Terry has me thinking about what might be included in my school of management. First has to be about Expectations. When you set high standards for yourself, then people around you allow you to work together with them to set other mutual high standards. Frequently, I think of President George W. Bush and his respect for the oval office and always appearing in a suit and tie. His expectation has been extended to all those who enter the office, and his respect for the office and his position have been clear to everyone. It is clear that he thought his predecessor was too casual at times, and maybe if he had Bush's high expectations, he might never have gotten into trouble with an intern named Monica.
When Valley High School received the General Electric Foundation Grant, our goal was to double the number of our graduates who attended college. This seemingly simple goal set us on a quest for ways to achieve the goal. Each school throughout the country that received a similar grant had this same goal. However, each school was unique and encouraged to be different, with failures allowed, as the varied approaches were implemented. The school personnel were encouraged to interact and share ideas that worked and explore successes as well as failures. The result of this encouraging environment was a dynamic experiment to bring about positive changes in inner city schools that set high expectations for students, provided assistance to meet those expectations, and enabled and encouraged students to escape the hidden chains of inner city life to attend and graduate from college. As early students found that they could succeed, younger students were encouraged by their examples, and the project began to snowball. Did Valley High School get to double the number of our graduates to attend college? Was it hard work? Were many people involved? Were the parents supportive? Did we have community input? The answers to each of these questions was YES! The power of high expectations was proven over and over again, student by student, teacher by teacher and parent by parent.
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However, the successes could not have been accomplished without the dynamic leadership you provided, as well as the support given by Phyllis. It was such a joy to watch the Academy unfold and develop! Your management style was, indeed, the reason. How unfortunate it is that after you, and then Toby, left, that the following administrations were not able to continue the fine work of the Valley Academy. You are the best, and I love you!
Hi Guys,
Thanks for thinking I'm a sweetie. I have my moments. And I rest my case about you writing about being delighted. You know how to do it and it's a gift. I doubt you are delighted by accident. Maybe you look for things that delight you and roll with it. Inform the rest of us so we can be delighted more often too.
I doubt Chuck's School of Management is an accident either. Maybe you guys practice "purposeful living." Is there a book like that? Anyway, what you both know about happy living is worth telling.
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