seem like a longer wait.

3. Technology Use: i've said this to anyone who asks. I believe whole heartedly our staff as a team is farther along the technology learning curve than any other staff in the country for a school our size with our history and structure. Being in the middle of it makes it hard for you to know this. But I assure you your colleagues in other schools are turning green with envy. You deserve the credit for this. You had to do the learning. Granted we still have progress to make and more to learn but if you don't realize it you guys really do rock.

I thought you might enjoy the video below: