January 2010

Happy New Year!   I want to welcome back everyone as we start on the final half of the school year.

This spring promises to be a challenging one for us all.  The current national economic crisis has impacted North Carolina and, in turn, will be impacting all state funded agencies of which public schools are a major part.  We do not know yet what the specific impact on Jones County Public Schools will be.  There is a strong probability that our funding for next year will be reduced dramatically.

We are looking at every aspect of our school district creating possible contingencies based on what information we have.  It is important to note that we do not know anything specific yet.  For now, though, we’ll just have to look at all options to ensure that we continue to provide for our students as best as we can.

And therein lies our biggest challenge.  Our budget may be reduced but our student achievement expectations have been increased.  We may have to do more with less, and that is a daunting request, but not impossible!

We will keep all stakeholders as informed as we possibly can.  There will be rumors of personnel being let go, but let me assure you, those will be only rumors unless the state budget dictates otherwise.  For some people, their favorite exercise is jumping to conclusions.  Let’s all try to keep things in their proper perspective.  All of us will get through these difficult economic times by working together and by looking at ways to save money.  The one thing we will not do is compromise on our standard of quality teaching and learning for all students.

One way to get through any difficult time is to have a healthy mental outlook on life regardless of how tough the times may be.  Here are “Seven Habits of Healthy People.”

1.       They make time.

2.      They find activities they enjoy.

3.      They set a series of realistic, small goals.

4.      They enjoy feeling better.

5.      They do not make excuses.

6.      They do not criticize themselves.

7.      They view health as a lifelong habit.

Look at these seven characteristics and hold the mirror up to yourself.  On a scale of 1-10 with “10” being the optimum, how would you rate yourself on each of these traits?  I once heard it said of someone with whom I worked many years ago that this person wasn’t miserable, she was just a carrier – meaning that she made everyone else miserable.  People like that are not happy and look at difficult times as a justification to be miserable and to make others feel the same way.

I hope you will do what you can to be a healthy person – physically, emotionally, and spiritually – in 2010.  People who believe in themselves can be a powerful force in overcoming any and all difficult situations.