FHS Understands and Embraces #FutureReady

I had the privilege of attending the Future Ready Summit with Superintendent Corey, Tim Goree, Roxane Liu, and Melissa Farrar on Monday and Tuesday of this week. We collaborated with other districts and worked on building our district plan that will support all of our schools in becoming #FutureReady. What is a #FutureReady school? A school that has robust, rigorous resources, engaged students with equitable access, active parents for deeper engagement, dedicated educators, and a "yes culture" of leadership.

After attending the summit and speaking with other educators, I couldn't help but focus on the idea of modeling what we want to see in the classroom. As I was speaking with a teacher from St. Helena he said to me, "Every time I leave a conference like this I tell myself I need to do it differently in the classroom with my students. I can't forget how hard it is to sit for so long with no breaks. I go back and I start out strong and then fall back to my old ways." This stuck with me and is a CRITICAL reflection for all of us. If I as a leader of a school continue to run meetings in a traditional fasion, how can I ever expect the teachers to transform their classrooms? If we want educators to "disrupt" education we need to do the "disruption" in all the facets. To that end I had a staff meeting the day I returned to work. There were a few "nuts and bolts" pieces of information that were shared for the first 20 minutes. Then, it was time to truly mix it up. I utilized an app called GooseChase that I was introduced to at the summit. I told the staff that for the remainder of the meeting they were going to engage in a form of a digital scavenger hunt. I further stated that they would not need to return to the library to end our meeting, that the time was flexible. I wanted them to engage in conversation and collaboration with their departments. I wanted it to be organic but directed by the "missions" that I had prepared for them to complete. This was an effort to model a tool that could be used in their classroom with the students and additionally show the importance of changing our delivery of information. 

What took place was exactly what I had hoped for. The teams took off on their missions and another benefit; hearing teachers talk about ways of incorporating GooseChase into their classroom. One teacher saw a way of using the application as a form of "choice" for his students. FHS understands and embraces the fundamental structure of being a #FutureReady school. We need to continue with this focus and connect all of our students with not only devices for school and home, but also work to ensure connectivity at home.  

Follow @FutureReady on Twitter

Blog with great information for High School news & policy: http://all4ed.org/high-school-soup/

Here are a few snapshots of completed "missions" from the staff GooseChase. 

Our ONE goal: To graduate every Fairfield High Student and to ensure that they leave FHS college and career ready!!! 

Inspire, Engage, Excite, Lead, Foster, Create, Empower!!

Many more great things are in store for Fairfield High!

Continue to be innovative, creative, and a model of excellence! 

HAVE A GREAT WEEK

A Great Week to be a Fairfield High Falcon

This past week Fairfield High had some very memorable moments. It was a great week to be a FALCON.

On Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday we had our WASC visit.  Tuesday afternoon the WASC committee shared an exceptional report for Fairfield High. We are making progress towards all of our action goals and working closer to achieving our over goal of graduating all students and ensuring they are prepared for college and career.

Wednesday evening, our very own Shari Patterson, was named Solano County Teacher of the Year. Shari now holds the following titles: 2015 Fairfield High Teacher of the Year, 2015 Fairfield-Suisun Unified District Teacher of the Year, and 2015 Solano County Teacher of the Year. Shari now goes on to compete to potentially be named as California State Teacher of the Year. Shari is an exceptional educator and continues to make huge impacts on both our students and staff. Congratulations, Shari!!

Thursday at lunch marked day one of the First Annual 3 vs. 3 intramural soccer tournament. Teacher, Steve Duncan, worked hard to create the roster and mark off the soccer field on our quad. The quad was packed at lunch with students cheering their friends on. This tournament continues at lunch for the next few weeks.

Thursday afternoon was our Third Annual Let's Make a Deal Assembly. Over 700 students were recognized and rewarded for the academic and character traits. Students received prizes that had been donated by staff and local businesses. This is one more step in reinforcing the academic and character traits as we continue to build our Culture of Universal Achievement, a fundamental pillar of what it means to be a No Excuses University school.  

The week ended in elegance with our JROTC Ball on Friday evening and our 2015 Oasis Prom on Treasure Island Saturday Night!! 

JROTC Ball

JROTC Ball

JROTC Ball

JROTC Ball


MOMENTS FROM PROM 2015!!

Our ONE goal: To graduate every Fairfield High Student and to ensure that they leave FHS college and career ready!!! 

Inspire, Engage, Excite, Lead, Foster, Create, Empower!!

Many more great things are in store for Fairfield High!

Continue to be innovative, creative, and a model of excellence! 

HAVE A GREAT WEEK

It DOES Take a Village to Raise a Child

The ancient African proverb, "It takes a village to raise a child," couldn't be more relevant today. Not only does it take a village to raise a child, it takes community involvement to create a society that flourishes. I was able to take part in an outreach event this Saturday at Grande Circle. The event was a coordination of efforts spearheaded by Neighborhood Empowerment.  There was support and participation by the following groups: City of Fairfield, Fairfield Police Department, Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District, City Church, Liberty Church, Safe Quest Solano, Real Life Church, Bayworth Church of Christ, The Leaven, Kaiser Permanente, St. Marks Lutheran Church, HOPE Christian Church, Northbay Church of God, Neighborhood HOPE Dealer, Fairfield Community SDA Church, and Alpha Pregnancy Center. The mantra of the day, "Helping to transform neighborhoods, one block at a time."

Our youth need to see us in the community and need to see us as role models and mentors. This event on Saturday was a great example of this. The Fairfield Police Department was in full force to answer questions and provide guidance and support. I saw many adults taking the opportunity to reach out to the officers and find out ways of helping to make their neighborhood safer. The officers were serving snow cones and cotton candy to the kids and engaging in great honest positive communication. This is the beginning of the change. But, it can't be the end. We all need to continue to take part in what we can to continue to foster growth in our youth and our community. If we can build a strong foundation in our city then we as educators will not only be providing a strong academic foundation, but we will be helping to provide a safe society for our students to be successful and prosper.

Whether you are a spiritual individual or not, one could not help but notice the strong message of faith at this weekend's event. The speakers and musical performers all expressed their trials and tribulations in life but attested that the turning point was when they let God into their lives. The fundamental concept of faith has a uniting effect. Faith based organizations from all denominations joined together on Saturday! The guiding principle here is that we all need to join together to support one another and help each other out of the tough times. We can do this!

Here are two different video compilations from the event. 

Our ONE goal: To graduate every Fairfield High Student and to ensure that they leave FHS college and career ready!!! 

Inspire, Engage, Excite, Lead, Foster, Create, Empower!!

Many more great things are in store for Fairfield High!

Continue to be innovative, creative, and a model of excellence! 

HAVE A GREAT WEEK

The 36th Year of "Almost Anything Goes" AAG

I have been a part of FSUSD since 1998 and I had never before heard of Almost Anything Goes or AAG until joining the Fairfield High team this year. This "secret" has been alive and strong for 36 years and is at the heart of what makes Fairfield High an amazing high school. Staff members and graduates from years ago return to take part in and watch the AAG events.  AAG is composed of two days after school where teams compete in friendly competitions. The amazing part of it is that teams are competing to win but at the same time are cheering everyone else on. There is such a strong feeling of camaraderie. This year (and apparently every year) there was a team from Armijo High school that participated. When the Armijo team showed up Tuesday afternoon in the gym the crowd erupted in cheers and support. It was something I have never seen or experienced before. We had 15 teams compete this year including a staff team. Events included such things as Pass the Person, Jump Rope, Swim Relay, Soda Chug, and Tug of War. The culminating activity Thursday was a BBQ for everyone to enjoy. Those that participated in AAG created friendships and memories that will last a lifetime.

There is so much more to school than just what lies within the walls of the classroom. Outside the classroom environment learning takes place in a different way. When we join together: staff, students, family, and community we learn by experiences. We learn about team work, collaboration, tenacity, failure, perseverance, grit, resiliency, and triumph. AAG encompassed all of this. I was so happy to take part in AAG and be able to share the experience with the students and staff that were there. It changed me for the better! Each day our Fairfield High family becomes stronger and stronger. We (staff and students) are each others support, guidance, allies, advocates, and foundation to a more successful life.


The First Place Team, Senorita Bread, has been a team since their Freshman year. Each year they have participated together in AAG. This year as a senior team they were able to pull off First Place!!

The Armijo Team "Vicious and Delicious"

Here is a video compilation thanks to Shannon Balthazor!! 

Our ONE goal: To graduate every Fairfield High Student and to ensure that they leave FHS college and career ready!!! 

Inspire, Engage, Excite, Lead, Foster, Create, Empower!!

Many more great things are in store for Fairfield High!

Continue to be innovative, creative, and a model of excellence! 

HAVE A GREAT WEEK

Traditions that Bond our Relationships

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines TRADITION as: A way of thinking, behaving, or doing something that has been used by the people in a particular group, family, society, etc., for a long time.

Last week was Staff Appreciation Week.  It was a week with "spirit" days, an AMAZING staff luncheon put on by ASB, a FANTASTIC staff breakfast put on by ASB, and a culminating staff rally on Friday afternoon. Being new to FHS these events seemed extraordinary to me, but what I found out was that these have been part of an FHS tradition for years!!

Another tradition that is a hallmark of FHS is the upcoming "Almost Anything Goes" team competitions. There will be over 15 different student teams competing along side a staff team. It will be a competition, but it will also be a relationship building and bonding event that will create memories for years to come.

A can emphatically say that what makes Fairfield High School stand a part from any other high school is the sense of family and the activities steeped deep in tradition. I am truly proud to be a part of this family and want to continue to maintain the traditions that make Fairfield High what it is today!!

Here are a few "rough" videos from the Staff Rally. Ms. Cranford is working on her final edit of the master video and we will have that up and loaded to Youtube by Tuesday afternoon. 

Our ONE goal: To graduate every Fairfield High Student and to ensure that they leave FHS college and career ready!!! 

Inspire, Engage, Excite, Lead, Foster, Create, Empower!!

Many more great things are in store for Fairfield High!

Continue to be innovative, creative, and a model of excellence! 

HAVE A GREAT WEEK

Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

We have all heard the age old saying, "Distance makes the heart grow fonder." After a week away from work, distance away helped clear my mind and refocus my perspective.

The spring break vacation was a vacation from the day to day and a break from being constantly "connected." I avoided work emails and even drastically cut back on Twitter. I spent my time just enjoying being with my family. It didn't matter what time it was, there were no deadlines, there was no pressure. Time away allowed me to decompress and rejuvenate. I thought about work during the break but my thoughts were uncluttered.

It is so important for us to find balance in our lives.  We are now back to end the year with our students with only 39 days left. Let's make the best of each of these days. We are the privileged few that have the opportunity to change lives every day. We are the privileged few that have a direct impact on the future of our society.

Maintain balance, drive, passion, innovation, courage! Live Your Life!! 

Our ONE goal: To graduate every Fairfield High Student and to ensure that they leave FHS college and career ready!!! Inspire, Engage, Excite, Lead, Foster, Create, Empower!!

Many more great things are in store for Fairfield High!

Continue to be innovative, creative, and a model of excellence! 

HAVE A GREAT WEEK