November 1 marked my first day as principal of Willard Intermediate School.  I was overwhelmed by the emails and visitors I received  wishing me well as I begin this journey in earnest towards opening Willard Intermediate School in August, 2018.  As I was scrolling through the messages I received, however, one in particular stood out.  It read:

“Congratulations!!! So excited for you!”

It wasn’t so much what the message said; what struck me was the sender, Denise Ball.   A little over 30 years ago, Denise Ball was my first grade teacher at Sully Elementary School.  She is but the first in a long line of examples of how fortunate I have been in my time as an LCPS student, teacher, and administrator to find people willing to invest their time and talents in making me better.  In fact, when I was in first grade, we had to memorize and recite a poem in front of the class.  My dad wrote mine for me titled, “My Teacher Means A Lot to Me.”  I can still recite it if anyone would ever like to hear it, but the closing lines of the poem went, “When I grow big, when I grow tall, I’ll owe a lot to Mrs. Ball.”  Reading her one-line email three decades later, it was easy for me to see that it’s true.

Sitting here at my desk in the administration building, in Willard’s makeshift cubicle office, it’s easy to focus on all the work to come.  We need phone lines and computers.  We’ll need to order cotton balls for the health office and comfy chairs for the media center.  There are teachers to hire and meetings to attend; plans to review and a parent meeting next week!  But on the first day, it was nice to pull back and get a gentle reminder of what really matters from my first teacher.  As educators, we have an opportunity every day to make a lasting and significant impact on the children we serve.  Our work matters, and remembering that is a pretty good way to spend your first day on the job.

#welcome2willard