Cool Air and Warm Hearts At the Sarah Smith Intermediate Campus

Today I stopped by the Sarah Smith campus to visit our students and staff on the first day of school! Principal Ken Proctor greeted us at the door to begin our tour but before meeting and greeting the students and the staff, I changed into my snazzy Sarah Smith school shirt (thanks for the gift).  I was joined by Board of Education member Nancy Meister, District 4 representative for this school and an incredible supporter of the entire North Atlanta cluster. Board members Cynthia Briscoe Brown and Matt Westmoreland also came along with us, and as we began our walk of the school, the principal noted that for the first time in the building’s history, the air conditioning was fully functioning across the entire school, thanks to the extensive HVAC work that was completed over the past few months.

Just a few paces into the school, the team and I noted the peaceful sound of engaged students and quality instruction.  We stopped by several classrooms because I was curious to see what was engaging our students to the extent that the Sarah Smith hallways were so quiet.  When I walked into Ms. A’s class, all of her students were thoughtfully considering possible career options.  When I inquired a little more, I soon discovered that Ms. A, was in the process of having her kids apply for the various jobs or careers that are needed to run a successful classroom.  Students were engaged in a lengthy discussion about how they could fill out the necessary “application” to describe their skill sets for each of the available jobs.   This led to an interesting discussion about my career and job as a superintendent and all the fun that I have helping our students reach their aspirations.  They too were curious about my role in that they asked me questions, a lot of questions about how I do what I do. I told them that I take big things and break it into small manageable pieces.

What a great group of smart kiddos. I enjoyed my time with them and look forward to returning. Happy Day One!