Community is the Foundation

We have an amazing school with high expectations for ourselves and our students.  Our district, the staff, parents, community, and students expect our students to achieve at high levels.  We intentionally plan for students to grow.  Parents regularly tell me they have moved to our school and district because of the expectations we have for our students and the proficiency and growth results our students have achieved.

I am grateful for what our students and district have achieved, but I am just as grateful for how we have achieved them.

Our district and school has a remarkable sense of unity and "can-do" spirit.  We see beyond test scores and budgets.  We reach into what others might see as impossible and focus on students and community.

One could argue that it starts with one simple idea.  We do not have individual school mascots.  Our entire district--with educational levels from birth through adults--are Novi Wildcats.  It's a simple concept, but the ramifications are far-reaching.  There isn't a sense of competition between our schools.  Instead, we share the same mascot and therefore the same ideals--the same ideals for our students.  From bus drivers to carpenters and teachers to our district's nurse, I hear over and over again a focus on our students.

At the school where I am principal I have recently been overwhelmed by the events our Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) has planned and held.  In the last month our PTO has sponsored three very special events that have touched our entire school.

Our PTO Multi-Cultural Night had at least 600 attendees intentionally celebrating how we are more alike than different despite 25 unique home languages spoken across only 420 students in our building.  Music, food, crafts, and dancing were everywhere, but there was also a deep sense of unity that is impossible to measure. 

Family roller skating night was very cold, but young and old laced-up skates and laughed and giggled at our local roller-rink.  Moms and Dads helped kids have fun. Kids helped each other, and on that cold winter night everyone was warm--together. 

Our PTO just held Family Fun Night where they hire a disc jockey to play tunes and teach dances to children and parents.  We also provide ice cream as a fun treat.  Again, parents and staff were able to enjoy being together and having fun.  I saw parents laughing with their kids and kids engaging with each other in ways that just can't happen in a math or reading lesson.

Coming soon our PTO will host Milk and Cookies Night where students and families return to school in their pajamas to hear stories read by our staff.  The evening will conclude with--milk and cookies.

The list of what our PTO does is long, and I have only highlighted a few of the activities and events they plan for our school and students.  And, none of the events I shared here were "fund" raising events.  Rather, they were and are "fun" raising events.  Simply, our PTO supports the community in our school.  When we have community, we have a stronger focus on what is really important--our students.  That unity and focus is the strongest of foundations for growth and achievement, and I am grateful.