As the Board president, I had the opportunity to address the entire personnel body at USD 378 Riley County.

Because I was speaking as much to myself as I was to them, I decided to share my thoughts…

Good morning.

As Brad mentioned, my name is Dan Strom and I am the president of your Board of Education.

On behalf of the Board, I would like to welcome you back for another school year.

Let’s get right to the point…

Test scores have been improving in the district and we are all proud of these academic achievements of the students and your role in seeing this happen.

I attended a workshop with Mr. Starnes a couple of weeks ago and we were reminded that student achievement is our Number 1 mission.
Keeping that in mind, let me remind us all, whether Board member or Administration, whether teacher or secretary, whether custodian or cook, that we all play a part in student achievement.

Yes, I know. You’ve all read books and studies telling how to improve student achievement.

Even so, here are a couple of Random Thoughts for you…

Did you catch that part about Hometown Heroes?

Each of us can be a “hero” in the eyes of a student. According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, a hero is a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities

No, I don’t expect everyone to be the hero of the football team! But, I do expect each one of us to be a hero to our students.

• Have a warm smile and greeting for each student and each other.
• Encourage each student to work to their potential.
• Care, really care, for each student – even the ones you don’t really want to care for!
• Show that you care, really care, for each student.
• Be consistent with the students.
• Be an example of integrity.
• Hold yourself to a higher standard than you have for others.
• Follow the Golden Rule.

It is said, A hero is one who does what he can. The others don’t.

I hope you saw that guy in the background. It’s not unusual that we run into people that we want to whack!

It is important that we “take five” and have a bit of mental rejuvenation during each day. Definition – Verb, Have a brief rest or respite from one’s current activities.

Why “take five”?

• Maintain sanity!
• Attitude refresher
• Stress reducer
• Perspective
• Avoid “road rage” or “going Postal”

So, take a few minutes when you can to take a mental health break!

Or look at it this way, The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they’re okay, then it’s you. (Rita Mae Brown)

That’s all that I have this morning. Remember,

Be a hero

Take five

Have a great school year!