So Thankful to @BPEFinc and for the Support from @FairfieldU

Marge Hiller said I could only have 3 minutes and I typed my thoughts onto a page (which usually equals 3 minutes). I know, however, I improvised a lot when I asked for a skee-wee from the Alpha Kappa Alpha sisters in the audience and when I wanted Coach Sydney Johnson to keep blowing into his whistle (he wouldn't want to see me play basketball..ask Abu and Lossine...they know how I can't do two things and once and dribbling and shooting are impossible for me to do simultaneously while moving).

I also know I ranted about the danger of the single story that is too often told about Bridgeport students and teachers, and asked everyone to think about the beauty of heterogeneity and diversity in the city. That was unprompted, but the Principal who won a leadership award before me was so passionate that I felt I wanted to keep her narrative going. She LOVES her teachers and students. She radiated what an administrator's VISION should be.

I'm waking up this morning still shaking my head that yesterday even happened. I am so honored to be named recipient of the 2017 Elizabeth M. Pfriem Civic Leadership Award. I know I left script often, but this is the heart of what I had to say. I am so thankful to everyone behind this (and even more appreciative that it wasn't a practical joke).

Well, as I told the incredible Marge Hiller after I received a letter naming me as this year’s recipient, “You’ve got to be crazy. What are you people thinking? Your announcement totally surprised me and I’m still shaking my head in disbelief.”  

But then I started thinking about the Ubuntu philosophy the Connecticut Writing Project at Fairfield University embraces and I started thinking about the wonderful teachers and administrators I’ve been fortunate enough to work with through Bridgeport Public Schools, including Beard Award recipients Ana Batista, Kathy Silver, Greg Pacific, and Shaun Mitchell. And I started reflecting on having the great fortune of teaching Arlette Johnson, this year’s Beard winner, and seeing what magic she accomplishes with her students at Multicultural Magnet. 

And then I figured you’d wonder what Ubuntu actually was. So, here’s what it means. Ubuntu translates as, “I can be me, because of who we are together.” It parallels Fairfield University’s mission of Men and Women for others, and our dedication and devotion to local and global communities.  

The work I’ve been privileged to do with through my role as the Director of the Connecticut Writing Project is the absolute result of who we are together. This includes Sydney Johnson and the Fairfield University Men’s Basketball Team, Rony Delva and Upward Bound, administrators who stand behind the work that I do and who encourage me to do it, Melissa Quan from the Office of Service Learning and Community Engagement, my colleagues in the Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions, the brilliant Carol Davis and Dr. Elizabeth Boquet who stand at the helm of Poetry for Peace, and Dr. Yohuru Williams, who will continue to be an inspiration to me at Fairfield University, even though he is moving on to bigger and better things.  

It is not only Fairfield University, however,  that has become part of who THIS is together. We are the work of the Bridgeport Higher Education Association and the unification of Sacred Heart University, University of Bridgeport, St. Vincent’s and Housatonic Community College who works with Fairfield University to provide support for Bridgeport Public Schools. As individual institutions, we can only do so much. As a cohort of like-minded dreamers, we can impact the greatest change.

Ah, the Lorax speaks for the trees, and I tell everyone Crandall speaks for the teachers and the students. They come first, and that is why I’d also like to shout out to William King, Jessica Baldizon, Claudia Connor, and the youth from Ubuntu Academy, who inspire me in all that I do. They have been my heart in Connecticut and I love them for it. Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t ask you the following question, “Shouldn’t we be reshaping the curriculum to meet the needs of our kids rather than shaping our young people to meet the needs of curriculum? 

That's as political as I will be, although I want everyone to know (and this is a room of educators so I’m sure they’ll agree)…Our students are so much more than a test score.
So thank you.. Thank you, Elizabeth M. Pfirem for leaving the legacy of your passion to all of us in Fairfield County. And thank you Bridgeport Public Education Fund for acknowledging not just me, but everyone who can be blamed for making this whacky, energetic, and out-of-the-box thinker who he is. After all, I am, because that’s who we are together.  

There’s still so much more work to be done! Let’s get out there and do it.

And with that, I'm off to work. Time to make the donuts!