May 17, 2024
Dear Woodland Families,
Thanks to the raffle and silent auction sponsored by the Woodland Education Foundation at its Launch fundraiser on April 26, I had the opportunity to share some of my Superintendent responsibilities with my new friend and Woodland student Joselyn on Tuesday this week. Joselyn stepped up to be “Superintendent for the Day”, and it was so great to have the extra help that she provided!
Joselyn is a born leader and a kind, respectful student. She asked great questions and offered insightful feedback on a number of issues important to our students. It was a day well spent (for me, certainly, and I also hope for Joselyn!) and served as a great reminder as to why we do the work that we do. Seeing my job through a student’s eyes was humbling and helped me to remember that everything comes back to the kids. Or at least it should. The Board of Education, administrative team, and Woodland staff spend a great deal of time planning curriculum, events, and opportunities for our students and it was interesting to hear how all of our efforts have landed from a student’s perspective: we talk about “Belonging”, and Joselyn shares how her teacher (whom she loves!) starts every day with a whole class group activity that will result in a classroom mosaic by the end of the year; we talk about Student Engagement, and Joselyn mentions how there are different types of seating in her classroom that allow all students to learn comfortably, from “bouncy balls” to “spinny chairs” to “regular school chairs”; we talk about growing Community Partnerships and Joselyn talks about all the great after-school and summer programming that her family participates in through the Gurnee Park District…
Next week I will be meeting with some middle school students to reflect upon their transition from 5th to 6th grade for our next episode of the Woodland Wildcast. In preparation for our conversation, I had lunch with our 5th graders recently to get a feel for the types of questions on their minds as they face this transition themselves next fall. Just like my time with Joselyn, this experience made me realize that even though the things that the adults think are important are not necessarily the same things that our students think are important, at Woodland we are mostly all “on the same page” philosophically: our students want to know if there will be any clubs or homework help available during lunch, while the District works to implement a strategic goal to identify and develop flexible and adaptive spaces to meet the needs of varied learners and users of those spaces; students ask if the middle school teachers will be nice, while the District develops a multi-year training plan for culturally and linguistically responsive teaching training…
It’s easy to get caught up in what author Gordon Donaldson called “the busy-ness of school”, the day-to-day details that require our attention in order to run a district, school, or classroom. I am grateful to all the Woodland students who took time out of their week to reaffirm the priorities that really matter for a strong finish to the school year: positive relationships, a sense of belonging, and a genuine desire to help make #LifeintheW better for all of us.
Wishing you all a safe and happy weekend,
Dr. Robert Machak
Superintendent, Woodland D50
