Setting Up The New Schoolhouse

I was at school on Thurday and Friday getting unpacked and settled in the new school building. Last year, the school was in portables on the corner of another school's property. Now, we have a five year contract to be in an actual school building designed for a small school. We lost some outdoor space for the kids, but gained parking for everyone, a place to gather the whole school, an indoor eating area (good for when it rains every once in a while), and a lot of natural light. We also lost our hallways being outside, which I think is so very California. So, during my two days at the new site, while I was unpacking the math office and my boxes, parents and students were hard at work, moving furniture, unpacking boxes, hanging this great mural, setting up the library and college center, cleaning walls and desks, fixing shades, and bringing lunch. This is an amazing community and this is what can make charter schools really special. It was nice to meet some of the kids and parents before school starts. I don't know too many other schools where kids want to come back before they have to.