The Ultimate Optimists Have a Club

Today I was introduced to the Optimist’s Club, the West Side Chapter, at little El Rodeo restaurant off West Uintah. The Optimist’s Club is “an association of more than 3,000 Optimist Clubs around the world dedicated to ‘Bringing Out the Best in Kids’.”

Scott, Alan, and I were invited to attend, and we were privileged to hear Dr. Nicholas Gledich, the new superintendent of District 11, speak to the group. He gave us a brief summary of his introduction here to Colorado Springs and the way that he has ‘hit the ground learning’. One of the interesting notes was that, in order to get a feel for Colorado Springs, he visited the local malls on Friday nights to watch kids interact, and he visited a variety of grocery stores to see a cross-section of people.

He mentioned that the book Execution: the Discipline of Getting Things Done (Bossidy, Charan, and Burck) has been very instrumental in shaping his view of leadership, and he used elements from that book in his core statements about his leadership for D11.The book sounds intriguing and I’m looking forward to reading it.

We were also delighted to meet Bob Null, a member of the District 11 School Board, and introduce ourselves and our charter idea, and talk with the Kenyon Jordan, owner and editor of The Westside Pioneer newspaper (http://www.westsidepioneer.com/) as well.

As a mom, and an aunt, and a teacher, I’m very appreciative of how many people are interested and investing in the lives of our children. I appreciate the wide variety of populations that District 11 serves, and I am also glad when I hear, as I did today, that it’s about the kids, that the people who invest their time and effort and skills towards education are keeping the needs of the kids at the forefront of what they’re doing.

As a mom, and an aunt, and a teacher now concerned about the need for a program that uses the following five categories of best practices…

• a student-centered approach that is challenging, authentic, experiential and developmental
• a cognitive approach that is reflective, constructivist, expressive and developing
• a social approach that is democratic and collaborative
• a differentiated approach that provides for a variety of student need
• a brain-based approach that utilizes neuro-scientific research

… I’m an optimist, too. I believe that the kids in our community can accomplish amazing things, and that some of them need this type of program to do so… and someday I may just have to think about joining an Optimist Club  myself.

Best Practice, Third Edition by Zemelman, Daniels, and Hyde (Heinemann: Portsmouth, NH): 2005

Best Practices in Gifted Education: An Evidence-Based Guide, by Robinson, Shore, and Enerson (National Association for Gifted Education, Prufrock Press: Waco, TX): 2007

Enriching the Brain: How to Maximize Every Learner’s Potential, by Jensen (Josey Bass: San Francisco): 2006