TurnAround Blog

My friend Martha sent me this link. This young man is something special. A model for others to follow, this is clearly just the beginning for Deonte Bridges.

Check out this recent article in the Chicago Tribune about a visit I made to Elgin Illinois.  Great things are happening at our five No Excuses University Schools in the area!

http://triblocal.com/Elgin/detail/207481.html

“I read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of a friend. He referred to the dates on her tombstone from the beginning…to the end.

He noted that first came her date of birth and spoke the following date with tears, but he said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time that she spent alive on earth and now only those who loved her know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own, the cars…the house…the cash. What matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard, are there things you’d like to change? For you never know how much time is left that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough to consider what’s true and real and always try to understand the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger and show appreciation more and love the people in our lives like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect and more often wear a smile…remembering that this special dash might only last a little while.

So when your eulogy is being read with your life’s actions to rehash, would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent your dash?”

Poem by Linda Ellis

Inevitably, the dash in your 2009 – 2010 school year included a vast variety of experiences. If your year was like mine, you persevered through an array of moments that come in to focus now as the ups and downs of your life over the last 12 months. What did you do during that dash that you are most proud of? Be sure to take some time to reflect on your accomplishments and give yourself the opportunity to take pride in all that you’ve done over the last year to make a positive impact on the lives of the children you work with. It was time well spent! As you prepare for 2010 – 2011, what experiences will this upcoming dash include? How will you spend your dash in 2010 – 2011? What would be the ultimate dash for you? What would make the new school year an unparalleled success? We spend time with our students setting goals and defining success. Practice what you preach. Identify what you are working toward. Challenge yourself. Now…go get it! This sparkling new dash of yours is loaded with potential.

The No Excuses University at Mango Elementary in Fontana California received a surprise visit from a very special visitor this week. California State Superintendent Jack O’Connell had an opportunity to check out the great work that is taking place at Mango and offer praise to the staff for their efforts. We’ll  do the same.  Congrats Mango!

This week the No Excuses University at Julian Elementary School, in Julian California, was named a National School of Character.  Julian Elementary was the only school in the state of California to receive such an honor.  The No Excuses University Network of Schools congratulates the Julian Elementary School staff for their diligent work in helping students achieve high standards of academic success, and develop a strong sense of character on their road to college.  Well done!

My friend Jennifer sent this movie to me this morning.  One look and I was floored.  While it left me inspired by educators like Michelle Rhee and Jeffrey Canada, it also gave me a jolt that reminded me about what’s at stake.  The lives of children hang in the balance every day.  Our school aged children are on academic life support. Their life’s prospects are dependent on the education we offer them.  As a whole, we are failing them.  But it doesn’t have to be this way.  The academic success of all students should never depend on the luck of the draw or how a lotto ball may bounce.  EVERY student deserves a GREAT education and we CAN offer it to them. We have the strategies, but don’t have the will to put them into action.  We are distracted by layoff notices and frustrated by  a lack of funding.  We get bad news, eat it up, and translate it into bad attitudes.  Enough!  It’s time to shut the door to our classrooms and teach our kids as if their lives depend on it.  There is no alternative.  Every teacher must begin to take this profession and the success of their students very personally.  They need to enter their classrooms feeling as if they were placed on this Earth with the one, single, purpose to educate children.  Over the top you say?  Too bold?  Unrealistic?  Maybe, but there is absolutely no other choice.  If we don’t make serious changes today, the same students being packed into the gyms within this video will be sitting in prison cells tomorrow.  Do you understand the sense of urgency?  Watch the video and you will.

In California, there are few honors greater than earning the California Distinguished Award for exemplary success.  To be associated with one distinguished school is tremendous, but to be linked to three schools is downright outstanding. Congratulations to our colleagues at Mango, Landau, and Cielo Vista Elementary School for earning this very prestigious award.  We’re proud of you!

The other day while taking a walk with my family, I spotted a mother having a conversation with her son.  With little time to spare, the boy was strapping on his helmet in an effort to ride bikes with his friends who were waiting patiently at the end of the drive way.  As he ran off she said, “Eddie stop!”.  Immediately he froze and looked at his mom right in the eye.  She went on, “Eddie, do the right thing.”  He kissed her and went on his way.  Because my intrigue got the best of me, I introduced myself to her  after her son left. “Can I ask you a question?  Do you always say that to him?  Do you always tell him to do the right thing?”, I asked.  She smiled and said, “Always.  In fact, I’m convinced that because his attention span is so limited at this age it’s the only thing he’ll remember.”  I was impressed.  Her desire to find simplicity in a quick affirmation to her son was not done because she knows  he will “do the right thing” every time at 6 years old, but more so in the hopes that he will do the right thing when he is faced with tougher challenges at 16 or 26.  This mom knew that the road to character for her son begins at an early age. What’s your affirmation to your children and students?  If you were allowed to say just 5 or 6 words a day to your kids, what would they be?

Yesterday we found out that two No Excuses University projects are in the running for the Pepsi Refresh Everything Grant.  Please read below, vote, and pass it on.

Project #1 —  Create the first No Excuses University Charter School:  This project will receive $250,000 to help us begin our dream of opening charter schools across America.  Please visit http://www.refresheverything.com/noexcusesuniversityprepacademy and vote each day.

Project # 2 — Keep the Academy at Los Pen: This project will receive $50,000 to continue an extended school charter-like program that has been changing the lives of kids of poverty for over a decade.  Los Pen is where all of this began and we just can’t afford to let the movement end.  Please visit  http://www.refresheverything.com/lospenacademy and vote each day.

As part of this grant process, each person can vote up to ten times a day.  Your two votes for both the NEU Charter and Los Pen Academy will do just fine.  The key is to vote every day and to pass it on to friends.  Let’s go viral with this thing and change some lives!  Thanks for your support.

Damen Lopez

Founder, No Excuses University