It's About People, Not Stuff
I was fortunate to be the only superintendent from Arkansas selected for Cohort 32 of the Thompson Executive Leadership Institute. As part of this outstanding group of educators, I had the privilege of traveling to Puerto Rico and visiting several public schools, including the Simón Madera Bilingual School in Guayama and the José Severo Quiñones Bilingual School in Carolina. It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my professional life. My heart was filled with pride, hope, and joy as I watched passionate educators practice their craft under conditions that many of us in the continental United States would consider unacceptable—or, at the very least, worthy of a strongly worded email and an emergency maintenance request. Here is only a partial picture of what we observed: Some school buildings were more than 100 years old. Classrooms had no air conditioning. The library was the only room on one campus with a window unit. Puerto Rico does not experience seasons ...