I want to share with you a really special experience I had
a couple of weeks ago in Little Rock. As
many of you may know, our EAST program at Sonora has had a really good couple
of years. In 2011, we we’re flying by
the seat of our pants and just trying to make some sort of name for ourselves. As a
first year program and one of the youngest programs in the state (literally and
figuratively…our average age is 9), we really weren’t sure of what to expect
from the kids. I’ve always been taught
to set high goals and see what happens.
Well, our kids went through some growing pains with some of their
projects…several were successful, some were “failures”, and some projects just flat out never left the
drawing board. But the kids persevered
and at EAST Conference 2012, they really opened some eyes of people inside and
outside of our community. "Hey, these Elementary kids can do some things...COOL"
With a little more confidence and I hate to use the word…but
a little more “swag” (I’m 31 years old…I
try to avoid the terms swag, swagger, or swagoholic
as often as possible…but in this case, I think it’s acceptable), the kids
really set some high goals for themselves in 2013. We’ve worked with really active community
partners, including the Nob Hill Fire Department, the Arkansas Department of
Education, and the Blue Springs Village neighboring community to just name a few. We’ve never set out to attain or win any
recognition or award, we simply want to learn some new tricks of the
trade and partner up with the community.
However, the unthinkable happened on February 5th…
While in Little Rock at an EAST training with one of our
students, Austin, the EAST Initiative announced the 5 finalists for the 2013 Timothy
R. Stephens Founders Award…the highest recognition any EAST program can receive. Those schools include…
Dardanelle High School
Greenbrier High School
Har-Ber High School
Harrisburg Middle School
And...
Sonora Elementary
My jaw dropped. This was the last thing any one of us
expected. Sure, we filled out the
application…but we’ve done that the past few years simply because it helps our
kids organize their thoughts and get ready for the conversations they'll have while working our display booth at Conference. I
mean, as far as I know, we’re the only Elementary program to ever even be
nominated. We’re nominated with several
amazing secondary schools. I nearly
asked for a recount.
I texted the news to our building administrators, several parents, and
tweeted it out to our followers. This
was certainly big news. I was shaking with that same type of pride you get from your kid hitting the game winning homerun in the Little League World Series. Seriously, we
had no expectations or thoughts about actually making the list. I was just so proud of our students actually completing the application process on time…it’s a pretty intensive
application with several videos to be produced and some crazy paperwork. For us, the time it gives us to reflection is worth every
second of the application process. From
our kids mapping and planning out their message on butcher paper, to struggling with the
video editing software, to finally uploading the finished product to the
submission website...it’s a tall task and impossible task for just one or two 9 year olds to accomplish. It took a team effort to meet that deadline
and I’m proud to say that our kids fought through it. As far as being named to the Founders
Finalist List…that just icing on the cake.
A big part of the EAST model is the celebration portion of a project;
our kids will be in celebration mode at EAST Conference 2013. We’ll participate in our Finalist Interview
on Wednesday, we’ll showcase our story for many to see on Thursday, and come
Thursday night…whatever happens, happens.
Like I said, we don’t do this EAST “thing” for trophies or awards…we do
it to put kids in real world situations, to promote student growth, and to
foster relationshisp that the kids and community will value for years to come.
My short time as an EAST facilitator has been amazing; I’ve
witnessed massive success and major failures…but more importantly, I’ve been
able to sit back and watch these kids drive their education and be in charge of
something thats bigger than all of us. They’ve
helped mold a shape a community that is better now because they’ve worked so
hard. I can't wait to see what these kids can do between now and summer break! Everyone hold on tight…this ride
is just getting started!
JW
JW
You can watch EAST Conference LIVE and on February 27th, 28th, and March 1st by clicking the links below. Stay Tuned!
