St. Elizabeth CHS, RAP Program, part 5

Every School Principal was different and did have goals and areas of interest that they wanted to influence and accomplish.  It was challenging for me in so many ways.  Some School Principals of Saint Elizabeth CHS required all department heads to do a lot of research and to complete volumes of paperwork.  This required individual department meetings to discuss ideas and offer each teacher member an opportunity to have input.  I was discouraged that most of the department members did not wish to gather to discuss educational features that they felt were unnecessary, and actually a waste of their time.  I would complete the documents myself, and submit to the school Principal by the required deadlines.  These activities, I thought, were beneficial to me.  It encouraged thinking and making connections.  I was encouraged also about the research, the reflection and the planning.  You see, these items became very important to budget meetings with the Principal.  I would attempt to make this point with department members, but it did not work.  Budget was (is) very important.  The School Board would expect each school to follow the new initiatives and programs that were policy agreed upon by the school board, which came as directives from the Ministry of Education.  I wonder if most teachers fully understand and appreciate how complex the education system is and how it works and is set-up.
The RAP Program had its expectations and was very complex to run on a daily basis.  But, I was reminded often that the RAP program was still a part of the St. Elizabeth CHS school community.  In addition to our daily teaching in the classroom, there were many expectations placed on the RAP program.  There were many organizations involved with this big machine, including parent committees, school administration, the community church, the school board upper administration, the teaching staff of the school, the students, the partners associated with our school, and more.  Everyone played an important role in keeping the school and specific programs, like the RAP Program, sustained and operational.  For some years, it was consistent and flowing.  But every school year introduced new ideas, new requirements, new challenges and of course, many surprises.  Sometimes, it was very challenging to work with so many people who had different ideas and personalities.
Bye for now . . . .