Greetings. I hope that things are well for you and that you have been able to enjoy the fall season. I wanted to take a moment to update you on some of the exciting things going on in the district and thank some very important people for their service to the district.
One of the goals I’ve set for myself and the district is to increase the frequency of communications from the district and the schools to our communities. We have been trying to provide more consistent communications from the building level in different modalities including, but not limited to, newsletters, emails, as well as articles in the local paper. These communications allow us to update all of you on the wonderful things happening within the district. The district formalized that process by approving a district-wide communication plan that includes types of communication to be provided as well as the frequency of that communication. I’m excited to announce to you today that we are also introducing another method of communication to you all. A podcast! During the summer months, I was trying to think of a different way to communicate to the communities and the idea of a podcast continued to cross my mind. To be completely honest and transparent, while the idea of a podcast isn’t new, creating and leading one is well beyond my comfort zone and this has been a large source of anxiety. After a lot of consideration, however, I determined it was worth pursuing so I took the next step.
Once the school year started, I decided to have a conversation with Mr. Mark Smith. Mr. Smith works with our teachers at the high school in supporting tech initiatives as well as providing IT support for the building. I mentioned this idea to him and I am excited to say he took the idea and ran with it! Mr. Smith and Mr. Davis began discussions with the ALAH HS broadcasting class and this idea started to become a reality. The broadcasting class started planning right away taking care of every detail you could imagine from where to shoot the podcast, the name of the podcast, and even the intro music for the introduction of the podcast. Immediately I realized that my small idea of creating a platform to simply provide the communities with information wasn’t taken lightly by the class and is now being transformed into a full-blown show! Recording of the podcast has started and we will be announcing the release of the first episode soon. We hope to develop a consistent schedule of when we will be releasing episodes so our listeners will know what to expect.
The purpose of the podcast will be to inform the communities of all things school-related as well as highlighting anything and everything related to the district and communities. We’d love to focus on some of the history of our district and communities so at some point we may be calling on some of you to participate in helping share that historical perspective. The Broadcasting class has named the podcast “The ToKnight Show”, with Mr. Cheek. Pretty clever on their part!
Before shifting gears, I want to express how much I’ve enjoyed working with Mr. Smith, Mr. Davis, and especially the students of the ALAH HS broadcasting class on this endeavor. The students have really been the leaders of this process and to watch them collaborate, share ideas and thoughts, and make decisions together has been wonderful to witness. It is exciting to see
the skills they have demonstrated and the skills they continue to develop through this process. I am truly lucky to have been able to participate in this process.
The second half of my article this week is about perspective and purpose. These two words have come to mind recently due to some recent events. Primarily, the passing of our beloved Coach, Mr. Jerry Lane. As I’m sure you are all aware, Coach Lane coached for over 50 years, touching countless lives with his approach and his unwavering love for his student-athletes. Coach Lane is in the hall of fame for coaching both Softball and Football due to the success of his teams. I’m not on any of the selection committees for those respective sports that determine who gets into the hall of fame, nor do I know what the criteria are for those committees, but I’m guessing a large part of the criteria established must center around the success or wins of the programs that a candidate has accumulated over the years. I would assume (and hope) however that another criteria would be a genuine love and care for student-athletes. That is what I want to devote some time to on the second part of my article today. To honor Coach Lane we must focus on this most meaningful criteria - his love and dedication to his “kids” over the course of his 50-year career. I am not an expert on who qualifies for the Hall of Fame but I do feel qualified to speak on Coach Lane and his passion for his students and athletes because I played for Coach Lane in the late 80’s. All of us are influenced and impacted by people in our lives and Coach Lane was one of those individuals that impacted my life and influenced my decision to begin my career as an educator and coach. Coach Lane was an honest and fair coach and demanded the best from his athletes. Old school in his approach? Maybe, but I don’t consider that a bad thing. Coach Lane was able to stand the test of time in the coaching field and that is no small task. Sometimes coaching can be challenging. Those who have coached certainly need no explanation of the challenges that coaches, teachers, etc., face year in and year out. Why was Coach Lane able to stand the test of time and continue serving students and athletes for 50 years? My opinions are because of his perspective and purpose. Coach Lane was honest in his approach, even when that honesty wasn’t popular. Coach Lane always preached team first and playing for the team. He understood and demonstrated every single season that the team came before the individual. This may not have always been well received, but it was imperative to the eventual success of the program. Finally, and most importantly in my view, Coach Lane’s purpose was to mold young student-athletes to become better people. He was true to his core beliefs and values and demonstrated a genuine love for those that he coached. Although I was impacted firsthand by Coach Lane's approach, I was reminded of how many lives and how deeply Coach Lane’s approach impacted others with the tribute that Mr. Seal put together during the final home game of the year versus Sullivan. I had the pleasure to meet many of Coach Lanes' family that evening and most importantly I got to meet and spend the majority of the game with Coach Lanes' mother. As I visited and reminisced with his family, the conversations and memories shared all centered around Coach’s passion and love for his athletes. Not one time did the conversation center around wins or losses, what offense he ran, what defense he ran, or his knowledge of the game. It all centered around his passion and genuine care for his student-athletes. Did he love the games he coached, of course, but those games were only the vehicle he utilized to positively impact the lives he touched each and every season. So, as I reflected about my time with Coach Lane, both as a player and as a Superintendent, I’m grateful for the perspective he provided me. The “wins” and the “losses” are only the superficial “things” we often judge others by when it should be about the compassion, love, and positive impact that those we have encountered in our lives have provided. I’m forever grateful and thankful, not for the wins and losses, but for the life lessons that Coach Lane provided me. It has shaped and molded me to be the man, Coach, and educator I have become today. Thank you Coach Lane for the correct perspective and purpose you provided me. I wish you all a great rest of your week and as always, Go Knights!