It has been a while since I have checked in and I will try to renew my vigor to be a better blogger. It has been a crazy summer, mostly in the sense of all the changes taking place in my personal life (a few changes in my education life as well). We were able to take our annual Whitford Family Trip to the Outer Banks in North Carolina, but that was truly the only vacationny thing about this summer.
My wife was finally able to finish her Master's in Ed Administration program this past year and has gotten a job in my area (actually in my same school district). Unfortunately she hasn't had the chance yet to utilize her new degree and I know she is itching to take a shot at a leadership position. The best news is this new job in my school district is allowing my family to be together again. The two years apart went by quickly but I can tell it was a tough seperation (especially for my two youngest kids) and it is great to all be under one roof again. We spent a great deal of June packing up our old house and either putting things in storage or moving them up to our apartment in my Mom's basement (our old house cannot sell soon enough as this 41 year old is tired of living with his mother again). The next big change is sending my oldest off to college this fall. While it is exciting (especially for him) it is also a little scary and is making realize how quickly life is moving by. He was just 6 years old when I married his mother and I had a blast watching him grow up, but wasn't he just playing youth football a couple of years ago? Wow! Time sure flies......The next big change for me was being asked to become the District Gifted/Talented Coordinator. I was asked in a very complimentary way and was hard pressed to deny the position and the small raise that came with it (especially facing the big pay cut my wife took when she elected to resign from her previous district to join me here). My only setback is that my experience with GT programs is limited by the fact that none of my previous district's had a program either. I Love when states mandate that you have a program for these students but they in no way help fund this mandate. Not only that but they don't really care if you have Gifted or Talented students because they only want to know how many are below the standards they set as proficient. So it has been a summer of reading for me and I am facing a Fall full of workshops as I bring myself up to speed on what is best (and more than likely what is feasible) in GT Education. I will try to check in with you soon as I begin to do all of those fun things administrators do in the month of August!!!
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