When one door closes...

Today is my last day at my first teaching job. It is sad to leave this place I've been working at for four years and consider my home, but I'm ready to move on to bigger and better things.

This school is very different from my new school. My current school's neighborhood is very rough and almost all of my students have witnessed gang violence at some point in their lives. Our school does not perform well academically and is at risk of being taken over by the district or put up for auction for charter companies to bid on. Most of the parents don't speak English and aren't as involved in their children's education as we'd like them to be. I've had several pregnant students over the last four years and even had one this year who became pregnant while she was in 8th grade.

My new school is very close to my house and in a somewhat affluent neighborhood. The school is the highest performing in the district and is going charter by choice to have more control over how money is spent. The parents not only want their students to do well, but they want their teachers to challenge them so they are prepared to attend the top universities in the country. Every teacher has an LCD projector and document reader in their classroom so they are able to teach using power point presentations and without overhead projectors.

I feel like I'm graduating and moving on to the big leagues. More resources with more pressure, but I know I'm up for the task.

Goodbye PHS! I will miss you...