“The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.”

I read this quote some time this weekend, and it really stuck with me. As we near the end of the first semester, the half-way mark, it is really time to evaluate our plan for success. Now that’s not to say, we have not been evaluating all along because we definitely have done so. Our intermediate students have completed universal screenings, unit tests, and also benchmark tests in reading and math providing a well-marked course for instruction. At White Oak, we do not doubt that the plan set forth by the district and more directly by the classroom teachers themselves is a good and appropriate one, but what about the future?

We are building a plan to prepare these students to be good citizens in hopes that each of them will contribute back to the community. Parents, teachers, and community share this responsibility.

So what plan do you have? What is your vision for your student’s future and more importantly what message are you sending your student concerning these expectations? Does your student share the same vision? Only when you have a realistic plan can you, and the student, stop fumbling around in the dark and begin to recognize success when you experience it. With each taste of success, motivation increases and the likelihood of attaining the goal grows more certain. We were all intended to succeed, so let’s make a plan together and work together to make it happen.