What is Eduthusiasm?

Along with technology integration, I also do school PR. My favorite part of school PR is the promotion. I love to promote -- it is an inherently positive task, and I am a congenitally positive person. My current position as Director of Communications for the school district of my alma mater, Augusta USD 402 in Augusta, Kansas, allows me to show the local community and the world how proud I am of my home community and its school system. It's an easy job because I believe in the quality of both the community and the school district. I cannot help but be highly enthusiastic about both -- just ask anyone who knows me.

I have decided, however, that I am not going to stop there. I am going to use this blog to promote education -- primarily public education in Kansas -- because I am as proud of my state and my primary chosen career field as I am of my community and school district. My enthusiasm about Kansas education is boundless.

That's what Eduthusiasm is – enthusiasm about education -- and we cannot have enough of it. There are so many great things going on in education in Kansas and SO MANY awesome people coming forward to make these great things happen. Of course we have the best teachers, administrators, and support staff that any state could ask for, but we also have individuals, groups, businesses, and organizations that go out of their way to make a positive impact on schools and school children.

Just today I was pleased to be part of the South Central Chapter of KanSPRA and its recognition brunch for the region's recipients of the Friends of Education Award given by the Confidence in Kansas Public Education Task Force. Goddard USD 265 hosted the event, and over 100 people came from 10 different area school districts to recognize the priceless contributions that people are making to public education in Kansas.

The recipients in the KanSPRA South Central region make up an interestingly varied group. There was a man and his service dog, a school resource police officer, a hair stylist/shop owner, an organization that promotes the appreciation and pursuit of music excellence, an organization that promotes the dairy industry, a fire chief and his department, a Vietnamese-war-era immigrant who devotes endless hours to the children in his community, a dentist’s office, a few churches, a medical center, an entrepreneur whose handicapped daughter inspired her to raise tens of thousands of dollars for accessible playgrounds in their community....

The list goes on, and this is just the list of recipients from our region who were able to attend the brunch.

I plan to discuss these people’s contributions to our state’s children and its eduthusiasm over the next several days, as well as “dig up” some more stories as time goes on to illustrate what this blog is about -- @eduthusiasm!