You give me 24 hours, and I’ll show you a whole new day.

Throughout my career, I have found myself at so many wonderful high schools, that are all so different from each other. I began in New York City, in one of the “Dirty Dozen High Schools” located in the Bronx. I started there because I knew I would get the best training grounds for learning how to teach, and if I could survive there, I could thrive anywhere.

I found myself inside a small learning community that started up based on theory that smaller is more effective. The surrounding mentality was the idea was the new buzz worthy movement that would pass like everything else - but made sense to me as a new teacher. This program was amazing, and quickly proved that small works. An element of accountability was established, and with that came knowing everything about the students. This information became extremely valuable when meeting the needs of the inner city students, 100% low socio-economic status, all with family stories that would break your heart.

From here, I replicated this program with small schools from an administrative level. I first focused on curriculum & instruction, with the notion that engagement through proper planning and delivery would lead to raised rigor and less management. I developed a sense for teacher styles, and it all always boiled back to planning and preparation. I learned the value of a starter activity, consistency, and accountability. I also learned the value of solid collaboration and inquiry.

I found a school in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen, that was the only public culinary arts school in the city. Here, I learned the value of career and technical education. I learned CTE is not an alternative, it is the way. I learned that rigor in CTE led to many more students completing a more fulfilling pathway, that led to a real career.

I learned the value of student centered lesson planning, and most importantly, how using data can drive instruction, which when coupled with engagement - usually leads to project based learning. I saw teachers collaborating based on formative assessments, that delve granularly. I saw those same teachers work towards a common assessment that was cross curricular, in order to be all encompassing and relevant to them.

From here, I ventured to California, where I found a CTE charter school, that showed more opportunities for potential than any other school I encountered in my career. All I knew about charter, is that if I follow the state guidelines, I’m not going to do anything I shouldn’t. I also knew, that I didn’t have to let the red tape put up by educational bureaucracies prevent me at all - and that was what excited me most.

I took the only charter high school in the county, which was failing and in jeopardy of closing - to the first International Baccalaureate school with a Career Program in the state of California, and the second to accomplish said task in the United States.

Now, I want to help everyone else. Send me your questions and I’ll give you my answers based on 20 years of educational experiences, and in every type of high school setting. I can come to your site, conduct inquiry with your staff, hold professional developments, and set goals for moving forward.

This, is my next adventure, and your school can be a part of it.