March Madness....

For those of us who work in education, March is a cruel month. In general, most would agree that by the time March rolls around everyone is pretty sick of winter and when the month that heralds the start of spring arrives, hopes and expectations rise significantly. However, those of us who have spent enough years living on Cape Cod know all too well that expectations of spring-like weather in March are very unrealistic. So, even though the days are getting longer and we begin to feel the marginal benefits of increasing exposure to sunshine, March is still a dark month for many. This is especially felt in schools by students and staff alike. It is the only month where, save an occasional professional development day, there are no holidays or long weekends to break up the tedious wait for spring. So this is why we plan Spirit Week for March! All next week the Student Council has planned a variety of zany activities to energize the student body, encourage students to have some fun, and take everyone's mind off the agonizingly slow wait for spring. In addition to all of the normal focus on academics during the week, students will come to school in their pajamas one day, dressed as an animal on another, and culminate the week by dressing in a designated color by class on Friday. We have scheduled a rocking concert by Afterburner, an Air Force rock band from Hanscom Air Force Base on Thursday and an afternoon of competitive games on Friday to wind up the week. Hopefully, everyone will have fun and the following week we will all be back to a more serious approach to school and our usual watching and waiting for the first real signs of spring!

For most of us at Chatham High School there has been one exceptionally bright spot this particular month of March. We recently received the Commission on Public Secondary Schools' response to our NEASC Two Year report which was submitted last October. That report was a chronicle of our effort to successfully address the recommendations included in the NEASC Evaluation report which we received in the fall of 2007. In their letter, the Commission recognized the school for "the thoroughness of the report and for the exemplary number of recommendations which have been completed." Moreover, they listed a significant number of commendations which serve as a wonderful recognition of all of the hard work expended by the staff and our instructional leaders over the past two years. The letter not only validates the work we have done but the degree to which we have improved teaching, learning and the overall environment at our school. The Commission also provided us with several additional recommendations which we will need to address in our Five Year Report due in the fall of 2012 and which will guide our professional development work over the next few years.

We are so proud of our accomplishments we have posted this letter along with all of our other NEASC documents on our school web page for all to see. Please check it out at www.chatham.k12.ma.us.

And, as always, let me know what you think.