Superintendent Carstarphen Visits "44 in 4": Forty-Four Schools in Just Four Weeks

Four weeks and 44 schools to see,
As the new superintendent, it was a real treat for me!
Teacher Appreciation Month was in May,
Teachers of Promise and of the Year I met every day.
Promise, our schools do,
of quality, rigor, and a lot of fun too.
With cheerleaders, jazz bands, inclusion classes, and more
Our schools’ striving for excellence is at their core.

Doubling library book circulation at ALC,
Honoring the whole child at Govalle.
Viva Zavala, rockin' in science, reading and song,
Brooke with Lion pride roaring and writing along.
Dawson and Small, big hearts they've got,
Thankfully, mine didn't give out as I walked, walked, walked in the Oak Hill lot.
At Patton I met Pioneers
Exploring many new frontiers.
Eco-art smart Cunningham, what a clever little school,
Cowan crayola pillars make it uber-cool.
Perez Pythons wild about reading and the wildflower walk,
Williams loves oceans and virtual Philippe Cousteau talk.
Maplewood Video Production had me on the hot seat,
Harris' IPad makes high tech learning complete.
If Ridgetop is the school
that goes from dinosaurs to dual
(language, that is),
then T.A. Brown
is the best school in town.
Paredes is bursting with Puma Pride,
St. Elmo kids questioned and quizzed us and took us in stride.
Shakespeare, pajamas, and pancakes at Galindo,
Hill standards high, orange and white, and the Dad Dillos.
Garza Spirit Says, "That's Me!"
It was easy for us all to see.
Dedicated dolphins do their flipper wave at Davis,
Doss learning takes flight up to the stratus.
Brentwood's attitude is really green,
McCallum and Reilly are PALS, as I've seen.
Highland Park learning comes alive under oaks,
Casis' path to excellence is paved for its folks.
Blackshear hosts positive role models,
Mustangs at Barrington read in their saddles.
Wooldridge folklorico could charm and amaze,
Busy McBees buzz all the day.
Little feet make strides at Lucy Read Pre-K,
Lamar teaches students "responsibilitay."
Pillow celebrates the Big 4 0,
Cook Crocs' teachers are in the know.
Oak Springs thrives in a world of its making,
Ortega busts myths and knowledge they're taking.
At Sims today's work is just a start,
Tigers at Norman know to work hard to be smart.
Lee is so nifty where kids read fifty,
Teaching in paradise at Bryker, how spiffy.
Life at Palm is beautiful and breezy,
Widen teachers make learning look easy.
Houston has cool kids; I got to be one,
Rodriguez rocks 'cause learning is fun.
Our first school was Linder, where we were so welcome,
And that's all the schools; our visits were awesome!

I'll miss our rogue band of bloggers —
Ramona and Carmen, Kathy and Chris, Holly and Liz —
they can't forget this: that they hung in
every day of the tour, which made it all possible
for me to do this,
visit each school and blog what I learned
while the wheels of our bus turned, turned, and turned.

A poem by a second grader would be better than this,
It's true, check out Cowan, that student can't miss.
It’s all about learning, going forward, not back,
learning for life, but don't tell that to TAKS.

Many thanks to all the wonderful teachers, students, parents, and school staff members that I met on the tour. Your commitment to teaching and learning has inspired me to do the best job I can as your Superintendent. I also want to thank the principals for creating outstanding learning communities ... and for welcoming us so warmly when we visited.