Each week our school leaders write home to families in what we have come to call our Friday Letters. This correspondence gives our principals the chance to communicate directly and honestly with families and students about the daily life of the school. These letters are meant to be fun and inspiring. When necessary, the letters provide principals a forum for talking about serious issues.
The inspiration for these letters came from Shelly Harwayne, a fantastic educator from New York City, and her book Going Public. This is a book that I read and loved when I was first learning how to be a principal. Shelly gave voice to the power of and need for education. Her standards were extraordinarily high. I felt then that if I could be half as good as she was I would be great.
It’s been four years now since I was a principal. I miss writing these letters. Especially in these challenging times, I am feeling a much greater need to work and to lead and to act - a much greater need to speak and speak up.
Because of this, and in the tradition of our schools, I am going to start an ABI Friday Letter (in the style of a blog). Each week I will write to our school communities, and in some cases, the broader education community, about various issues - some fun, some serious, some possibly sad. Each of the chosen issues will, I hope, be informed and informative. These are not fluffy times.
The new blog will be available here on our website soon and shared on our Facebook pages and Twitter. This week’s letter will be about the founding of our schools. A lot of people have a lot to say about charter schools nowadays. I would like to say what I know to be true about our schools - Afya, Brehms Lane, and Tunbridge. I hope you will check it out.
- Will McKenna
Founder and Executive Director