Planning+for+the+Future+of+Arbor+Heights

=Planning for the Future of Arbor Heights=

Following is an argument for starting any plan at the desired result - in this case taking Arbor Heights off the potential closure list for good. With that desired result in mind, a group of parents and staff began looking at options for growing the school. If we fill it, they will leave it alone...was the thought. After a lot of discussion and debate, the conclusion we came to was to get the Spectrum program into our school. There were as many people for the program as there were against. (for those of you who do not know what the spectrum program is, you can find info here: [] ) But the conclusion we came to is that this would be the fastest and most secure way to build our school.

The district has recently reinforced this position by mandating that every middle school in the district will offer Spectrum. Currently in West Seattle, Denny offers it and had a waitlist this year even after adding a second full class. Lafayette is the only elementary in West Seattle feeding this program and has a waitlist every year. West Seattle can support another elementary program and since the South Cluster does not have a program, this is where it will go. This also ties in with the desire of the district to have students attend reference schools to reduce bussing costs.

My point here is that we can have this program placed in our building if we, parents staff and principal, show the district and school board that we want it. The location decision will be made December of this year. You have the ability to influence this. Contact your PTSA board and let them know how you feel. Contact Steve Sundquist and the district leadership as well.

I feel that this addition would be nothing but positive to Arbor Heights. And to those who call it an us vs. them situation or an elitist program, I respectfully disagree. If we are to be fair to students, we have to be fair to all students and keeping higher acheiving students in a traditional classroom so that those who might feel bad about not "making it into Spectrum" does a disservice to all students. Studies have shown that ALL kids benefit whenever the bar is raised. So let's raise that bar together.

I thank you for "listening" Cori Roed parent of 3rd grader and a 7th grader currently in the Spectrum program at Denny

ARTICLE: Begin at the End - By Tom Hess
One of the most valuable lessons to be learned, in terms of achieving goals, is to begin at the end. When working towards any goal, most people begin at the beginning (sounds logical doesn't it?). The problem with starting at the beginning is most of us are focused on where we are right now. It is natural to begin from where our current strengths and weaknesses are, where our preferences lie or based on what our present circumstances are. Then what we normally do is put one foot forward (take action) based on those things. For many of us, the direction of that step (and the rest that will follow) is typically on the path of least resistance.

A common mistake in planning to achieve any "multi step goal" occurs when we begin planning from where we are in the present moment (from the beginning). This is the "bottom up" approach. Contrary to popular belief, the key to effective planning is to design your strategies from the "top down." After you have established clearly defined and specific goals, develop your plans in reverse order (also known as "backwards" or "top down"). To do this we need to know the final step to reach that goal (notice I did not say "the first step", I said, "the final step"). Once we have that answer, we need to know the step just before the final step. We repeat the process until we get down to the level we are at now.

Why should it matter if you make plans from the top down versus the bottom up? Is there really a difference between top down and bottom up? Won't all the steps be exactly the same? NO! Why? Well there are many reasons, the main one is this: When you plan from the top down, you must take action IN ADVANCE to gain the knowledge needed to create the plan. This means you need to actually know (or be committed to learn) what the final steps are. Most people do not know what they are (which is perfectly normal), and/or don't invest the time to find out. What typically happens is people begin from the beginning with an attempt to do things from the bottom up. Figuring out the first step to take from where they are now is usually easy to plan. And maybe the next 3 or 4 steps are also pretty easy to see how those things point in the general direction of their goals. Then they get stuck on what the rest of the steps might be and instead of really finding out, they usually begin to take action without a completed plan. They tell themselves things like this:

"I don't know exactly what to do, but I have a general idea of the obvious stuff that I should be doing now, so I'll do those things and then I'll try to figure out what to do after that".

Or

"I can't plan that far ahead so I'll just get started now and see where that leads me."

Imagine if a corporation developed strategies in this way. They would waste a lot of time and money not really knowing what all the steps are and their competitors would put them out of business.

The other problem with building plans from the beginning (bottom up) is that it is very likely that the steps will take you in a direction that is off course from the outcome you want. Sure, strategies may evolve over time, but the chances of staying on course are greatly increased when you know what the final 5-10 steps need to be and plan the earlier steps around getting to the later steps.

What's next?

We all know to search for answers to our questions. Most people spend their time finding answers to the questions in the middle circle. But how can we succeed if we don't even know what it is that we don't know? Finding the answers, the solutions, the guidance, and your own path to achieve what you want will be so much harder if you don't know what the right questions are.

Since I am a guitar teacher and a music career coach, when I explain these concepts to my students, I tell them the following: "Think back to when you were a beginning guitar player and had no clue what was involved in becoming a good musician. You probably knew there would be a lot to learn, but didn't know, at that time, how much there is to be learned. In other words, you didn't know what you didn't know. As time went by, you gained more experience and now understand more about music than you did before. The more one learns, the easier it becomes to see how much more there is to know."

Imagine you are seeking solutions to an important problem or challenge in your life. You go to a huge library searching for solutions. Lets assume that somewhere in that library is a book (or set of books) that contains the answers you need. Now imagine that for some strange reason you don't want to ask the librarian to help you locate the book(s) that have the solutions/answers you seek. How easy will it be to "get lucky" and stumble upon the right resource you need?

It seems obvious that the fastest way to acquire the knowledge is to go straight to the librarian and tell him/her exactly what you are looking for, or look it up on the library's data base. It's not very effective to read every book in the library to find the specific answers you are searching for. Yet, this is exactly what some people try to do in order to reach their goals. Other people look at the massive size of the information out there and become intimidated by it. These people give up on their goals because it seems to "unrealistic" or "impossible".

Many people spend years chasing things that don't matter and ignoring the things that do matter either because of ignorance or unwillingness to commit to finding a better way. (I can relate. I used to be exactly like this.) Those that have the greatest chances of finding the solutions to their problems or challenges are the people who seek first to discover what it is that they do not know. To have the right answers, you need to possess the right questions. Many of those answers may lie beyond what you are even aware exists right now.

To begin at the end you must:
 * 1) Be specific about what the end actually is.
 * 2) Build your plans from the top down (not the bottom up).
 * 3) If you don't know how to build from the top down, find someone who does know.

Every person, situation and goal is different. Outlining a complete hypothetical plan that is specific and detailed would be overly cumbersome in this format. The purpose of this article is to shed light onto the principal of beginning at the end, not to engross you into a plan that may not be relevant to you, your goals, and your present circumstances.

To comment on this article or to read comments about this article, go to: []

About the Author:

Tom Hess is a professional touring guitarist and recording artist. He teaches, trains, and mentors musicians from around the world. Learn more about how to build a career in the music business. Visit [] to get 15 free music career tips.