Meaningful Reminders

As we have scrambled to prepare classrooms and lessons for a new school year, I have had two meaningful reminders that our time with students isn’t finished on day 180. Our year together is simply building a foundation of long-lasting community.

The first reminder came in a group text with colleagues I haven’t worked with for eight years but who still treat me like one of their own. Who of us could attend a memorial service for a former student? His first-grade teacher, who remembered him even though it was 20 years ago, said yes. The principal said yes. And so did others. I was touched and moved that this community of amazing professionals so beautifully exemplified “Once ours, always ours.”

The second reminder came when my current colleagues and I gained late entrance into our school because of summer renovations that took longer than anticipated. Once the light was “green,” we descended on the school like a colony of ants, feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work we had to do in a limited amount of time.

The next thing we knew, a horde of high-energy high schoolers arrived, willing to move desks, sort books, schlep tables, or whatever was asked of them. I overheard one young lady say to her group of friends, “I spent seven years of my life in these halls! It feels so good to be back!” And I was touched again by the sense of community that was displayed long after their attendance was required.

It won’t be long (and many of you are already there) before we are deeply embroiled in the academic part of this job. We’ll be highly focused on standards, progress, differentiation, and assessments. Let me offer a kind and gentle reminder that we can slow down a little, enjoy a great read-aloud, listen to each other one minute longer during a one-on-one conference, and nurture the relationships that transform us from a thriving classroom culture to a community that lasts forever.

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