Curriculum-What? What's THAT Mean?

So…..WOW!  Long time, no post!  It seems like just yesterday I was packing up my 5^th grade classroom, moving boxes of odds and ends out and starting my summer job at Fo’ Tech!  Summer has come and gone and I’m now settled into my new position as Curriculum Coordinator.  (Well, settled might not be the best word at the moment, because I swear I find a way to make a new mistake almost daily and tend to choose the worst possible way to get from my butt to my elbow in every possible situation, but I am at least in my office now!)  Those two “months off”’ that us teachers/educators get just don’t seem quite long enough. 

As I've settled into my new position, I’ve learned quite a bit over the past month.  I began the journey by stopping in one or two times a week during the summer, just to get myself moved in slowly.  It helped with feeling overwhelmed and where to put all my stuff.  I began to learn who to ask for help, who was the guru of what information and who would be able to help provide me with guidance when I needed it the most.  This proved successful, because once I moved into the “meat” of this job, organizing an office was the least important thing on my mind! 

So what does a Curriculum Coordinator do?  I get this question a lot…and not just from kids, but parents and grown-ups too.  Well it’s a big mix of a little bit of everything!  To this current minute, hour, and day I know that my technical titles include, but are not limited to: Testing Coordinator, Limit English Proficient Coordinator (LEP), Curriculum Coordinator (CC), Learning Team Facilitator (LTF), third in line administrator, School Improvement Team (SIT) member, Behavior Support Team (BST) member, and Intervention Support Team (IST) member.  Even listing these jobs makes my head spin!  I tend to be the bearer of the chocolate, the hidden color printer office, the AR student putter-inner, the queen of scheduling trainings, the organizer of mass paper distribution from the district’s literacy, math, social studies and science departments, the official site of close-the-door –and-scream-because-your-class-is-driving-you-bat-ish-crazy,   the liaison between teachers and the central office, the short term technology-fixer-upper, the academic and sometimes behavior resource suggestor, and one of my most favorites, the official bus-rider hug-giver-outer as students depart for the day. 

Just in the month I’ve worked with the fine teachers and staff at Moore Magnet, I count my blessings every day.  I have always been a part of Moore up in room 215, but now being down in my office (or hotbox as I like to classify it) I don’t think I could successfully pull any of this off without the help from those wonderful souls.  I’ve come to learn that a whole lot of this job is being a working wealth of knowledge for people who need it quickly.  Not one person has been impatient with me when trying to get answers to their questions or concerns.  It’s sure nice to love what I do. 

“Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.”-Confucius