AVID Summer Institute 2010 in Dallas

Tomorrow I'll be jumping on a flight bound for Dallas for the AVID Summer Institute 2010.  I'm excited about it.  But, I hate leaving Norma and Aidan for this long.  They are going to have a ball, they have lots planned.  And I have Skype to talk to them with at night.  So that'll be nice.  But, I'll still miss my boy.  It is bitter sweet traveling on Father's Day.

This is a big deal for me though.  I have been hoping to be an AVID National Staff Developer for the past 3 years.  From the first day that I was in San Diego, I just knew that it would be something I would love to do.  I must say I am a bit nervous tonight.  Although I have done this training session many multiple times within my district, I'm still a little hyped up because it is the real deal now.

I am teaching with a partner who is from Chicago and he's done the training a number of times.  So I have his experience to lean on and he's fantastic.  So I am looking forward to learning from him.  I'll be doing History/Social Science I.  It is four mornings of training sessions (Tue-Fri).  In the afternoons we'll be with our district site teams and with our school groups.  So it'll be a busy, busy week.

One of the other things I am really looking forward to is the 30th anniversary of AVID.  They have lots of great things planned for Summer Institute this year to take advantage of the 30th year.  They will have student speakers who are alumnus of the program.  That should be super inspirational.

I am nervous tonight, but I know once I'm in the session and we get rolling I'll be fine.  I love helping other teachers.  We should have 30 to 50 people in our session, so having 2 staff developers is really necessary.  I realize my role will be more of a #2 man and helper in most cases.  I'm fine with that because I will work the room as much as I can and try to be helpful.  There is so much to do during these sessions.  And keeping everyone happy and learning is really important.

The hotel we are staying in is at the Hyatt Regency right downtown.  That should be awesome.  I've been there before for other SI meetings but have never stayed there.  Looking forward to being downtown all week and soaking that in (after I'm super prepared for my training sessions first).

There is a lot to do in downtown Dallas.  The West End is pretty cool.  It is a little bit of a walk across downtown, so that'll stink.  But, they do have a public transportation train that you can hop on.  I'll have a good time.  But, my #1 priority is doing the best job I can as an AVID staff developer.  I'll let the rest take care of itself.  Should be a great week.