A New Day

The summer months are often spent relaxing and enjoying time with your family and friends, but for me it’s a time to begin a new journey. In late May, I was announced and appointed the new school principal of East High School a surprise too many outside my family and close friends. With this appointment comes a new day for not only East High School, but for the Latino community. It is the first time in a very long time that the Rochester City School District has more than one Latino male leading a school. This appointment also puts me, a Latino male in a high public position that has direct access to the city's community. It is my hope that with this position I can help bridge the gap with many families who don’t see a direct association with our public school system. In particular, the Latino families who often feel underrepresented, uninformed and misguided by our school system.

As I write this article, I have been at East High School for two and half weeks and what I have seen is extremely promising. I have seen students engaged and orderly throughout the school. I have seen staff and teachers working closely with students to ensure they succeed. I have also experienced award ceremonies that recognize the hard work and dedication of students, student- athletes and the families that support them. I have also been able to interact with phenomenal programs that exist within the school walls at East High School. School programs such as the Firefighter Training Program that provides high school students an opportunity to gain employment in the Rochester Fire Department after successful completion. In fact, five graduates of East High School were just inducted into service. East High School also has an array of National Academy Foundation programs that focus on business, information technology, culinary arts and hospitality and tourism. Too compliment those programs there is also a Teaching & Learning Institute that prepares and exposes high school students to what is required to become a school teacher. Once more, these are just some of the many positive programs often not recognized by the media that exist at East High School.

With that being said, there are still many areas of improvement for my new school and moving forward to next year it is my hope to continue to build upon the successes currently at East. It is my goal to surround myself with dream builders that understand the challenges we have ahead of us. It is also my goal to continue to foster and build upon the strength of the Rochester community. I look to challenge and enhance the current partnerships with local colleges and universities, to ensure they are truly doing their part in educating our children. I look to enhance the educational experience of all my students. I look to create a high performing environment that fosters high expectations for all students regardless of their socio-economic background. Additionally, my goal is to create a school with a top-ranked staff that competes academically, athletically and artistically with those from more affluent environments. The task will not be easy; in fact it will be arduous. I often have to remind myself that the great pyramids of Egypt were not built over night but stone by stone.

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