The Clash of the Righteous

Well, it is 4 more days and counting (only 40 more periods of school left, only 26 more hours) until we officially move into our new building - and boy is it going to be interesting!

Let’s start with a little history. Almost 2 years ago, the "best and the brightest" were recruited to open this new school in our district. The principal, who had made a name for herself as an up and comer, was serving in an administrative leadership position (she over saw a group of schools, dealt with issues, mentored principals, etc) and had been selected to open this school. Her vision was nothing short of spectacular. She wanted this school to be a flagship school in our area, hiring those who are willing to go the extra mile in the name of student achievement. Our school is divided up into PLCs (professional Learning Communities), each working towards goals that promote student success.

This has been an amazing experience, not only for the PD, but for learning how much we are actually capable of. Because we started our school with no building, we divided up into 2 campuses, renting space out of two other schools (both radically different than our philosophy). However, what has been truly fascinating about this process is the relationships developed among the staff. The kindergartens and primaries are at one site, led, in part, by our fearless, if somewhat de-clawed vice-principal. The juniors and intermediates (gr. 4 - 8) are at another site, (over)driven by the principal.

Since we’ve been in operation for a year and a half now, both sites have lost perspective on what the other side is all about. Case in point: Yesterday, we had a snow day. All the buses were cancelled, but the school remained open. This meant that if your child was to come to school, all the teachers would be there, but you would have to drop them off and pick them up. I had 16 out of 22 show up, an average number for classes at our site. In total, the rumor had it, the other site had 40 kids show up. Part way through the day, they started calling parents to come pick up the kids. We valiantly taught on. Not such a big deal in and of itself. Yet the reaction from our staff was explosive! How dare they! They can’t do that! Why can’t we send our kids home? We work so much harder than they do! ... and on and on.

The general theme of resentment runs along the lines of "We work harder than they do because...". It manifests itself in so many subtle ways. An email will go out - how about everyone meeting for drinks Friday after school? The response from them? We can’t - we work late on Friday - we have so many after school commitments, we all coach, we give, we give, we give.... And we don’t? And of course, our site staff get so fired up - how dare they, we work hard too, come teach my class... and on and on and on.

Come Monday, it will be fascinating to see the two sites/philosophies come together. Not sure if it will be traumatic, but dramatic it will be. Having been apart for so long, I think we all have forgotten how the other half lives. There definately will be an adjustment period, and I think it will be bumpy - and I wonder if student achievement will suffer? I guess we’ll see.