Board presentation reflection

Last night I was part of a team to present to the Penfield Board of Education on ELA highlights as part of a program review. One of my administrative duties is as a liaison to the middle school English department. Each level presented and really the task was to give a general overview and answer questions board members may have. Each level could have talked for a much longer time on positives happening in their buildings. Beside the typical thoughts you have after group presentations such as "I wonder how I came across", I thought about direction and a compass. One thought I have had throughout this year working with ELA is the direction the group is going in rather than focusing strictly on past data performance. In schools we tend to dive into data, look at how our school does compared to similar schools, and talk about what is not up to districts outperforming us. In looking at curriculum maps, there is plenty to be refined or added. More can be done assessing student work.
After the presentation I did not think of these things. Instead my thoughts went to how good a group the people I work with are and the direction we are headed.