The first day of my first year of teaching was exciting. The night before I couldn’t sleep as I waited with such high anticipation of what it would be like on that first day. It did not disappoint. And neither did the next day, the next week, the next month. Then came my second year—same thing! I loved the excitement of being an educator.
Fast forward to my time in administration. I still get that same feeling on the first day. And I have never rolled out of bed dreading the day. I truly get excited every chance I get. And I’m not afraid to hide my enthusiasm, but I’ve never met anyone that I felt shared my same level of excitement. Then I met Bhavna Sharma-Lewis.
I first talked to Bhavna in mid-August as I was finishing up my first day of the new school year, and she was still a few weeks from her start. But she was pumped. And I said, why don’t we celebrate the one hundred fifteenth day like we celebrate the first day? She agreed. And then we scheduled a time for her to join me on Anchored in Education to talk about celebrating schools. Every. Single. Day.
About Bhavna
Bhavna Sharma-Lewis, Ph.D currently serves as Superintendent of Schools in Diamond Lake District 76 which is located in the northern suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. She is an experienced educator with 25 years of experience in public education, having worked as an elementary and middle school teacher, assistant principal, principal, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction and superintendent. Dr. Sharma-Lewis received her Doctorate in Education from the University of Illinois at Chicago and serves as an adjunct professor at Concordia University. She earned her National Superintendent Certification from the American Association of School Administrators and is the on the Board of Directors for the Suburban Superintendents Association She is focused on enhancing healthy professional cultures and building teacher leadership to optimize student success.