Work Day #1 And so it begins...

Today we had our first Leader In Me Work Day!  Although I am feeling muscles I haven't felt since my early 40's, it was a day well spent.  Here are some of our projects:

Power washing the front of the building.  FYI, in the interest of full disclosure it should be mentioned that power washing one's toe is painful and it will blast several layers of skin right off that little toe before you know it. No, it wasn't my toe and no, I didn't get a picture.  Sorry.

Painting the walkway up to the school.  This is not finished yet, but a work in progress.  Our school colors are silver and blue.  The plan is to paint each of the 7 habits on the blue areas.  We can't wait to see it!

Spray painting planters blue and silver and planting lovely plants in each planter.  Every class will have plants for the students to care for, which we hope will  foster responsibility and develop student pride in our facilities.  I did notice the teachers were a little free and easy with the spray paint and all went home with silver and blue hands, arms and legs.  Party animals.

Rock climbing wall for the gym.  Is that not the most amazing thing?  I didn't even know you could do that in a gym.  Sadly, my rock wall climbing days are over.  Actually, they never really began.  Our P.E. teacher, Coach C. is a beast!

Mural painting in the front entry way.  Evan and Jessica are our resident newlyweds.  Turns out hubby is a Graphic Arts major and an Art minor. Bonus!  Guys, just so you know, if you marry a teacher, you WILL be pressed into service.  I think it should be mentioned in the wedding vows.

Landscaping the front entryway.  This job actually took two days to finish because we hit a rather stubborn layer of rock hard caliche about 4 inches down. Gotta love Texas!  After rejecting the idea of using dynamite to pulverize the layer, we decided to lay down extra top soil instead.  Not nearly as exciting or fun, but much safer... and legal.   Now that's what I call Synergizing!  I dug some holes and it only took me 4 hours, because I had to rest between each hole.  A lot.

Aaron and Santiago from Templeton's Equipment brought a Bobcat (the machine, not the animal) and dug out some previous landscaping that had seen better days, moved rocks and laid down some railroad ties in front of the school.  Aaron is Kami Winter's (our counselor) husband and graciously agreed to come from 8:00-12:00 and stayed until almost 4.

Thanks to Arrow Ford and WalMart, we have a ton of school supplies to sort and distribute.  It was a lot of work, but a labor of love.  For our families who have several children in school, providing school supplies for each child can be a financial burden.  The school supplies will be a God send to these families.

Suzanne, our Energizer Bunny of a principal is already thinking ahead to Work Day #2, tentatively set for a Saturday in October.  We will be inviting parents and students to join us and I am hopeful they will.  I don't think I can do the hole digging thing again so soon.

A big, big thank you to Templeton's Equipment, WalMart, Arrow Ford and Lowes.  We couldn't have done this without you!  Also a HUGE thank you to all the husbands, children, and siblings of staff and faculty members who came out to work on a lovely Saturday when they could have been sipping a cold drink by the pool.  






You are now honorary Ortiz All Stars!  Which means you are all invited to Work Day #2! You're welcome!

Something Special is Going On Here

For most teachers, the beginning of school is an exciting time.  Some of us are a little less willing to let go of summer and come on in, but eventually, we all show up and start working.

I love seeing what my teacher friends are doing in their classroom!  I like finding a good idea and making it reality and thanks to Pinterest, I can do both (to the detriment of my budget).  Go to any school in the nation at this time of year and you will feel the electric vibe in the air, because the teachers are excited.

Ortiz is no exception.  We are working to organize and decorate our rooms and plan our lessons and map out our schedules.  But this year is different.... better.  This year, we have begun transforming our school from the inside out with The Leader in Me Program.  We have had a rough few years.  Teaching is hard and it has become harder.  Standardized tests are long and have become longer and much more rigorous.  You get tired, and its just so hard to keep going, and its hard for the students to keep going too.  The transformation of our school begins with the teachers, and we are determined to work smarter, not just harder.

You can almost see the hope and determination in the voices and faces of the teachers.  The Leader in Me has given us the tools to change the way we think, feel and function.  There is a focus and sense of hope and purpose that I haven't felt in quite sometime.  The funny thing is, I didn't even realize we had lost that drive because it disappeared so slowly over the years.









We are fearless.  How fearless, you ask?  As fearless as a 16 year old teenager driving their first car.  Fearless enough to paint a giant tree on a wall... freehand.  Once you start, there is no going back, and paint does not erase.  That, my friends is the true definition of bravery.   Our kinder and second grade teachers painted those trees!

We are determined.  How determined, you ask?  As determined as a toddler trying to pull a full pitcher of sweet tea off the counter.  Determined enough to rework our lessons and find every minute of instruction possible.

We are energized.  How energized, you ask?  As energized as 24 first graders at the Christmas party.  My grade level started texting me at 7:09 this morning.  I still had 6 minutes to sleep and they are blowing up my phone with texts!  Tonight, after supper, teachers were still texting each other, exchanging ideas and discussing possibilities.

And we are overwhelmed.  How overwhelmed, you ask?  As overwhelmed as the new parents of triplets! There is so much to think about, and learn and do.  Oh my, how will we EVER get it all done?  But we will.  Just wait and see.

Ortiz Elementary...An Introduction

Welcome to Ortiz Elementary!  We are beginning this blog to chronicle our journey to become a Lighthouse School as part of Sean Covey's Leader in Me program.  Let me tell you just a little about our school.  Ortiz Elementary opened its doors in August, 1992 and currently has a student population of 641, 63 faculty and staff members and an occasional rattlesnake or two.

This little guy was trying to get into the computer lab, but his rattles got stuck on the other side of the door.  That was one computer lab session the kids won't ever forget.  And neither will their teacher!

We are a Title One School and 92% of our students participate in the free and reduced lunch program.  We have a thriving bilingual program and many of our children are African refugees, so our days are never boring. Ever.  We have even been on the news once or twice!

One of the best things about our campus is our faculty. Let me just say that we have the greatest teaching staff in the whole state of Texas.  Really.  We come early and stay late and always have each other's backs.  We work hard to perfect our craft and stay current on the latest research and practices.

Our kinder teachers sold t-shirts and pickles after school to earn money to go to a national kindergarten convention.  They were so excited when they finally had the money to go.  I'm sure that the fact that the convention was held in Las Vegas had nothing to do with their excitement. We share ideas, laugh a lot and cry together, but best of all, we are NICE!

During the summer we meet for lunch, work out together, go to movies together, play bunco and sometimes we pull out our old lady swim suits and spend the afternoon at the pool.

Some of us even take summer vacations together! Heather, Wanda and Charlotte toured Boston and had a great time!


Our turnover is low, because once you are a part of the Ortiz Family, you just don't want to leave.

We have an office staff that is hard to beat!

Suzanne Fulkerson is our principal and she is a blonde ball of fire and enthusiasm!  She is Ortiz's most vocal cheerleader, but even Suzanne was looking a little ragged by the end of May last school year.  Kriste O'Dell Farias is our Curriculum Coordinator and that woman knows her stuff!  It should also be mentioned that she is our resident snake wrangler.  Well, maybe not THE snake wrangler, but she knows where to find one...fast.  Our Powerhouse Trio is rounded out with Kami Winter who serves as our counselor, who always manages to remain calm and cool in every situation (No really, I've never seen her ruffled... ever).  Tamera Holland is our office secretary and she keeps the wheels from falling off our school each and every day with a smile and we love her for it!

As wonderful as Ortiz is, it's not all bunnies and rainbows... our standardized test scores really stink.  As in "Last School in the District" stink.  While teachers generally are not fans of high stakes standardized testing, it still feels really bad to have the lowest scores in the whole district.  And I don't think I'm betraying an confidences in telling you that our faculty and staff is just a bit demoralized.  And frustrated.  Albert Einstein said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.  Smart guy.  What we are doing is no longer working, so its time to do something different.  Something radical.  Enter the Leader in Me. (Drum roll, please.  Cue Rocky Theme music montage.)

Ortiz Elementary is embarking on a journey to change the paradigm from a teacher centered school to a child centered school.  Our goal is to teach our little guys and girls to be leaders.  Leaders in our school, leaders in the community and leaders in their homes.  Leaders who are responsible, confident and imaginative.  Its going to take a lot of hard work and patience, but we are excited to try.  Part of this process includes revamping our teaching practices, increasing our rigor and holding our students to a higher standard.    We are excited to begin this journey, but a bit overwhelmed too. Okay, very, very overwhelmed but we are ready, and honestly we have nothing to lose.  Perhaps the only good thing about being on the bottom is there is no where to go, but up!

Our community partners are the good folks at Arrow Ford, Community Foundation of Abilene, WalMart, Templeton Equipment, The Medical Alliance, Pleasant Hill Country Church, Hardin Simmons University, and Abilene Christian University. They are our super heroes... but without the capes.  In order to accomplish the monumental task of revamping our schools, we need support from not only the faculty, staff and parents, but from the community as well.  We just can't do this alone. Our community also has a vested interest in our schools producing children with good leadership qualities because someday these kids will be the leaders of our community.  No one wants a whiny mayor who can't read very well.

Well, that's all for now. We have a work day Saturday and I hope to have some spiffy before and after pictures inside the building and out.