As another school year stampedes to a close it would be easy to focus all of our energies on final exams and graduation rates. In many school districts this is the measure by which a school year is deemed to be successful or not. Many of our colleagues gauge their own professional self worth by these various exit measures and to do so would greatly diminish all that had been accomplished during the preceding 9 months.
There's no score that measures all the daily triumphs and personal growth that takes place for our students and staff. There is no percentile rank for the teacher who has gained his / her confidence after successfully teaching a new and challenging course. All the small victories on and off the athletic field doesn't always make it into the record book. The student who volunteered to work on the stage crew and discovered the world of acting may have gained more from that experience than from all the classes in the world. If you've spent even one year working with young people in a school then you know what I mean.
Sure its important that your students pass their exit exams and graduate from your school but there is so much more that goes into determining whether or not your school had a successful year. As we enter the final month of school and you gear up for that last great push, don't loose sight of all that you and your staff have accomplished during the other 9 months.
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