Old Dreams and New Beginnings

Andy and I after HPU Ceremony

I have been in the field of education for over ten years.  Last year, I received my Masters in Educational Leadership from High Point University.  I became a licensed principal upon graduation.  Last summer was spent as an administrator of the Guilford County Summer Arts Institute (SAI).  This program is an amazing summer experience where students are immersed in an area of visual or performing arts.  It truly was and continues to be an authentic educational experience for every student who is chosen and participates.  My hats off to Superintendent Green and Arts Coordinator Nathan Street for advocating for it during the first roll out of the GCS Strategic Plan.

Aside from working with SAI, I had begun to apply for administrative positions within GCS and throughout the greater Triangle and Triad of NC.  There were a few interviews with amazing "break up" letters; as I started calling them.  There were some interviews with no responses at all, and then there were simply no responses to the emails, resumes and phone calls made.  This was extremely disheartening!  August began and Cross Country season ramped up and I went back to "The Ranch", a term we use when referencing Southwest Guilford High School.  I worked alongside Coach Boulton, Coach Brown and Coach Johnson.  I ran with the kids and Coach Boulton gave me more and more freedom in the creating of workouts for the team, especially our "A" runners.  I coached Cross Country not to add to my paycheck because I wasn't receiving any pay for it, but simply because I love running and helping others develop as runners.

This coaching experience led to a greater relationship with the High Point Off'n Running/Fleet Feet Sports Store.  I started a training group out of that store now known as the "Funner Runners"; Funner Runners 3 starts July 21st at the store and please come and join us as we target a 10K and/or Half Marathon!!  This relationship with the store and its owner John Dewey and newly minted General Manager, also one of my best friends, Michael Vance led to more responsibility at the store such as helping to plan Pub Run nights and working with people through other programs in meeting their running goals.  Something was starting that wasn't focused within the school.

School started and the training group was wrapping up.  I was ready to attack the new school year and
hopefully produce another musical.  Musicals, acting in them and directing them, are definitely one of my passions.  Unfortunately, there was to be no musical this year due to scheduling conflicts and lack of funding.  Class sizes at the beginning level of theatre were reaching the high thirties and I was struggling to manage the immense diversity within the class.  There would be students who were considered "Gifted and Talented" with students who had an IEP over a mile long.  I do not fault the school for this scheduling nightmare because they were and still are under enormous pressure of scheduling students in tested classes.  The school was also faced with a scheduling nightmare due to the fact that despite claims from the NCGA, the budget for education had been greatly reduced and we lost a teacher in the middle of the semester because we were nineteen students under our projected numbers.  The teacher was moved schools and the students were jumbled into other classes.  How is that fair to the students, teacher and school??  We were continually asked to do more with less and at our beginning of the year meeting all our principal could do was shake his head about the deep cuts and new regulations placed on education.

Simply put, during my tenure at SWGHS, the number of tested subjects went from five to three to over ten.  The Common Core had been implemented and it was a full court press come testing time.  This year alone students were in testing for over twenty days of the school year.  How is authentic learning taking place when students are constantly being tested in the name of "accountability"?  I began to feel as if I wasn't truly teaching anymore, but merely holding court and keeping a space for students.  Do not misunderstand me, I love teaching theatre and helping a student see how theatre can help them in the 21st Century, but with over thirty students in a class it was increasingly difficult and I noticed that I was barely able to keep calm.  It was time for a change, the only issue is I had no idea what the change would be!

The Snow came down in January, February and March.  I approached Mike about possibly increasing my responsibilities with the shop.  The Rev3 Team Summit had just ended and I had met some of the most amazing and inspiring people EVER!!  (As Dawn Davis calls them, "My People".)  Dewey asked me to come in and talk about what I could bring to the shop.  It was a great discussion and his energy was and is amazing!  I left the meeting buzzing.  I had no clue what it could lead to, but it was simply exciting talking to Dewey about possibilities.  About a month later, Dewey emailed a proposal to be the manager of the High Point OnR/Fleet Feet store.  This was interesting and an unknown.  I had worked in a bike shop, managed an Abercrombie, but this was something new.  I wasn't sure at first because ten years of my life had been in the classroom; I was a freaking Teaching Fellow!  I had been pursuing administrative positions to no avail, I had just recently been announced as a member of Team Rev3.  (Still one of the coolest things to date!!), was I ready to jump ship??

The next few weeks were spent talking with my parents, Mike, Jeremy and a few other trusted friends and advisors.  Ultimately, my mother stated (paraphrased), "You love triathlon.  This is a great opportunity.  Education in NC is really going no where.  Why not?!?"  Dewey had created a plan where I would be easing into the position by working one day a week at the Greensboro shop.  There I learned to fit people for shoes as well as find the appropriate apparel and for the most part customers were and continue to be incredibly gracious. 

Rev3 Williamsburg Finish

Who knows if I will ever return to education.  (I even recently cancelled my NCAE membership which was a huge step because I have been a local Association Representative, served on the local board and served on the state level Board of Directors.)  All I can for now is that I will work to create an amazing atmosphere at the High Point Fleet Feet and represent Rev3 to the best of my ability at their races and other locally produced races.  I am thankful to all my mentors who worked with me and helped me become an accomplished educator.  I will treasure those experiences and I WILL miss the students who I have taught and directed over the past ten years.  Leaving what is often viewed as a calling can be a difficult choice, but we all develop many passions throughout our lives and how often do we truly get to indulge them?  One of my favorite singer/songwriters David Lamotte has a lyric in the chorus of his song Time: "There's no time like the present.  There's no present like time."  With the volley of attacks on public education, a stagnant salary schedule and the welcoming embrace of the running and triathlon community locally and nationally it seems that time is offering me the present and I must do as the great teacher, John Keating from the movie Dead Poets Society, told his students to do on his first day, "Carpe Diem!"