A New Opportunity...

The last few weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind. Finishing up summer school at Crestwood Intermediate, working on a major project involving the revised English SOLs for 2010, writing curriculum for a local community agency's transition program, and pinning down solid research for a huge paper--all of the above has kept me very busy to say the least. The summer is practically gone and I haven't really experienced "summer" in the way that I am usually able.

Needless to say, when a job interview fell into my lap a few weeks ago, I was not only caught off guard, but also a bit apprehensive. I got the call on a Wednesday afternoon and had the interview scheduled for the next day; consequently, I didn't have much time to think too much about it. The position that I interviewed for--Instructional Skills Specialist--seemed to be a perfect fit for me. The job entails quite a bit, including working with new teachers hired in Chesapeake, running the mentor program, in servicing substitutes, and most importantly--working with teachers who have been recommended for performance improvement.

I have always been strong in instruction and have always enjoyed working with teachers, so I thought, "Why not go ahead and just interview?" I had really hoped that an administrative position would come my way this summer, but due to budget and "it just not being the right time," it just didn't happen. I never considered doing anything besides teaching or working in administration, so I was a bit cautious about pursuing a central office position. Because of the encouragement of family and my amazing principal, however, I went ahead and interviewed for the position.

To make a long, harrowing story much shorter, the interview went very well. I felt really confident about the whole experience until the end--when they told me they were interviewing 27 people for the position. I wasn't sure of how I measured up next to 27 other qualified people in the city, so I put the interview behind me and didn't give it much thought.

I was very surprised to get the call last week informing me that I had landed the position. I was shocked, but it also was really incredible to know that I was moving into a new direction professionally. I am so excited to get started and do something completely different!

I have hesitated to say anything about my new position, however, because with the excitement over my job opportunity also comes a great deal of sadness. I have been a teacher for FOURTEEN years--and I am totally in love with teaching. I rarely have those "I don't want to go to work days." I ALWAYS want to go to work--especially since teaching at Grass field High School. Grass field has been the most amazing place I have ever worked--the best administrators, the best colleagues, and the best students I have ever worked with. I have felt a part of something special at Grass field, and I can't help but feel like I'm losing something very important.

I felt like a Face book status update was the wrong forum for announcing my job change, and I didn’t want to send out an email, either. I finally settled on a blog post because I could at least attempt to express my mixed emotions a bit better. I've already spent some time crying with "Mama Griz," who assures me that this is a great professional move and something that I must do. I do feel a bit better now that the shock has passed and a week has gone by. I am not feeling better, though, about telling my colleagues--my friends and some of my most favorite people. I will miss you terribly, and I am already sad about missing back-to-school week, lunches out, tailgating and football games, and meeting new students. Hell, I'm even sad about missing PTA Open House! All of these things have been a part of my life for a decade a half.

Some might think I am overreacting; however, I am going to hide behind this blog post rather than call anyone to let them know I am not returning. I hope to see many of you before school starts and things really start to get crazy again (although I've been going 100 miles an hour since school ended in June).

Now I just have to figure out how I'm going to move out of my classroom and the workroom without literally falling apart. 