Let's put our heads together
Picture a Writing Center on the banks of the Red Cedar...in the year 2020. Teacher-leaders come and go in a seamless stream of transition due to the mentoring program started shortly after the turn of the century. Long gone are the days when "transition" meant uncertainty. Picture 25 programs for all ages on all eight days of the week all working together like a row of Radio City Rockettes. You may say "how," but hesitate to say "never" when you are in the Times Square Twilight Zone.
Today's Site Leadership session started me thinking. We need to do some thinking about the future. Our baby (RCWP) will be all grown up and needing therapy in 2020 if we don't take steps now to develop a long-range plan for her...a vision, dare I say, of how things may be when we are reading about our baby in the news from Burcham Retirement Home.
Would people be willing to take a day or dare I suggest a weekend (dare, dare) to do a visioning retreat? If we sat down and looked at how our baby is put together (can I leave this analogy, please?), we could put together an organizational structure that allowed for continuity and increased depth/strength over the years. Other sites have some good ideas on this topic and I bet we could fashion some pretty awesome plans.
Who's with me? (Don't leave me hangin' like Bluto in Animal House here people).
"Everybody's brother,"
Aram
Today's Site Leadership session started me thinking. We need to do some thinking about the future. Our baby (RCWP) will be all grown up and needing therapy in 2020 if we don't take steps now to develop a long-range plan for her...a vision, dare I say, of how things may be when we are reading about our baby in the news from Burcham Retirement Home.
Would people be willing to take a day or dare I suggest a weekend (dare, dare) to do a visioning retreat? If we sat down and looked at how our baby is put together (can I leave this analogy, please?), we could put together an organizational structure that allowed for continuity and increased depth/strength over the years. Other sites have some good ideas on this topic and I bet we could fashion some pretty awesome plans.
Who's with me? (Don't leave me hangin' like Bluto in Animal House here people).
"Everybody's brother,"
Aram
posted by kabod at 10:43 PM
3 Comments:
Hi Aram,
I agree that this would be a great idea.
To follow the advice of the sites that presented in this session today, I suggest that we issue a broad invitation, but set firm dates for a session like this and the follow up ones that would be necessary to enact a long term plan. Telling people what they are getting in to when they sign up for the retreat (and, in turn, being an RCWP leader) would be a crucial part of having a successful retreat, plan, and site.
Thanks for suggesting this.
Troy
I'm with you on this cause Aram! Even though RCWP may still be a baby, there are too many talented people involved and too many wonderful ideas for the future to let some rocky times pull us under. I will plan on attending future sessions to take care of this baby, while I'm taking care of mine! :)
Aram,
It was great to see you again! Since my site has recently gone through (although I suspect we are still going through) a transition of leadership (our former director retired on us - doggone her!), I just wanted to agree with Troy and Melissa about the value of your idea. When Joye from the NWP met with my site at the beginning of our transition, she made it clear that every site stumbles when in leadership transitions - even strong and mature sites. The more prepared you can be - the smaller the stumble.
Karen
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