First, I told a few friends, asked for some crossed fingers. Then, I told Twitter, because most of them don't really know who I am anyway. Yesterday, I put it out on Facebook, which makes it all very real and official. Now, it's time to blog about it.
I am the new choir director at a very awesome local high school!
It's been coming about for several weeks now, but I couldn't talk about it or make any announcements until this week. Here's how it all unfolded.
In May, amid all the crazy, hectic madness of Sac Choral rehearsals and putting on a musical at Petite School, I interviewed for a job at a local high school. The job was originally listed as English/Choir, and though I have the proper credentials for both subjects, I don't have the experience teaching English and in the end, the school thought I'd be perfect for the choir stuff, but they could cover the English classes with someone who has the experience. For legal reasons, they had to repost the job as just choir, but the principal let me know he was very interested in having me take the job.
I put it all out of my mind a little; I had to, to get through all of the extra days at Petite School and the work of pulling off a musical and concert. That all went quite well (the feedback I received from parents and my colleagues was fantastic), and I had a warm glow in me on my last day of school. It was hard to think of the possibility of leaving a job I loved, such great kids, etc.
But during the lunch break on our staff inservice day, I received a call from Mr. Principal at the high school, letting me know they were still very interested in hiring me. I discussed some concerns with him--if I get kids to enroll in choir, will this position grow from being very part-time to more full-time? Absolutely. I told him some ideas for recruiting--taking my choirs to the feeder middle schools, giving concerts in the community, taking them to the Folsom Jazz Festival to build interest in starting a jazz choir. I'd love to do an American Idol-type concert at the school to generate interest in the program. All of my ideas were met with huge enthusiasm, and the statement, "I will let you take these kids anywhere, if it means this program grows."
I asked for the weekend (this was a Friday) to make a decision, and he gracefully allowed me that. As my day progressed, I came to a couple of big realizations: first, that the position at Petite School will not grow. It will be one day a week, with the expectation of putting in a lot of extra, unpaid time, without compensation. I love my job, but Petite School is a 35-mile one-way trip from Lincoln. I also realized that next year, I'd be taking on larger classes, combining grades awkwardly and forcing me to completely recreate my curriculum. Combined with some general uncertainties as the school tries to move to a new site and juggles the financial side of all that, I started feeling like it wasn't a safe bet to keep a job there, no matter how much I love those kids.
Still, I struggled--anyone who has followed this blog long enough knows that my experience teaching high school choir before was a huge struggle. But the more I thought on it, listed the obstacles in my head, the more I realized something--I am not the same Meg who waltzed into DVHS full of false bravado and foolish hope. I had
no idea what I was getting into when I walked into that job, and I learned a lot of hard lessons. In this case, I'm taking over a program that has been declining, for a teacher who does not want to stay on. My challenge will not be, "You're not The Goddess!!" as it was at DVHS--I fully anticipate it will be, "Gee, how long are
you gonna last before giving up?"
I'm no quitter.
The bottom line, according to my new principal, is that the kids haven't been excited by the choir curriculum. In the interview, he asked how willing I am to incorporate more pop music. I told him, "I love pop music. I'll tell the kids, we can do some of your music, as long as we balance it out with some of mine." This is what got me hired--my willingness to create a program that will excite the kids, make them want to be a part of it.
I have so many plans and ideas. First and foremost, I want to get my choir singing the National Anthem at a football game--an immediate performance for their families and peers, to show off what they can do. I want to get them singing some fun music, as well as "serious" music, and also devote a small chunk of my 80-minute lessons (gotta love block scheduling!) to really good warm-ups and sight-singing exercises that develop their singing, breath control, and listening skills. I want to start an A Capella group--vocal percussion, beat-boxing, the whole she-bang. A jazz choir. A madrigal choir for the students who want more of the "old" stuff.
But back to the progression of events. ; )
After that Friday at Petite School, I knew, in my heart, what my choice was. So, on Monday morning, I called the high school principal and let him know I'm all in. He said, "Great!" and let me know the rest of the process--he'd call my reference from Stockton, get the paperwork submitted, and we'd be good to go. This was June 10.
A week later, I had not heard back, so I called to see how things were going. My reference had not gotten back to him yet, so he sent off an email that day, hoping she'd get it and give him a quick call.
Another week.
(You all know me well enough to know what was going on in my head at this point. A lot of screaming.)
Finally, this week. On Monday, I scrounged up the contact information for a less-recent supervisor--as I hadn't yet told Petite School I was leaving, I didn't want to surprise Dr. Principal with a call from another school--and emailed that to the high school. Before he even had a chance to contact that reference, my Stockton reference called him back...We were good to go!
I'm superstitious enough to not just get on social media and scream from the rooftops right away, so I kept my announcement to Twitter on Monday, and sent my resignation to Petite School. Yesterday, I spread the joy to Facebook. Today, I received an email from my new principal's secretary, welcoming me to the Grizzly Family and asking what size shirt I wear for my staff shirt. Soon, I should hear from the school district office, setting up a time to come in and sign all the papers. That reminds me, need to dig up all my various school transcripts.
So there you go--my big news. I'm nervous, excited, and full of ideas. I'm not waking into this thinking it will be perfect, and I'm fully aware I have a lot of hard work ahead. I also have a new confidence in my education, my skills, and my ability to teach those skills to others that I didn't have in 2006. So bring it on.
The first day of school will fall on my August 12--my 35th birthday. In the last 7 years, I've gained a lot of perspective and maturity, lost a lot of self-doubt, and proven to myself that I can do unimaginably awesome things...like becoming a runner. I'm confident I can take on this new adventure with a sense of humor and grace.
