Do Good Work...

Damage control. Press release. Public relations campaign. Spin doctor. No such thing as bad press.

What sort of emotions do those words evoke? For some, the quick reaction is stark raving lunacy. For others - those words don't apply.

I got an enthusiastic call from dear friend of mine who has worked diligently in education leadership at a local school (I can't tell you who or where until October 15th) that against all odds stays open. Her population is defined by McKinney Vento Act in Congress, and the school is lambasted in the press on a constant basis as being ineffective and segregationist.

My friend is a hedgehog (see Jim Collins' Good to Great). She has surrounded herself with good, no great, people who do good work. They are transparent about what they do and why they do it. They show up, mostly on time, and engage in their vocation. Inspite of, and perhaps because of all of the Federal education mandates, the school has been under a magnifying glass for poor performance.

But they continued to be transparent about what they do at that school and they are diligently about the kids and their education.

Then, to top things off, senior administrative officials were indicted for fraud, misappropriation of funds and illegal hiring practices.

And the hedgehogs continued to do good work.

Today, my friend got word that her school has proven the naysayers dead wrong. They've met their standards, improved their scores, performed at levels that the press and public said couldn't be achieved.

They kept at it. No need for damage control, PR machines and spin doctoring. Hat tip to you and your team Dina. And to all those who said it can't be done...check the scoreboard!

Life is Brilliant!