July 17 was my last day – after 6 years – of working at Oak Hills. I started writing a rather long and somewhat pretentious thank you post to Oak Hills that, for all my stabs at it, kept sounding like a 90 year-old grandfather recounting his memories without using proper nouns or context. Here’s my simple thank you to a wonderful district.
Thank you Oak Hills for:
Opportunity: Especially taking me out of the classroom 3 years ago to try this new “eLearning” coach thing. No one really knew what we were doing, but the form and function quickly crystalized.
Students: Oak Hills students were different that my inner-city crew from Houston. That said, they still wanted the basics – a teacher that cared and knew his stuff! There were many lessons learned there, and for that I’m thankful.
Teammates and Friends: I’ve come to learn that your team really makes the job. Every day I could expect to have fun, bounce ideas, argue, challenge, and build ideas. It was a completely new working experience and I loved it. I continue to look forward to building relationships with my friends at Oak Hills (not to mention obtaining advice and reflections!).
Ideas: Public schools rarely generate cutting edge, thoughtful ideas (it is a conservative institution by nature). Oak Hills is 40 miles ahead of everyone else, trying things like BYOD, eLearning, and Hybrid Models before anyone else. I’ve had a rare opportunity in participating in generating and trying these ideas.
What’s Next?
Two weeks ago I started as the Director of Technology for Hamilton City Schools. It was an opportunity that was too good to pass up…and an opportunity I’m acutely aware of that was made possible from my time at Oak Hills. This new job is a different challenge, but I’m thrilled to try my hand at this new role.
My intent is for this blog to take a slightly different twist with the new role. My hope is to carve more time for reflection posts, as well aggregate resources for new colleagues.
