90

90.  Ninety.  Right angles have 90 degrees.  I wonder how many degrees there are in a “wrong” angle…The latitude of the North and South Poles is 90 degrees.  The atomic number of Thorium is 90 (more plentiful and just as powerful as uranium by the way).  There are 90 feet between bases on a baseball field.  The direct dial international code for Turkey is 90.  The North Sea has an average depth of 90 meters.  Antartica has 90 percent of the world’s ice.  90 is the age to be considered a nonagenarian.  There are 90 minutes in a standard soccer game. The average number of days that Chicago has a temperature over 90 is 17.  There are 1.9 million people over the age of 90 in the United States. ( I hope the folks running for political office understand that).  Google has 90 million daily users.  Interstate 90 is the longest highway in the country at just over 3100 miles.  I fell in love with my wife after 90 minutes…actually it was more like 60. 

A 90% passing rate on ISTEP is the goal for our school.  90 is more than just a number – it’s our goal!  That hasn’t changed since the results of the 2011 ISTEP came out.  You may recall me saying that this will put us where we wanted to be when we wrote our first School Improvement Plan – 90% of our kids passing both the LA and Math sections of ISTEP.  We never have had that.  I do know this – if you want something that you have never had, then you will have to do things that you have never done. Well, the time has come.  It’s time to show our cards.  We can’t call a timeout.  I have said repeatedly that the best night of sleep a teacher should have is the night before the summative test.  Well, how’s Monday night looking for you?  Some wise man once said that luck happens when preparation meets opportunity.  Next Tuesday-Thursday is the opportunity.  It is time that it is introduced to preparation!  Let’s get this done.  Let’s do this for our kids.  Let’s do this for each other.  Let’s do this because we can.