Grant High School

June 14, 2013

Dear Grant Community,

As many of you may have already heard (news travels fast) my family will be moving back to NYC this summer.  This has been an extremely difficult decision, made only more so by how wonderful the Grant Community has been over the last three years.  I cannot begin to express how I have cherished, and will continue to cherish, having been a part of this amazing extended family.

As I reflect back on my time here, I can now smile at what a hard time I was initially given.  "That New York woman" had a lot to learn, I was told. And it was true. I did have much to learn.  Although I’d like to think I was a pretty quick study, I know I could not have done it without some pretty amazing teachers, students, family and community members.  Looking back, I’d also like to think that I kept my promises.  I feel encouraged about the progress we have made over the last three years in improving things for ALL students at Grant.  I always believed that it didn’t have to be a zero-sum choice about serving one group well at the expense of another, and that on the contrary, if we didn’t do what was best for as many students and families as we could, we were shortchanging everyone.  I am proud that our community as a whole has come to agree, and that the way we do things at Grant has changed for the better as a result.

I am extremely proud of much of what I leave behind.  I believe that Grant is in a better and stronger place now than it was three years ago. In that time, I have been privileged to support teachers to create new courses (AP Studio Art, Grant Magazine, Robotics, PSU Global Cities) and to forge new partnerships (with Portland Community Gardens, Portland State University, Hollywood Theater, and Lewis and Clark).  More importantly, I believe I have helped teachers to believe again in the power of collaboration, and in their own ability to impact young people.  I have had the opportunity to help shift the community dynamic from one where we fight for our own children to one where we advocate for all of our children.

I believe students, staff, and families feel and are more empowered in 2013 than they were in 2010.  It’s not that any individual has more authority now, but rather that the community has come to believe that, together, we are able to get things done. That’s power.

I have always believed that good leadership is about timely conversation and decisive action, along with honesty, transparency and an unrelenting focus on what’s good for our students.  When I entered Grant, I believed that these elements would help us to create an empowered community.  I have since confirmed that being a strong leader is also about finding a balance where all voices are heard, but none given so much voice that others are drowned out. I’ve tried to explain my thinking and knew I must be unafraid to take action, even where unpopular.  I have tried to lead this way.

I believe that Grant students, staff and families have come to truly own Grant as our school. I appreciate that the community has held me accountable for leading – even when leadership meant we needed to deviate from what was most popular in pursuit of what was most right.  I trust that this has become an enduring community value, and a standard to which you will hold future leaders as well.

My gift to the next leader of Grant is you.  Thank you for asking important questions, for coming up with great ideas, and for doing what had to be done to make these ideas reality.  The last three years haven’t been good because of what I did – or because of what you did.  They’ve been good because of what we did, and are doing.

I will miss you, but I am excited about where you are headed, arms linked.

Much love,

Vivian