Principal's Corner

Mother's Day

I had the incredible privilege of spending most of the weekend with my mom.  She is an amazing woman who was once a teacher, then a Principal, and is now a therapist. I’m pretty sure there’s nothing that she can’t do, and I am completely sure that I would not be the person I am today without her.

My mom lost her own mother to leukemia when she was eight. My mom remembers certain things clearly from that time period in her life, and others she has either blocked out or forgotten. One memory that is still very vivid in her mind is that of her third grade teacher. Although this teacher was not “warm and fuzzy” - qualities that my mom had so loved in her own mother - she definitely took on a maternal role in my mom’s life. She was a constant, loving, supportive adult, and that meant the world to my mom.

We, as educators, play powerful roles in the lives of our students. We may not be their mothers (or fathers or grandmothers or guardians), but we are constant, loving, supportive adults who show up for them every day. We create consistency and community, and we build spaces in which they can feel a sense of belonging.

My mom would not have made it through her third grade year without her teacher, Ms. Castle, and I know that there are students at our school who would not make it through this year without you. Thank you for being constant, loving, supportive adults in the lives of our students.