Hi folks,
September feels like eons ago. At that time, June 9 felt like a distant speck of land on a far-off horizon. I began the year with a nervous enthusiasm and excitement as I stepped into a new role and a new school. I was thrilled to be joining the Calhoun community after hearing so much about how this school embodies its mission in the day-to-day lives of the students, families and faculty.
As I look back over the past nine months, I marvel at what I thought would be my primary challenges — balancing the diverse needs of students, families and faculty; supporting every member of the division in myriad ways; keeping up with the sheer volume of email, communication and meetings; joining with my colleagues in planning divisional and school-wide initiatives….those were in fact some of the questions that I faced daily, and none of these were surprising. Challenging, but I knew what I had signed up for.
Fast- forward to today — the unexpected hand that we were all dealt has been a months-long race to do the above, while simultaneously working with my colleagues to support our community through previously unimaginable challenges.
We made it through. The children engaged in remote learning; parents learned about and guided their children's day-to-day student experiences as distance learners; we all learned new programs, systems and technology. Teachers were pushed to what they believed were their limits, yet they continued to show up and be there for the students and for each other. We were given windows into the lives of our children and families, and they, too, learned more about us through this process.
We were only able to get to the other side of this experience because of the grace, empathy, collaboration, humor and shoulder-to-the wheel mindset that we all brought to this work.
I am deeply grateful to all of you for trusting us during this time. I know that there were multiple perspectives on what was the "right" way to do things that none of us had ever done before. Knowing what we know now will certainly inform the decisions that we make about what the year will look like in the fall.
Congratulations to all of you for making it to the finish line of a school year that contained several uphill obstacle courses that none of us signed up for. I hope that you all find some time to rest, replenish, and do the things that bring you joy. Please know that all of us will be working hard to plan for the upcoming school year. As always, if you have any questions, or need anything, I am an email away.
I talked about hope earlier this week — and my sincerest hope is that we all have good health, economic security, racial justice and equity. There are many people fighting the good fight for these basic rights every day, and we all as humans deserve nothing less. I deeply believe that the work we do here at Calhoun with our children, families and colleagues cultivates this passion to join in these efforts.
Have a wonderful summer, everyone.
All my best,
Debra