STORY BY KARISSA MILLER
PHOTOS BY BRANDY TEMPLETON

Iredell-Statesville Schools held a convocation Monday morning to kick off the 2024-2025 school year for teachers and staff.

The event, which was held at Lake Norman High School’s football stadium, resembled a large pep rally filled with motivational speeches. Teachers and staff sported their school colors. Middle and high school cheerleaders were also on hand to create a festive vibe for the event.

I-SS Teacher of the Year Adrian Bowie spoke about the importance of leading and learning to create a winning school year.

She shared a story about moving from Houston, Texas, to Borneo, Indonesia, when she was four years old. She attended school in a small classroom and was exposed to nontraditional learning styles.

Her teacher would pause lessons, Bowe said, to take the students outside to see an orangutan or a deadly snake, which the students loved.

“What my family reflects on most was the community there,” she recalled. “Man, did it make you feel at home in a place that couldn’t be any further from home.”

After that, her family moved to Brussels, Belgium, and then onto other countries.

“The same thing happened over and over again. Communities coming together, forging new cultures while still celebrating their own,” she said.

As Bowie prepared for her career, “I knew what kind of teacher I wanted to be.”

“I wanted to be one that builds a community. One that cherishes relationships. One that listens and learns. As we embark on a new school year, I can’t think of a better time for us to strengthen our community,” Bowie told the crowd.

She challenged teachers and staff to be the ones who inspire greatness.

“Let us be the school district people talk about,” Bowie said. “Let us be the teachers that change lives.”

“The Audacity to Believe”

The keynote speaker for the convocation was Michael Bonner, who is an educator at the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta. He gained national attention after he was featured on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

Bonner was also a student of I-SS Deputy Superintendent Billie Berry, when Berry taught at Perquimans County High School.

Bonner encouraged educators to consider the whole child before jumping to conclusions about a student.

“You cannot demand a withdrawal from someone you have never invested in,” he said.

He also encouraged educators to have high expectations for all of their students. Bonner told educators that beliefs and expectations without systems results in chaos.

“You often say you believe in your kids. You expect that your kids can learn, but what systems do you have in place to reinforce that?” he asked.

He said that Beliefs, Expectations and Systems must go hand-in-hand.

At his school, Bonner shared, that one of the systems is that staff members do not talk poorly about their co-workers. Another system mandates that when students don’t turn in their homework (after they have had adequate time to complete assignment), they receive a zero.

Educators have to figure out what systems they have in place, he continued, or exhaustion will become a part of your culture for the entire year.

Bonner then talked about ways to improve school climate and culture. But first he explained that there are four different types of educator personalities:

♦ The Believer: They love being an educator are very intrinsically motivated, demonstrate flexibility with students academically and behaviorally, are mission driven/have a connection to school or community, are willing to confront negative talk and attitude towards children, but only under extreme conditions.

♦ The Tweeners: They are loosely coupled with the school mission. They are enthusiastic about the idealistic nature of school, but have not quite hit the tipping point. They follow instructions as given by administration creating a “wall of silence.” They are considered good teachers.

♦ The Survivors: The overwhelming nature of the job or life has caused clinical depression (burnout). They have no political or organizational aspirations. Little to no professional practice is evident.

♦ The Fundamentalist: They believe not all children can learn and that school reform is a waste of time. They believe in autonomy and academic freedom. They believe that gaps in learning are due to outside forces (students, parents and administration).

“You can have an incredible idea and new curriculum but if the environment or the ground that you are putting that new idea in is toxic, that seed will not grow,” Bonner said. “You have to ask yourself, ‘Are we really going to make a difference or are we just talking?’ ”

Bonner told the group that he has chosen to be a Believer this year, and he challenged the group to join him in that mindset.

“Believers focus on the results — never the chatter. People are just talking because they can’t produce the results themselves,” he said.

He also cautioned the educators, explaining that if they going to be great this year, they should expect opposition.

“Sometimes the light in you will frustrate the demons in others,” he said.

If educators can find a way to work together, their students’ lives will be changed and the world will be a better place.

Superintendent Jeff James ended the ceremony with an official ribbon cutting of the 2024-2025 school year with I-SS “Of the Years” winners.

The first day of the new year for most district students is Monday, August 12.

Photos