Derek L. McCoy

Tuesday, August 21st, was district-wide feel good day!

This was the second annual district recognition/celebration for all the hard work of  every employee in Cumberland County Schools. The event was hosted at The Crown Coliseum. Every school employee, school based and district office, was present to join in on the collective success of our district.

This is a video of part of the speech from our board chair, Larry Lancaster. In addition to his great message, you can get a glimpse at the enormity of the event!

Several things really stood out to me:

• Fellowship – I’ve attended large scale district-level meetings before. They are always informative events and everyone is always cordial and genuinely happy to see others [often times catching up to with old friends]. This event was about celebrating the hard work of every Cumberland County Schools employee! There are over 85 schools in Cumberland County and we shared in recognizing the hard work and growth of every school!
• Color – It may seem a small matter but the color you saw in video represents the overflowing school pride in this event! In addition to recognition, this was also about solidarity.

• ‘Not a Pep Rally’ – Dr Frank Till, our superintendent, made a point to say how this event was not a pep rally but a collective celebration and recognition of individual school efforts and the collective results of the district. Everyone was very supportive – it was great to hear the cheering for each section but I think the most defining moment [and most deafening] was when our assistant superintendent revealed that our district was a district of high growth for the 2011-2012 school year! This is my first year in Cumberland but I definitely felt the appreciation of every employee who have worked in the district previously.

I was very happy that my staff got recognized. This is a hard working staff. Their planning and work have helped are the reason our school achieved high growth!

If you attended this event, I would really like for you to share your thoughts on the our event! This is a great way to start the school year!