Dreams Do Come True!

The time has finally arrived.  

I am currently in Indianapolis, Indiana with my wife and my newly born son, Avery Celestino Soler.  We got the call last night from the birth mother that he was born at 7:46 PM and was 8 lbs and 21.75 inches long.  

We left late into the night on Friday and after a short nap in Buffalo, New York  we arrived in Indiana around 3 PM.

The moment just before his arrival felt very surreal, and it became quite emotional for my wife when he was wheeled into the room.   

Let me keep things short, because I need to get off this laptop and go back to being a baby hog. 

In closing, let me once again restate that dreams do come true!

Living the Dream!

Mr. Soler & Avery

The Great Debaters

What does one do over their holiday break from work? Well if it is me, I try to get out and do the things that I often don't have time to do. In particular I went out to see the movie, The Great Debaters with my wife.

Let me start out by saying this movie was loaded with an enormous amount of teachable moments. As I kept watching the film, I kept thinking to myself, my students need to see this film! Since a majority of my students are African American and Latino, I know they could all see similarities from the movie and connections to the struggles in their lives.

The movie was about a college professor who helped establish one of the nations best debate teams at Wiley College. The movie captures many issues of race, inequality, discrimination and the civil rights movement.

Again, I highly recommend all those in education and community service to go out and see this movie. It is as deeply moving to me as Lean on Me and Freedom Writers. It is amazing the power and influence a great teacher has over their students and what can be accomplish with time.

--

¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)

Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.

http://www.anibalsoler.com/

http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com/

Becoming a Father

Those of you who read this on a daily or monthly basis know I do not often speak of my own personal life and usually stick to issues of education. This current posting I have decided to speak about what is currently going on in my life. Many of you are aware of my journey on becoming a Father but most of you are not.  If you're like most let me bring you up to speed.

After trying for two years on our own, my wife and I we were unable to have a child of our own. My wife and I decided to go another route to becoming parents, adoption was our choice. In just a short time after finishing our classes and social work visits my wife and I have been selected to adopt our son from Indiana. We are in the final weeks until his arrival. His due date is Jan. 1, 2008. His name is going to be Avery Celestino Soler. He will have the middle name of the most influential male in my life, my Abuelo (Grandfather) Tino. His room is ready to go and all we are awaiting for is his arrival.

We received a call early Friday morning from the birth mother that she was having contractions 3 to 4 minutes apart and she wanted to put us on standby. Well the day went on and it looks like Avery is not ready to come into the world just yet.

Well even though I am not currently driving on my way to go pick him up from the hospital in Indiana that phone call got me to do some more thinking about being a Father.

I thought to myself oh man, I am going to be a Dad, officially now, the pressure is on! I got to thinking how my life will now change as I will have an all new purpose to live for. Looking back at my life I grew up without the daily presence of my biological father. He would visit on birthdays and special occasions but as I grew older those visits became fewer and fewer. I grew up mostly living with my Mother and spending a lot of time with my grandparents and in particular with my Abuelo (Grandpa). He showed me over the years what it meant to be a man and he often disciplined me through words, actions and expectations.

I know think to myself what type of Father will I be? Will I be courageous enough to tell my son, I love him daily. Will I be able to prepare him for success like my Abuelo (Grandfather) did for me? Will I be able to show him that what matters in life most is what we do for others and not the monetary things we possess. I know I will have a lot of challenges ahead of me and I have some great examples in my life that will help me as I enter the world of fatherhood.

Avery, I hope one day you read this. As the days get closer I can't wait until I have you in my arms! I want you to know that I will make mistakes as our journey begins together but understand that I am learning this whole father role. I will do my best to give you all the love and support you need to succeed, and if I don't please let me know. I know you may not agree with the things I do, but remember I am only going to do what is best for you and I have learned a lot from my own experiences. I can't wait to spend time playing basketball with you and hanging out like father and sons do. I may sometimes embarrass you as you can tell in this photo, your father likes to joke around a lot, but son don't take any of it personal.

Lastly, hurry up and come into this world your father is eagerly waiting!

I Love You!

Future Father of the Year!
Your Papi!

Color Matters?

Lately this race and color has been a very hot debate in my school district and community. There have been articles written by various individuals rebutting and supporting the various perspectives.

Here are my thoughts...
I strongly believe that race is not the single determinant of success by minority students in urban education. I beleive that what students of color and non-color want from their teachers are individuals that care and take the time to get to know them for who they are as students. I have a quote hanging on my door in my office that states, "Before a student cares to know what you can teach them, they must know that you care."

As a Latino going through the RCSD there were very few if any Latino educators in my educational experience. Did this doom me for failure? Nope not at all because the teachers that made me successful where those who I remember today as the teachers that took a vested interest in me inside and outside of the classroom. The teachers who attended my basketball games, the teachers who allowed me to stay after school and hang out with the in their room, the teachers who let me come up during lunch to offer me help outside of the normal class day. It didn't matter to me how much math they taught me or what content I was showed but rather the connection we had as student and teacher that encouraged me to work hard for that teacher. My main point here is that having teachers that care is what is most important not the color of the teacher.

I do believe that having more staff and teachers of color is an important thing but to say that it is a reason for higher suspension rates, special education referrals, high school dropout percentages is slap in the face to those who work day in and day out in schools.

My question is why are we not doing national recruiting to help increase the number of diverse highly qualified candidates? This is a national problem that is being felt by school district across the country so why not take a different approach? Why not team up with a local university and create a gateway teaching program that prepares our current student body to enter college become teachers and come back and work in the district that prepared them. Rather then point the finger and make claims offer viable solutions to increase the number of Latino and African Americans available to be chosen in the work force.

In closing let us all offer solutions to change items rather then point out obvious deficiencies being felt across urban school districts nationwide. Some of the greatest leaders in this world learned for a variety of individuals, and if you asked most of them why where those individuals so influential in their lives they would more then likely say because they cared in my success.


Living the Dream!
Mr. Soler

Mr. Brizard, the time is now!

Mr. Brizard,

I want to be one of the first school level administrators to welcome  you to Rochester and the Rochester City School District.  As you are well aware of there are a multitude of problems/opportunities needing to be addressed in our school district. 

I want to tell you that there are a lot of hard working individuals at the building level that need to be recognized for their daily efforts.  These individuals range from custodians, paraprofessionals, teachers and administrative staff. 

From what I can tell you from my own experience the majority of individuals at the school level want a Superintendent who is truly about bringing some drastic positive change with the needed resources, accountability and  commitment to see them through.  We have been in limbo for quite some time now and the time is now to get back on track.

I am sure you have many ideas and initiatives you are eager to get in place when you arrive next month.  I hope you use your New York City experience to help make some real changes to Rochester.   Lastly I truly hope you surround yourself with individuals who are making this job as personal as you are, and understand that everyday we fail we lose more and more youth. 

Good luck! Your time is now!

Living the Dream!

Mr. Soler

Priorities or Livelihood?

Today was another eventful day at work. I was able to informally walk through some of my teachers classrooms and watch them teach. I was able to see student become engaged and challenged by the different situations and content presented by their teachers. I also had an interesting conversation with one of my schools' more popular and academically stellar students.

She is a senior and has faced a lot of adversity in her life. She comes from a home with two sibling and a single mother. Like many students in my building she has been very transient and has moved often in her 17 year lifetime. Just last year she was kicked out of her home and left at the corner locked out of her home. Her mother had decided that she had enough of dealing with her and she is old enough to be on her own. Yeah, I would't believe a parent could do that but it really happens and it happens a little too much in our society.

Well after being on her own this past summer and living with a group of other young ladies she attempted to come back home. Her mother and her have tried to heal and mend their relationship over the past 5 months. Unfortunately it the situation has occurred again. The student came looking for me once again, asking me what to do? Would I help her find some income based housing? Would I be a reference for her? Here is a 4.0 student who works a part-time job at Wegmans, takes two college level courses, and has now been kicked out of her home.

Those not involved in urban education often forget what our students are face with. They often blame schools for the failures and struggles of children without closely examining the failures of society and parents. Again I wish all of those who are looking from the outside in to spend sometime with those on the front lines before you past judgement on our failures. As you can see from this scenario a lot of times it is items out of the control of the school that hinder our success, but don't worry this child will succeed if I have something to say and do about it.

Living the Dream!
Mr. Soler
www.anibalsoler.com

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving, is a time to make sure you tell those you love, that you are thankful for everything they do for you. Make sure you hold them close and tell them you love them. Make sure you thank yourself for doing what's right for those who are not as privileged as you are. Make sure you enjoy the moments spent with your family during these times.

Lastly, thank you for being in my life!

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Living the Dream!
Mr. Soler

School Safety

On a daily basis, schools and school districts face a multitude of challenges in keeping weapons, drugs and any other harmful individuals or items out of their buildings.

Most school buildings have a small handful of individuals that deal with safety and preventing items from coming in. It is visually obvious very few schools have enough resources and staff to handle the high need of safety in a school.

I often ask myself, why are school districts so reactive when it comes to safety? Why don't they provide schools with the resources to scan every student, provide doors with alarms on them, airport style bag scanners, or with enough video cameras to monitor school activity?

The fact is without a safe environment no learning can occur. Staff and students will be to concerned with their safety then with teaching and learning.

I challenge all school districts to make sure they provide enough resources to make sure that incidents of violence that involve weapons, do not occur. I challenge school districts to become "Proactive" rather then waiting for an incident to occur.

Another critical element involved in creating a safe school environment is having enough counseling and wellness resources available to students. Counselors need to have manageable size case loads so that they can know students more intimately and hopefully prevent incidents from occurring since they are better informed.

The last and most vital element is parent/guardian-student relationships. We need our parents of our students to talk, listen and respond to their children. We all remember as a child we needed someone we could talk to if we had an issue, or even if we didn't. We all need someone to vent or celebrate with, but we often get caught up in our own lives to take time to listen to our children who need us the most. We also have to encourage our students the importance of telling an adult when another child may be upset, and may cause harm to him or herself or another individual.

I know you have heard it before but I cannot emphasize it enough!
"It takes a village to raise a child!"


Living the Dream!
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
www.anibalsoler.com

A Letter to the Mayor, City Councilman and School Board Officials of Rochester

Dear Mr. Duffy, Mr. McFadden and Mr. White,

As a citizen of this community I want to applaud you on your efforts to
increase the awareness of this ongoing issue of violence and poverty within
our Rochester community. I view this problem as not just belonging to the
City of Rochester, but belonging to the entire community including the
suburbs of Greece, Gates, Brighton and so on. As you know the demographics
of the suburbs are changing as more of us minorities are moving out into
those areas.

I work in the City School District, as a High School Vice Principal and I
love my job and the students I serve. I have spent my entire professional
career in the Rochester City School District as a teacher and now as a
school administrator. I attended elementary, middle and high school in the
city and I would have graduated from them if it wasn’t for my family moving
down lake avenue one street over into a town called Greece, where I completed
high school.

This problem of violence I see as a huge breakdown of the educational system
and what it offers Latino and African American students. Being Latino the
issue of relevance was something that I struggled with while attending city
and suburban schools, relevance was something that was not in place in
curriculum nor in practice.

Today as a school administrator I encourage my staff that they build,
relationship with the students they serve and that they model what is it to
be a positive and productive citizen. That they incorporate strategies
which help show relevance to why it is important to succeed at school,
especially to a student who comes from an environment where school is low on
the list of priorities.

As you gentleman continue to push forward with your various projects that
will affect the students and the community of Rochester please remember to
encourage that the RCSD place a Superintendent that is vested in this
community and wants to remain here to see things through. One who knows
that the true litmus test for any project in the educational system, is
whether the project is truly beneficial to students. A Superintendent who
understands the various influential variables of urban education, a
Superintendent who is truly focused on raising the level of success for our
students.

I also want to remind you that most of the individuals regardless of
nationality in our city school system want to see the students succeed, and
work very hard to make sure that this occurs. All the students I serve do
not care what the color of the teacher is but rather that the teacher CARE
and is there because they want to make a difference, although ethnicity
helps build a connection it is not the ultimate factor in determining
student success.

I often go home from work frustrated and discouraged that more cannot be
done in terms of providing resources and support for the students that I
serve. I do not sleep well at night knowing that statistically half of the
students that enter my school building will not finish high school. This is
a crisis!

As you are all aware it takes a community to raise a child, and education
equals opportunity. I hope the Children’s Zone does come to fruition for
the sake of our students and community.

Once again keep up the great work as we are in a state of emergency to save
thousands of youth! Don’t hesitate to lean on others like myself for
support or help as the success of our city depends on it.

Thank you for your time and have a blessed day!


--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

2007 Latino Upstate Summit

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to attend the inaugural 2007 Latino Upstate Summit in Buffalo, New York. I was able to attend workshops that focused on various issues affecting the Latino population in New York State. The workshops ranged from Bilingual education to Gang and Youth violence to the voting process.

Also at the event I was able to hear the keynote address of Dr. Manuel Rivera, Deputy Secretary of Education for New York State. Dr. Rivera made some interesting and great comments during his keynote. He focused on items that he is going to implement or have already implemented, items such as the Schools Contract for Excellence. He also focused on changing funding to schools so that institutions that have a higher need will receive the funding they are rightly due.

Another major theme for the summit was education. What other arena affects everything else in society, but education. Latino's like many other minorities are falling behind their Caucasian counterparts. Some of Dr. Rivera's comments focused on that along with some of the workshops.

The event was the first of it's kind created to unite the Latino communities across New York State. I must commend the board of directors and everyone responsible for creating the event. It must start somewhere and I think they are off to a great start. The environment was very professional and great for networking and forming connections.

I am looking forward to next year's Latino Summit which is scheduled to be located in Rochester, New York.

¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Hispanic Heritage Month

Hispanic Heritage month begins on September 15, and is scheduled yearly
to last until October 15. It is the time of year that is set aside by
every school to focus or recognize the contributions of Hispanics or
Latinos in society.

In most schools and school districts very little is often said or done.
Latinos are the largest growing minority in America, and yet very little
emphasis is placed on the necessity to understand, learn and appreciate
the culture.

I look at schools as a reflection of what society places value or weight on. Let's look at the Social Studies curriculum. Their is no mention of the role of Latinos in America, and the only mention of African Americans outside of slavery and civil rights is minuscule.

Has anyone realized that this is why so many students struggle in school? Releavance! Today's generation sees no relevance to their world or their culture in education.

During this month I was privileged enough to go into Ms. Martinez's Spanish
class and present to the students. My presentation was based off of the
independent movie directed by Rosie Perez,Yo soy Boricua, pa'que tu lo sepas! (I am Puerto Rican , Just so you know!).

I was speaking to a group of Latino students not one outside of the
culture or ethnicity. We spoke about our role today, what they need to
do, and who they represent. We spoke of my past and how I came to where
I am right now, a Latino with an education and a successful career. The
students were very intrigued and enjoyed our conversation. I left the
class and discussion hoping to havereached at least on student who will begin to live the dream!

Hispanic Heritage remembrance needs to occur daily along with Black History
month and all the other cultures and ethnicity's that make up this
beautiful country called America.

Living the Dream!
Mr. Soler

Jasper Update

Good morning,

I wanted to share Jasper’s, (the young man who you all thoughtfully donated money to help towards his college) Philosophy of Education paper. His transition into college has gone extremely well and I speak to him regularly whenever he needs to vent or just share some of the college excitement.

Here is what he wrote in his first paper, a reminder of what life and education is really all about, enjoy!!

Jasper
Philosophy of Education

I am a 19 year old, who is hard working. I plan on traveling the world and hope to meet thousands of people. I am for the first time in my life satisfied with what and who I am. I value my life and especially the people I am around, where people are not handed anything in life. I can appreciate coming up hard and having to earn what I get out of life. It gives me a great sense of belonging when I see how much a person appreciates the time and effort I put into what I do.

My long term goal is to be a principal in a high school. I believe that much of education needs to be changed and that “we” (as those learning to be educators) are not doing a very good job preparing our youth for their future in the real world. I feel as a principal I will be able to mold my teachers to teach in a manner of my choosing though professional development and observation.

I want to start off as a physical education teacher and later head in the administrative field in education. I have accomplished a necessary short term goal by graduating from high school, last June. My current mission is to gain a degree in physical education and later get certified in administration to be a principal.

The interpersonal feeling that I receive when I see that I have positively influenced a child to do his or her best is one I experienced while working at the City of Rochester Recreation Center. I like the feeling that I help today’s youth make a better society tomorrow, plus in my high school, I have been close to all my physical education teachers and I have liked the way they connect with students. When I worked at the recreation centers, I loved the way I connected with the kids during play or when I could teach them how to play a game. Most of my physical education teachers have been a mentor and an inspiration in my life, I would love to do the same.

My “ultimate” career goal would be a principal at a high school where I can make my own rules. Much education today is monumentally ineffective. “All Too Often We Are Giving Young People Cut Flowers When We Should Be Teaching Them To Grow Their Own Plants”. ~ John Gardner. I believe hard work and dedication are needed in any aspect of education. I want to teach as many courses as I can. I want my teachers to excite and introduce students to a new perceptive of sporting careers. I believe if I can interest enough students to go on to college and take up careers in any of these fields or maybe be recognized by as many important people as they can. I also feel that in order to move into administration it will take many hours and a huge sacrifice in my personal life to move into the position I desire, like early in my career I want to try to reach every child. This may take many sleepless nights before I may realize that all children don’t want to be helped and that I maybe sacrificing many hours identifying those who need and want my help and those who don’t. This reminds me of the saying that “one can lead a horse to water but can not make it drink.”

I used to consider chasing my dream as a police officer, but some of society’s criminals start off as kids. However, if I get into education, I would want to fix what I believe in, which is, an injustice to kids and more importantly tomorrow’s society.

Living the Dream!
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.

Welcome Back!

The first week of school has come and gone. As you are all already aware I am in my second year as an Academy Director (Vice-Principal) at Charlotte High School in Rochester, New York. Our school last year was labeled as persistently dangerous due to the suspension and incident rates of 2005-06. During my first year our school principal and administrative team put many things in place and well, it paid off. We are now off the list that gave us a negative perception by our community members and students.

On our opening day we were welcomed with a visit from Interim Superintendent Dr. William Cala, who was going to visit all 60 schools during the first two days of school. Along with the Superintendent's visit came the media, in particular Channel 10 NBC News was there to report on us getting removed from the list.

I was glad to see them there to report on all of our hard work. All of the things that our teachers, students and administrators have been doing to make Charlotte High School a world class institution of learning.

Here is the video and article of that morning. Click Here




Now that we are off the list and back to a fresh start our focus still remains on continuing a a safe learning environment and improving our instructional offerings. With time I am confident that Charlotte High School will move up and be known as an elite high school in the Rochester area.

¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

The iPhone and K-12 Schools

It was about 3 weeks ago that I finally took the financial plunge to acquire an iPhone. Being the "digital junky" that I am it was only a matter of time before I got my hands on this innovative device. Let me see that the iPhone has definitely set the bar very high in terms of expectations for future phones.

Apple in my eyes has set the new benchmark for mobile phones.

Being an educator I can see a whole new world of benefits for schools, educators and district leaders. I can see this device take the place of the many "Laptop per child" initiatives. This device can do everything a laptop can do and would allow 24 hour communication between student and teacher or student and school. Obviously there are some legal concerns to consider but if done correctly it would allow for continuous learning to occur in and outside of school.

I am thinking of a student who doesn't have internet at home, he picks up his iPhone to log on to the internet to do some basic research online. That same student may text message his teacher with a question about the homework. I am thinking the school could send out messages to its students about snow days, or school sporting event schedules, etc. The school could even send out reminders for SAT registration and so on. There could be a hotline for students to text message to warn adults about potential problems. Teachers or the school could have a site with downloadable podcasts for the students on various topics along with videos that they could watch on their iPhones to support learning.

I would love to work with Apple and its education team on developing a model environment that could be reproduced in any educational setting. I would use my school as a potential learning environment. Just provide me with 25 iPhones, and 25 iMacs in a classroom and I will take it from there. One last thought the students could have a digital portfolio on their waist. They could show a mentor, parent or friend what they have been creating in class because of the total integration of iLife '08 with the iPhone.

I think you can see my point the possibilities are endless.

Steve Jobs, give me a call, shoot me an email, or text message me on my iPhone if you would like to expand your market. :)

Living the Dream!
Anibal Soler, Jr.
www.anibalsoler.com

Back to School!!

Tomorrow morning, it's back to work for thousands of teachers across New York State. The excitement is in the air!

I personally can't wait as I begin my second year as an Academy Director/ Vice-Principal at Charlotte High School. Coming into this school year with a years worth of experience speaks volumes. I am attacking things from whole new perspective. I am looking forward to improving our NYS ELA test results along with continuing to develop valuable connections with my students. I have some new teachers under my supervision along with many from last year. I think in ten months from now you will see a different end of the year grade for my self evaluation.

I want to wish all the educational leaders, teachers and students a successful and eventful school year. There is no other job out there where you will be able to affect the future of our world and obtain intrinsic rewards!

Good luck everyone and remember to Live the Dream!

¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

UPDATE: A Call for help...

Thank You!!!

Let me start out first by thanking everyone who donated and responded to my call for help. Jasper has started classes and is all moved in with plenty of materials, supplies and funds to last him for a while. I cannot tell you how grateful I am for your generosity in this time of need.

Through your donations I have secured $500 dollars that have been given to him for food, clothes and school incidentals.

This experience has helped me realize the huge void that exist for "Urban American" high school graduates who do not have much support or experience in preparing for the transition into college. Something must be done to ensure that once students graduate that they take the required steps to get into college.

Once again I am deeply grateful for your help in helping another one of my students, Live the Dream!


¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

A call for help

Dear Family, Friends and Colleagues,

You are all aware of my commitment and passion to serve my students in my role as their Vice Principal at Charlotte High School. I look to instill in all my students the courage, desire and perseverance to achieve their dreams regardless of whatever adversity comes their way.

Today, I encountered a call for help by one of my recently graduated male success stories.

His name is Jasper M. and in 19 years of life, he has encountered a multitude of adversity that so far he has been able to overcome. Although now, he is at a crossroads in his life with no direction or immediate family support to help him and has turned to me, and I am turning to you.

Jasper in the past 3 months has gone from high to low to uncertain. After various matters and hardship during his high school tenure, he was able to complete and graduate. During his final month, he was also able to apply to Genesee Community College and be accepted, although having some learning complexities. Shortly after graduating and being accepted to college, Jasper’s mother who was chronically ill passed away. Jasper is currently working fulltime at a local recreation center but the majority of his college savings was spent on his mother’s funeral, as he is the only other income in the house and his father is also deceased.

As of today, he has $50 dollars towards his college future and a minimal amount of belongings to take with him this Friday, August 24, 2007. This is where your help comes in to play. If you could spare $10 dollars, please feel free to donate at the PayPal site that I have setup for Jasper’s College Fund. Click on the button below; create a PayPal account and pay with a credit card. I would love to present him with a check in the amount of money raised to help him purchase food, school supplies, linens and many other items. Once again he leaves Friday. Thank you!

Living the Dream!
Anibal Soler, Jr.
www.anibalsoler.com

Addressing our ailing Rochester City Schools

As I was reading the paper this past weekend I came upon a request by the D&C asking community members their opinion of 6 different questions. I have written the questions below and I will answer the questions to the best of my knowledge. Again let me clearly state that these are my opinions and do not reflect any of the organization I work in. I speak for myself and no one else.

1.What is the most positive thing about city schools?
Diversity. The most positive thing about city schools is the diverse population that it serves. We have students that come from a variety of nationalities and cultures that will define the future of America.

2. Is the Children's Zone a good idea?
Absolutely! The Children's Zone, if modeled correctly after Geoffrey Canada's Harlem Children's Zone will address the many social inequities that are often blamed as the single reason why students in Urban America fail. It will create schools that are a one stop shop for families. Schools that will offer social and medical services to families who would not receive it otherwise. Schools that will become 24 hour community hubs that will become pillars in their communities. My only fear with the Rochester Children's Zone is like many new initiatives, it brings huge political games especially with the City of Rochester and the Rochester City School District being managed independently. The other issue will be money, it has been two years since the Rochester Children's Zone was started and we have yet to see anything occur other then meetings and discussions. Our time is precious and the longer we wait the thousands we continue to lose. We need individuals who are passionate about this and have the extreme urgency as Mr. Canada had in Harlem.

3. Should more vocational/technical classes be offered?
Yes. When I was a city school student in Rochester, I was focused on attending Edison Tech because it offered me the option to learn a trade or skill that would allow me to immediately obtain employment. Although I was not excepted to Edison I still found academic programs of worth at East High School. The reason why was because the teachers at East showed me relevance on how their Art program would still benefit me even-though it was not a technical graphic arts class. They showed me relevance in what I was doing and based on a program of rigor allowed me to have the artistic skills to work or attend college anywhere. Vocational education is an essential option that needs to be offered in conjunction with the traditional comprehensive high school.

4. Rank in order of importance, and say why:
*A. School Security
*B. Good test scores
*C. Teachers and Principals who care
*D. Cost-effective administration

My ranking would be: A, C, B, D.
School Security is the most important thing that needs to occur in any institution of learning. Without staff and students feeling safe nothing can occur. No learning will occur in an environment that is disruptive and unsafe. The next essential piece is having a staff that cares. A staff that is truly vested in the success of the students. Staff members who go above and beyond with the students and are not tied to what is said on a union contract or if there is additional pay for doing extending themselves. One of my biggest frustrations with staff is a lot of them have never seen the neighborhoods that are student come from and assume that their role as a teacher or administrator ends when the student leaves the building. In inner city schools a teacher is not just a teacher and an administrator is not just an administrator. They will be mothers, fathers, big brothers, big sisters, friends, social worker, counselors and list goes on and on. With a staff that cares you will begin to get students to change the way they approach their education and in turn get the next choice, "Good Test Scores." The test scores will come once the other two items are in place, without the prior two being established nothing will improve.
My last item of importance is cost effective administration. Salary is usually dictated by established unions or reflective of the job market. I know most individuals have a tough time with the salaries made by central office administration. Here is what my solution would be for that I would require that one day of their work week be sent at a building of high need. This would be a school that is not making NCLB's AYP. This new requirement would place these highly qualified and highly paid experts back at the building level thus reminding them of what is truly the focus of their decision making.


5. Who should run city schools? Explain why.
This is an extremely tough question because there are current examples of a city run school district and an independently run school district throughout our country. Both have their pro's and con's and their success and defeats. My main point here is I think most would agree that we would like to see a consistent, vested and visible leader. A Superintendent who is not going to be here for the traditional 3 year term but one who will see his vision and projects through completion.


6. What's the most important quality of a city school leader?
This is a very difficult question because it is like asking what is the most important ingredient in meat-loaf. You would say that all the ingredients are important. I think a city school leader needs a culmination of characteristics, not one of them being more significant than the other but being equally reliant for an effective school leader.
Here is my list of qualities in no significant order: compassion, humble, visible, integrity, dedicated, passionate, knowledgeable and experienced

Once again let me remind you these are my feelings and opinions in response to the Democrat and Chronicle's article.

¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
www.anibalsoler.com

NYSCATE Leadership Conference

Leading on Purpose?... This was the title of a NYSCATE sponsored conference I attended in Syracuse, New York which I thought would have had more of a focus on technology. Instead what the attendees and myself received was a revisit back on our educational value system. A look back to why we decided to become educators and leaders in education. We spoke openly about what our purpose and vision is in education.

The conference had its benefits but was no where near the expectations that were set forth from the emailed agenda.

I left the conference a little frustrated that I have yet to attend an Educational Technology Conference that I have learned from. This may be an opportunity for myself to set the tone. Hmm... I will have to think about that for future endeavors.

¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

To Blog or not to Blog? That is the question.

It has been a while since I have last written something in my blog. As an educational advocate and self proclaimed technological expert I can honestly say that blogs are an excellent tool, but are often not worth anything if no one is reading and collaborating with you. Hence probably why it has been so long since I have posted anything.

This "interactive audience" is an essential piece to a successful blog. Having an interactive audience is key. Without an audience one feels as if they are simply restating mental thoughts to themselves. The "interactive audience" is important because it in-turn helps create an engaged and highly motivated blogger.

Many times in instructional technology arenas there is always the conversation of the importance of creating blogs as part of an instructional approach to embedding technology into the curriculum. The reason most think blogs will be successful is because it would allow others to post comments or create discussions on or about class. Again, the emphasis on the role of an interactive audience.

In theory I think it is a great idea, but I begin to ask myself many questions that often are not discussed or investigated in the educational world, maybe it is because it is assumed that these other items will be in place. I think about the teacher and the role that that teacher has to play after class to make the blog worthwhile. Are teachers today ready to go beyond the traditional work day to connect with students? Are students ready to go home after being in school to log on to their computers and check out their class blog? How do you manage a blog and assign academic credit? and if you don't will students even bother? Are school administrators ready to go digital? Are they ready to continue the role of leadership in an online world? Are they ready to monitor how and what is being discussed?

I have many more questions and many more points of discussion. I hope that someday this blog will contain and have an interactive audience but until then I will continue to write as often as I can. I will also continue to try to comment on items in the world of education and in instructional technology as often as possible.

For those of you who continue to read this blog and comment when possible I thank you!!

Living the Dream!
Mr. Soler
www.anibalsoler.com

Charlotte High School Graduation 2007

Yesterday was my first Graduation as a High School Vice-Principal. It was an overwhelming and fulfilling experience. It had been almost 20 years since the last graduating class had received a high school diploma. The last group from Charlotte High School was back in 1988.

The commencement ceremony took place at the University of Rochester's Strong Auditorium.

As I stood near the stage at my post there were many things that stood out in my mind. First, I began to think of how many of my students where going to become first generation high school graduates. Many of my students come from families who do not have a single high school graduate, much like myself.

The second thing that crossed my mind was the sense of pride all of the staff should have when looking at the current graduates. I wish that all teaching staff members were required to be in attendance. You may ask why? Well, I feel that if staff get to truly see why we work so hard on making sure our graduates get through they will understand or be reminded of their intrinsic responsibilities. The handful of staff members who were there will undoubtedly be inspired and moved for a long while. I look forward to seeing how this translates into next year as we now have our first official year as a full high school grades 7-12.

The other ultimate highlight was being able to take photos with the students afterwards. This is where you get to hug that student who you were nagging on the past nine months. This is also were you get to see how many students you impacted by the amount of photo requests you have.

I was only privileged enough to work and get to know these graduates for the past school year, 2006-2007. I hope during that time I have helped make an impact and demonstrate for them that, today all though a great day is not the end of the road. They need to make sure they continue on forward and live the dream!!

In closing let me say, CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2007!!

Living the Dream!!
Mr. Soler
www.anibalsoler.com

Mentoring

Today on the Oprah Winfrey Show, she had a TV special focusing on the National Crisis occurring in our schools, the failure of many urban school children. She also had some influential guests who are making a difference in their areas. They are Geoffrey Canada (CEO & Founder of the Harlem Childrens Zone), Hill Harper (CSI: NY actor, author of Letters to a Young Brother: MANifest Your Destiny), three teachers from California who established the Village Nation, and Susan L. Taylor an Essence magazine executive.

The show was very inspirational and heartfelt. If you could get your hands on a copy of it please do so, and if not email the show and request a copy.

What really struck me about the show was the intention to get 1 Million Mentors signed up. Essence Magazine has launched an initiative, “Essence Cares” that they hope will enroll 1 Million Mentors across the United States. Essence understands the importance of working with today’s inner-city youth who more then likely do not have a positive role model in their life.

I commend and applaud them for going out and stepping up and looking to make this a reality.

Anyone who is out there and is reading this post please go out and sign up and make a difference in the life of a student. Far too many people do not think this problem of failing schools doesn’t affect them, well they are wrong it affects us all, as a city, state and country. We must address this issue now, or later may be too late. As many in education have stated, “Not on my watch!”

Living the Dream!!!

Anibal

High School Graduation Rates

Recently it was reported by the Democrat & Chronicle that the Rochester City School District has a horrid 39% Graduation Rate the lowest of any of the Big 4 in New York. The Rochester City School District quickly refuted the claim and said that the number was inaccurate. The RCSD said their number is actually 53%. The RCSD did acknowledge that the number is still too low. Read the RCSD's response here.

As an Administrator in an urban school district I see all of the various issues educators and administrators face in educating our youth. I also see the difficult task in getting students to succeed and really understand the value of graduating from high school.

Our inner city youth live in a world where they need immediate feedback and affirmation. It is very difficult for most students to see the true rewards of a high school diploma and the doors which are opened from it. Many of them are worried and concerned about how they will make it through the day or night. Many of the students come from home structures that understand the importance of completing high school but do not reflect that in thier daily practices with their children.

I am not sure that there is one single thing that can be done to improve graduation rates other then building a solid foundation early in the educational career of a student. We need to invest a large amount of time and dedication to make relevant and engaging connections with our students. If we build these relationships with the students during their 9th and 10th grade years they are more likely to see it through till the end. When students have a vested interest in the school either through a teacher or a group of peers they are more likely to succeed and see themselves reach the end.

Waiting until they are in their senior year to try to get them to graduate is too late in my eyes. By this time they have already made a concious decision to put themselves in a difficult situation.

The work ahead of urban schools is difficult and rigourous, but I strongly believe that it will take everyone in the community to make a true difference in increasing graduation rates. Schools cannot be the only entity responsible for completing this task.

Graduation 2007

This weekend was St. John Fisher's commencement ceremony. For me it was the official walk across the stage and final chapter to my graduate experience at St. John Fisher College. It was also the last time I would have the opportunity to see my peers from my Educational Administration Program.

Looking back it was a great 18 months spent together, there were a lot of ups and some downs during the program. I think everyone in the program grew and gained knowledge from one another. Another positive during our time was that a handful of us were fortunate enough to obtain administrative positions before completing the program and many are obtaining positions now.

At graduation only 15 of the 28 members of Cohort 10 participated. I was somewhat disappointed with the turnout I think it would have been great to see everyone together one last time. Our Cohort was also honored by having one of our own deliver the closing speech to all the graduate students.

In closing I want to remind everyone in my program, that I like the program have a lifetime guarantee!! If you ever need anything, or if I could ever be of any service please let me know. Good luck with your lives and careers I will be watching. Congratulations Class of 2006-2007!

Living the Dream!
Anibal

A difficult day...

Today was one of the hardest days of my life... sometimes life seems so unfair to good people. I know it will take time to heal the wound but if anyone will make it in the end, it will be us. I can only hope God, has a bigger and better plan for my wife and I. I want to thank all of you for your support, encouragement and kind words.

Living the Dream!
Tracy & Anibal Soler, Jr.

Graduate Awards Ceremony

Last night I was privileged enough to receive an award and attend the Graduate Student Awards Ceremony at St. John Fisher College. I, along with many of my educational administration peers recognized for various achievements throughout the program. I was selected an awarded the "Who's Who Among Students In American Universities & Colleges." I was very honored to have received this recognition.

While I was there I started to think about what is next for me, what will I do now that I have a Bachelors and two Masters degrees? Do I go forth with the pursuit of a Doctorate in Education? Do I focus on achieving my other goals such as guest speaking, writing a book, etc.? I am not 100% sure what life has in store for me, but whatever it is I will give it my all.

Living the Dream!
Anibal

Birthday Weekend

Well my 30th birthday weekend has come to a close. It was a great three days that begun on Friday with a visit at school from New York State's, Department of Education. The State's Education Department was visiting our school as part of the process to help remove us from the "persistently dangerous schools" list. A list which any educational institution is not proud to be on.

In retrospect I felt that the visit went extremely well I was the first person on the agenda to present. I presented to the "team" from State Ed. our schools' Microsoft Sharepoint Intranet site. I mainly focused on how we as a school our using this to increase our electronic communication and collaboration as a school building. I emphasized the power of having a digital library of resources for staff to reference from our site. I also spoke about how we use it to post school news, events, meeting minutes and weekly bulletins.

The visit had other presentations and facets to it that I rather not go into detail about. I will end this piece by saying that the visitors were very cognizant of the realities of urban education. They understood the importance of our work and how difficult it is when you have a numerous amount of external factors that we cannot control going against us.

The highlight of my weekend was my birthday party. My wife spent a lot of time coordinating this event. As usual we had a plethora of food and entertainment. My gifts ranged from educational books to gift cards. The highlight of all my gifts was a shadow box my wife created for me. The shadow box was a snapshot of my 30 years of life. The shadow box is unbelievably amazing and I can't wait to hang it up in my office at work. I have included a photo for those of you who may never have a chance to see it.

Lastly the weekend ended better then I could have ever expected. I was able to spend time with those individuals who matter the most to me in my life. My wife, family and friends really know how to make every moment together enjoyable.

Thanks!

Living the Dream!

Anibal Soler, Jr.

The Lose of a Colleague

It saddens me to say that the search of William “Bill” Thurston, a Rochester City School Vice Principal, father, and mentor has tragically ended. This afternoon Police Officials have revealed that they have found the body of Mr. Thurston.

I unfortunately did not have the opportunity and privilege to meet Mr. Thurston, but from the reactions of the students he served at John Marshall High School, and the information I received from fellow district administrators he was an amazing, loving and caring man.

I cannot imagine the pain and suffering that his family, students and dear friends will face. The road ahead of them must be filled with the positive thoughts, memories and influence that he had on their lives.

There are many questions still left unanswered.

I want to take this moment and send my condolences to the Thurston family. I want the students at John Marshall High School, although extremely difficult too continue to succeed in the name of Mr. Thurston. It is important that his legacy be never forgotten and that students demonstrate this through their positive attitude and success.

Mr. William Thurston, you will be missed! Rest in Peace.

Living the Dream,
Anibal
www.anibalsoler.com

Oprah's Town Hall

I was priviliged enough to watch Oprah's two part Town Hall series courtesy of my DVR (digital video recorder).

Oprah Winfrey did a two part Town Hall special, focusing on Don Imus's comments and she invited a vast array of guest speakers as part of the committee. The focus was on the use of language towards women and women of color.

The show was very thought provoking and raised a numerous amount of questions in my mind that, I hope they will be answered with time.

My questions are:

What will actually be done to change the language in the music industry?
What will Oprah do to show some accountability on why she had created the forum in the first place?
What will be done in education with our students who view this hip hop culture as the proper way to speak and live in today's society?
Will there be any additional pressure placed on the government and community members to address the underlying issues of poverty?

Lastly, I think of my students. I think of the effect that hip-hop and rap have on them. My students always wear the latest fashions they see in music videos. My students always know the latest slang and street terminology. My students spend so much time and energy in reproducing the behaviors they see. If only the time and energy was spent equally on education. If only they realized that it was just music they were listening to, and not a right of passage.

The debate will continue, and I will end with saying this; When we take care of the social inequities that currently exist in place in our society, then rap artist and others will not have the right to blame their lyrics on society.

Living the Dream!
Anibal
www.anibalsoler.com

Tragedy in Virginia Tech

Let me start out by saying my heart goes out to all of the students and families affected by this horrific tragedy. Who would have thought that this would have occurred at location that is designated for learning, sharing, growing and collegiality.

Although I am hundreds of miles away I feel the sorrow personally as I watch the convocation on television. I find myself misty eyed and saddened by this event as I continue to watch and hear the reports coming from CNN and various other news outlets.

I continously try to put myself in the shoes of the students who went through this event and ask myself what would I have done had I heard shooting outside my classroom. What would I have done had someone began shooting in my classroom? What would I have done had a been the School President? I am not sure what exactly I would do or how I would have handled the situation.

I do hope that those students who survived this mass murder, will share the stories of the classmates whose lives were lost.

As the day progressed, I began to think if my students at school would be affected by this tragedy. Would they come into school with questions or comments about what has occurred so far away from their surroundings?

What was quite ironic was that a lady did eventually ask me the question if my students at school would be bothered by this event. I thought about it briefly before responding and said, No. I don't think my students have a grasp of events outside of their community. Most of my students have a tough time realizing that life is larger than the block or neighborhood they represent. I continued to tell her that most of my students are so preoccupied with their daily struggle of survival that I doubt if this incident would really affect them.

I did say that I hope my teachers take the time to acknowledge the tragedy and share with the students the profound and disturbing effect that one man actions had on an entire community.

In closing I want to reiterate my sympathy for all of those affected in the Virginia Tech killings. My prayers are with you in this time of need.

God Bless you all!!
Anibal
www.anibalsoler.com

Eventful Weekend

My Spring break is coming to a close. It has been an eventful last couple of days for myself. I have been working with three of my student athletes from my high school. These three boys are part of the high school basketball team at my school. They also play for an AAU travel team that I previously coached for and continue to endorse because of its high quality work with student athletes. The team is called East Coast Fusion and it is run by a good colleague of mine, Mr. Lemcke.

I spent the final days of my break with these three young men who I picked up, fed and cheered for during the weekend basketball tournament. One of the boys in particular is of great importance to me.

He reminds me a lot of myself and I have personally taken him on as my endeavor. I have been working with him daily with his basketball abilities and counseling him on planning for the future.

Next year is his senior year and hopefully my investment of time, money and love will pay off.

Living the Dream!
Anibal
www.anibasoler.com

"Teaching the Levees" a free resource...

I just learned today that the, Teachers College at Columbia University through the generous support of the Rockefeller Foundation is developing a curriculum that will help teachers teach issues of race and class in America. The curriculum will be directly tied to the Spike Lee movie, When the Levees Broke.

As I have written before in a prior post about the significant injustice that I have witnessed in New Orleans. This curriculum well help remind us of this disaster and the amount of work that still needs to be done, but also make the situation a teachable moment. I recommend that every teacher and administrator sign up for this free resource.

Here is the web link to the official site Teaching The Levees

Living the Dream!
Anibal
www.anibalsoler.com

Spring Break, a time for reflection...

I hope everyone is enjoying their time off from school and rejuvenating themselves for the final stretch of the school year. When I get these moments of downtime at work I often find myself reading literature that will continue to ignite my passion for what I do. I often go back and read a poem that was first read to me by one of my professors at St. John Fisher.

I remember the day very clearly when Mr. Bell stood up at the front of the class and read to my classmates and me, a poem by Michael Josephson entitled What Will Matter (c)2003. When Mr. Bell finished reading everyone's reaction was quiet and reflective. My observation of the class was stunned and inspired by what they just heard.

Let me be the first to warn you that the poem is very powerful and moving. It may cause you to make a lifestyle change.

I think everyone involved in education; parents, teachers, administrators, students,
politicians and community stakeholders should read and refer to this poem before making any global decisions. My rationale behind this suggestions would to be to make sure that stakeholders are truly, intrinsically doing what is right for our students.

Here is a link to a PDF version of the poem Click Here.
Here is a html version for those of you who would rather view the poem in your internet browser.

Living the Dream!
Anibal
www.anibalsoler.com

New Orleans, "The Big Easy" still recovering.

My trip to Louisiana has come to an end. I was fortunate enough to spend a week down in the "big easy." The teacher recruitment trip was a great eye opening experience for myself. I was able to see a vast array of school districts and network with other school administrators and personnel.

The biggest highlight of my trip was the visit I took down to the "ground zero" area of New Orleans also known as the lower 9th Ward. I decided to take the trip along with one of my colleagues from Rochester and another recruiter who was a school Principal from California.

It has been 19 months since Hurricane Katrina has hit and 18 months since Hurricane Rita followed. My initial reaction to what I seen was very grim. I couldn't believe that I was in a once vibrant neighborhood. I stood near the newly repaired levee and I could see loads of empty fields that were once occupied by houses.

I walked around the area in amazement. I was baffled that something so tragic could occur nearly 2 years ago and yet there was very little improvement in the status of the area.

I drove by school buildings that were damaged and still closed. I began to think as an educator the significant implications on the development of children in the New Orleans area. It will take generations to recover from this natural disaster. The amount of student disabilities and classifications I am sure will increase exponentially. I was amazed but not surprised to find out that there student enrollment had dropped by almost 75%. I hope that the city officials really look at rebuilding up the schools first so that they could be hubs for the community. New Orleans public schools were already classified as one worst in the nation. This would be the right opportunity to change that classification.

I recommend that everyone who has not seen New Orleans first hand to see the movie/ documentary by Spike Lee, When the Levees Broke. This movie is a four hour documentary on what occurred with eyewitness accounts and images. Like many movies I enjoy it makes you think against the norm on what occurred and the actions taking by those in power.

I could go on and on, on what I have seen in New Orleans and my thoughts in regards to it. Let me end it with this. Since my visit I have a deeper appreciation on the luxuries of life that I have. I have a deeper understanding on what life is really about, living.

Living life to its fullest, remembering that what matters most is living a life that matters for all physical and material belongs can be taken away at a moments notice and what will be remembered is what you have done with your life.

Please look at the photos and videos I have posted from my visit.

Thank you New Orleans!!
Anibal Soler, Jr.
www.anibalsoler.com

New Orleans Mar.30, 2007

Teacher Recruitment in Louisiana

I arrived yesterday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for a four day teacher job fair. The job fairs are occurring at LSU, ULL and Southern University. Later in the week we head to New Orleans for the final job fair. I am looking forward to seeing with my own eyes what the current rebuilding state is in New Orleans. I think we often forget how much damage was caused by the storm and the number of students, families and schools that have been affected.

In the past two days we have been fortunate enough to interview some highly qualified diverse candidates. What was initially surprising to me was the amount of other school districts who are also looking for the same type of highly qualified diverse teacher. Many of the Louisiana school districts face the same issues we in New York and other urban districts face, the lack of teachers who reflect the population we serve. I strongly believe that the minority population is only going to grow exponentially in this country and all school districts urban, suburban and rural. All school districts will begin to face the issue of finding teachers who reflect their students' ethnicity and culture.

One new thing that I have learned so far during my current trip is that school districts in Louisiana are called Parish's. This is directly related to the community having roots based from the French Government. When I hear "parish" I immediately go back to my Catholic roots.

I wonder how students back in New York would feel if their districts where now called parishes. Rochester City School Parish... hmm I don't know, I think it sounds a bit more sophisticated than district.

I look forward to the rest of the week. The food so far has been very enjoyable, especially if you enjoy seafood and Cajun. I will continue to post throughout the week please feel free to comment or email me.

Living the Dream!!
Anibal
http://www.anibalsoler.com

Welcome!!!

I want to welcome everyone to my blogspot!! This will be my online location for expressing my various thoughts and feelings when it comes to all things education. I will look to address various topics that have to deal with education and in particular urban education. Please feel free to email me different topics for discussion.

I am always looking for opportunities to address school administrators, teachers, students and parents on various issues that are key for the success of students in education. You can also get more information about myself via my website, www.anibalsoler.com

Living the Dream!
Anibal