Hello, LYS Nation. This is the 500th post to the column, so as is the tradition, we will review our progress.

First, the review:

The 1st post was on Monday, February 16, 2009.

The 100th post was on April 14, 2009.

The 200th post was on June 10, 2009

The 300th post was on September 2, 2009

The 400th post was on, Wednesday December 16, 2009

The 500th post is today, April 7, 2009

It has taken 1 year and 51 days to reach the 500 post milestone.

The 500 posts represent more than 435 pages of single spaced text. That is the equivalent of about a 1,700 page book.

The top 7 key words have been: Leadership (166); Robert “Bob” Brezina (77); E. Don Brown (69); Campus / School Improvement (51); Principals (51); School Change (39); Instruction (35)

The LYS Nation is now driving the discussion on the blog. Don’t slow down. It seems that we all find the blog much more interesting as a dialogue.

There have been over 16,300 site hits.

There are 389 e-mail subscribers. Thank you!

There are now both international readers and e-mail subscribers.

All of this is incredibly exciting; especially when you consider that just a little more than a year ago, every number was 0.

Now, a little blatant self promotion:

First, if you like the blog and you haven’t signed up for the e-mail subscription, please do so. I find that it’s easier to write to people than it is to write to web hits.

Second, if you like the blog and find it useful, tell three other people. This blog is a much more powerful resource for school improvement when it is a dialogue.

Third, if you have not yet sent in a comment, please do so. Education research points out that the act of critical writing actually makes the learner smarter. Sharpen your saw and drop us a line.

Finally:

Thank you so much for reading and responding. This international network started out as a way for just a couple of schools to stay connected. The LYS Nation is now made up of board members, central office administrators, campus leaders, and teachers who are focused on redefining what students are capable of. Who knows what we will discuss in the next 100 posts.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn…