My reflections on the 2012-13 school year-

I love technology, and I especially love when technology enables people to be a better, more effective version of themself, or just enjoy life more.  The core needs to always be the people. I have driven the technology at TAF Academy to be human centered. We use technology for what we need, not for the sake of being cutting edge.

What we need is to mold our students into lifelong learners that build our communities into something better than they are today. Isn’t that why we invest in education? Isn’t our investment fueled by the hope, that our children will be better off than we are?

I am a technologist, so I see things through that lens most of the time. But that isn’t the lens that captures the true strength of our school.  It is a lens of camera that focuses on the true strength of our school.  I can look at the photos I have taken, and feel the atmosphere of what happened. I can see our students have a sense of empowerment about their education and future.

I can see, and hope to share in the images, that teachers are given the mandate, and privilege to actually care about their students and the students know they do care. I can see that our students look out for each other and their community by the smiles and laughter that the camera captured.

I seldom take photos of the times that teachers and students are frustrated; it seems an intrusion to capture those. But those photo opportunities are there.  At TAF Academy we challenge the students and ourselves to do better every time we can.  That is one of the things I am most proud of in my peers: that they are always pushing to help every single kid to be a better student and person. The cool thing is that the students are learning from that behavior, they get frustrated too, and push themselves and each other to improve, not always, but most of the time.

We know that our students can thrive, no matter their background. It is up to us as adults to build a place conducive for that to happen. Last year end I felt we had turned a corner; we had great kids enabled to realize their potential.  This year it feels like we are on the straight, with the road opening up in front of us. We can see where we need to go; it is just a matter of making it happen.

Today, the last day of the 2012-13; it is like a slow tide as I see the students ebb away from campus, hugging, high fiving, laughing, crying. I see a future that I like.  These kids will be leaders, and I feel good about the path they will decide on, and know they can make it happen.