Columbine Ten Years Later

Hi Everyone,

With what's happened in the economy recently and to reflect back on the tenth anniversary of the tragedy of Columbine, my company will be donating 300 copies of the award winning leadership/success program titled "Strategies of Success".

I began writing my program on the day of Columbine when I was vacationing in Florida and heading up to MGM at Disney to surprise my students from Mt. Hope High School band who were marching that day. Like the rest of the country, I was horrified by the events that day and felt that someone, anyone had to do something to give our teens the tools to not only survive but to thrive in high school. I didn't know what I could do but I grabbed a pad on the ride up there and started writing.

The list of over 100 strategies I felt teens needed became the course that debuted in my school two years later. It became the go-to course for students in grades 9 to 12, from special ed to honors. It won numerous awards because students took it to heart and made the kind of changes they wanted to create positive, successful lives for themselves, their friends, their fellow students, their parents.

If you know a high school that would like a chance to win this program for free, go to www.strategiesofsuccess.com and enter. The deadline for entering is July 2 with winners being announced September 2. Schools who win the program (or even those who buy it later) can choose to rename the course so it meshes with their own program of studies.

I'm back in Florida now ten years later. And my goal is still to help teens so that a Columbine-type event never happens again. If you know of a high school that would like to enter this contest, please forward them this email.

Thank you!

For those of you who are educators, thanks for all you do for kids! And to those on my mailing list who were my students, thank you for all you taught me!

Sincerely,

Marianne Douglas

'There are only two ways to live your life. One, is as though there are no miracles. The other is as though everything is a miracle.' Albert Einstein

Happy New Year and a quick request

Welcome back from the holiday break! I hope your holidays were wonderful but I'm guessing that the vacation seemed way too short if not totally nonexistent! I know it always seemed that way to me.

If you have a moment this week I could use your input for a question I'm debating. Many of you on this list are here because I met you at a NAF conference. Some of you stated in your feedback that you thought I should be given a longer span of time to work with my participants. Thanks to your kind comments, that's exactly what's happening for the NAF 2009 conference in Phoenix.

As you know from my sessions, I focus on strategies to improve teaching and learning. In fact, that's why I wrote my book "When Am I Every Going to Use This? 101 Tips to Survive & Thrive in the High School Classroom." What I'd like to do this year is to tailor my presentation to what you as a classroom teacher need and want most in terms of practical professional development. Most of us have been exposed to PD sessions that felt like a misuse of our valuable time. I want my session to be immediatey useful to those who take it. With your help, I can make that a reality. If you can take a minute out of your busy schedule this week, I would greatly appreciate your input.

Thank you in advance and happy new year!