… or how to run the first day of a 21st Century school when it’s really only ready for the 18th Century.

Things you would want on your first day of a 21st Century Science and Technology infused high school:
Laptops (battery recall held up the order)
Server — got one of them, but not the other
Interactive Whiteboards — coming next week
Internet Connection — Well, we had it in the main office, at least
Wireless Connectivity — coming next week
Operational Science Labs — by Monday, they swear
Photocopier? — delivered at around 8:30… out of the starter toner cartridge by 10:00
A Kitchen — Monday. Really.
* Bathrooms — Well… sort of.

Clearly, construction was a bit behind where we wanted it to be for opening day. We’ve had the SDP Operations, Design and Construction, IT and Facilities folks in monitoring the process and doing everything they can to help every day, but in the end, this was an insanely ambitious project that our our builder/owners attempted, and despite how SDP was in working to make this a true public/private partnership, the owners just ran out of time. (An unexpected side benefit is that I’ve learned more about construction than I ever thought I would.) But hey, what doesn’t kill you does make you stronger.

So once again, we had it proven to us — it’s about the relationships. We had a three hour advisory, followed by shortened classes and a delivered lunch of hoagies, thanks to SDP. The building, despite the unfinished pieces, looks amazing. The kids were thrilled to be there, and SLA has the hardest working, most "can-do," most innovative group of teachers. Walking into classrooms and watching the co-creation of learning that was already starting up was an absolute joy. A year ago, I took on this job and starting talking about my ideas of a dream school. Today, I saw what it could look like if those dreams can be realized. I believe, more than ever before, that we can.

The builiding will get finished. We’ll forget how frustrating it was to try to find a working bathroom (maybe), but we will remember the emotions of the day. We were all thrilled to be there.

But there are new challenges tomorrow… and therefore, I need some sleep.