Please thank a teacher!

Many thanks to the PTA for coordinating this year’s Teacher Appreciation Week. It was off to a wonderful start but was unfortunately cut short by our campus closure.  If you did not get a chance to participate, it is never too late. Please reach out to a teacher - or any of our hard-working staff members - and tell them how grateful you are for their work with your child.

Under the best of circumstances, teaching is extraordinarily difficult. Teachers have to be ready every day with engaging lessons across a variety of topics and then be ready to adjust those lessons to the abilities, background knowledge, mental blocks, passions, and daily mood swings of as many as two dozen unique individuals sitting before them at any one time. When the lessons are done, there are papers to grade, Managebac or SeeSaw posts to update, meetings to attend, and extra help sessions to support students. And then it’s time to switch gear and coach, advise an activity, chaperone an event, or work on a professional development activity. And now, a serious new challenge has arisen with the closure of campus and our move to distance learning.

Please join me in applauding our teachers who, with little warning, adjusted their approach and transitioned to distance learning. Luckily, our transition was made smoother because we have been planning for this kind of eventuality over the last 18 months or so. Yet, when something like this actually happens, you realize how much is left to do.

Our teachers rose to the challenge and have been working hard to maintain important continuity in the education of our students. Of the hundreds of thousands of schools that are closed around the world right now, only a small percentage have been able to carry on with credible educational programs. Our distance learning program may not be perfect but our teachers are working long hours and meeting remotely to hone and refine what they’re doing. As they do this, they are also faced with the same worries as everyone: their own health and safety and that of their families; uncertainty about what’s coming next; whether they can get groceries; whether they can access the internet, and more - yet they have carried on working hard to support their students. In many instances, they are also trying to support their own children’s learning at home, too.

I stand in awe of our teachers’ dedication, flexibility, and perseverance. They are being tested in ways we never imagined and are pressing on. They are superior role models for our young people. If you haven’t done so already, please find a few moments to recognize these fine professionals for their important impact on your child.