I just got back Thursday afternoon from four days in Portland. I was there for an educational conference at the downtown Hilton. The conference was about creating engaging work for your students, engaging your staff (if you’re in administration) and designing, versus planning, your units and lessons. I was there with a team of about 25 from my district including all six principals, the superintendent (who had personally invited me) and the deputy superintendent.

We went out to some fabulous dinners and were quite busy during the day. Some highlights include:

• Spending Monday night watching Monday Night Football at a sportsbar downtown where they let us all into the VIP room because there were so many of us there. They even had a HD projector that we watched the game on.
• Visiting Jesse and Aubrey at Cacao on Tuesday and Wednesday.  I brought some small sample-size chocolates back for some teachers who I was trying to entice to come back with me on Wednesday. My favorites were the mocha Jesse made for me, the drinkable chocolate, and the chocolate-coconut pudding that is currently in R&D.
• Going out to dinner as an entire group Tuesday and Wednesday. We went to the Macaroni Grill on Tuesday where an opera-style singer sang Happy Birthday to some teachers there and later came back, with some coaxing, to serenade one of the math teachers from my building.
• Spending shopping and dining time with some of the important administrators in my district.
• Trying to leave Portland: We spent 20 minutes or so after leaving the parking garage at the hotel just trying to get onto the freeway. Road signs in Oregon and Portland are not the same as in Washington. Case in point: there was a sign at one intersection that said freeway, straight ahead.  However, at the next intersection, which went only right or left, there was no indication which way you were supposed to go. My point is that the signs in Washington are much more explicit.

Overall it was a great conference and I had a fine time hanging out with people in my district I only see a few times a year. I’m happy to be back and Oskar wants to play Peek-a-boo Elmo so I’ll write more next time.