I keenly remember my first year as a Curriculum Director at the Central Office.  This was my first real role in leading committees and groups of educators for full professional learning days.  I had a huge learning curve in preparing for a meeting with an agenda that not only articulated the objectives of the meeting but also engaged the participants in dialogue, discussion, and learning.  I spent a lot of time printing copies of the agenda, having post-it notes on the tables, sheet paper for each table, and highlighters.  I thought the room was ready, so I thought.

The morning of one of my first meetings, I remember being greeted by a staff member inquiring about the coffee.  Here’s the problem - I wasn’t a coffee drinker then, so I hadn’t made the coffee.  The person was polite when I explained that we didn’t have coffee, but I soon learned my lesson when other guests arrived asking the same question.

While I added making coffee to the list of things to prepare for the subsequent meetings, I have to admit, it wasn’t great.  I didn’t drink it, so I’m not sure I added the proper amounts of water and ground coffee to taste.

Somewhere that year, I became a coffee drinker, and things changed.  I can honestly say that I can make excellent coffee today!  The notion that “coffee is real” is true.  As a result, I am excited to bring the concept of Community Coffee Chats with the Superintendent to Oakwood!  I plan on bringing coffee and making myself available on the below dates from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the Oakwood Community Center Teen Room (105 Patterson Road):

• January 11, 2024
• February 8, 2024
• March 7, 2024
• April 4, 2024
• May 9, 2024

The purpose of the coffee chats is to connect with the communication, share information informally, listen to feedback, and answer questions.  I plan to bring different administrative team members to join me to share or gather feedback.  Feel free to come the entire time or just for a few minutes to talk.