Below is my very rough and unedited post I sent to my school on the teachers’ last day. (Some school identifying information has been removed.)
Dear Family,
I would like to thank you for a wonderful eight months as your Assistant Principal of Student Services and Attendance. I have known many of you since our [old days at a former location.] It was a pleasure to return to my [mascot] roots for this brief year. I also enjoyed meeting many new friends here as well and felt welcomed and embraced from my very first day here. My last day here is June 28th, but many of you will be gone by then and I would like to say goodbye now.
Please know that I do not want to leave and would not leave if given the choice. I truly love working here. [This] High School is a special place with a lively vibe and a rich history. You have endured setbacks and challenges but they made you stronger. Not every school has had incidents that made international news nor had to overcome rifts between staff and students, but you did so with grace and honor. You repaired relationships and worked hard to re-establish trust, which can be a difficult thing to do, especially with teenagers and protective families.
You have had long years where you felt weary and overwhelmed but there were [co-workers] and students who brought a bright ray of light into the darkness. Just one smile made it all worth it.
You have had to say goodbye to friends who left – by their own choice and sometimes not – but you remained friends, still sharing the bond that [this school] forged between you in years to come.
You have had to adjust to great changes imposed on you at higher levels – Common Core, Units of Study; the re-formatting of your math program or other subject curriculum; Data Teams, P.L.C.s, or Impact Teams, etc. and you have adapted beautifully every time by holding onto your vision.
You have had times [here] when you felt paralyzed and unable to speak, but you still carried on with the knowledge that you would be heard eventually.
You have endured seismic shifts in student behavior [here] and throughout the nation – declining motivation among many students and some resistance to doing homework. Some students do not work at all.
You have seen some students revolt against adult authority to the point where it is just easier to allow them to keep their phones rather than deal with the inevitable tantrum that will follow and disrupt your class even further.
You have seen some students far overstep the boundaries that students once had – lack of knowledge of appropriate conversation norms, blatant use of profanity, constant complaining, overt sarcasm, cavalier talk of drug use, even using drugs at school.
You have experienced the exhausting struggle with me over student tardies and truancies, but we never gave up. Even to the last day, we were calling parents, begging students to attend class, bribing them, and threatening them with disciplinary actions. Students will always try to get away with these infractions but we will always try new ways to mitigate anything interfering with student success. We all do this because we love these kids. We care so much that sometimes it hurts us. We hate to see them succumb to those distractions that tear them from the dreams which we know in our hearts that they have the capacity to fulfill. They are all so full of potential.
And you have had some students who have come from tragedy – their parents are gone or only in their lives sporadically. Some have been abused. Some have recently come to the United States. Some are so desperate for food you referred them to the food bank. Some are homeless. Some have mental illness and it’s difficult to understand their needs or how they feel. Some are caught up in a gang. Some have learning challenges and constant frustration. Many are scared and confused. They may not see their gifts or value. You have picked many of them up and supported them through some of the worst times of their lives. You have listened to them, been there for them, understood them, and guided them. You have seen them as they can be.
And despite the challenges you have faced in recent years, this is still a wonderful place to work. The staff is supportive and caring. I did not see any “cliques.” The teachers here are open to new perspectives. You share materials and ideas. You find new and innovative ways to solve barriers to student learning. You craft interesting lesson plans and challenge students to do their best work. You are positive and encouraging in your classes, motivating students to engage and care.
Here are some examples of teacher dedication I’ve seen this year:
Some kids can’t afford supplies and some teachers buy supplies for them.
Some kids are hungry and some teachers provide food to them.
Some kids don’t have clothes and some teachers give them clothes.
Some kids need extra help with the rigors of high school work but no one is home so some teachers stay in at lunch or after school to tutor them.
Some kids come from homes where neither parent has a college education and some teachers volunteer to help them with the process, or by helping them with their applications and essays.
Some kids struggle with overcoming trauma in their lives and some teachers work patiently with them to help them feel safe.
Some kids are lost without direction and some teachers mentor them and help them find their calling and path in life.
And sometimes it’s not a teacher.
Sometimes it’s a secretary who connects with the kids or translator clerk who understands a certain situation and relates to the family.
Sometimes it’s a custodian who teaches the kids why it’s important to be respectful to others or a grounds worker who blasts cool music and shows respect and care for students.
Sometimes it’s a counselor who brings energy and life to kids who have given up and sometimes it’s a campus supervisor who reassures and comforts a student after a break-up.
Sometimes it’s the cafeteria worker who treats the students kindly and smiles and sometimes it’s an aide or bilingual language tutor who patiently sits with a student and helps throughout a difficult lesson.
Sometimes it’s the school psychologist who understands, the mental health counselor who allows the student a safe space to cry, the health clerk or nurse who soothes the student after a devastating injury.
Sometimes it’s the librarian who knows just how to help or the resource officer who gently reminds the student the right road to take.
Sometimes it’s the athletic director or assistant principal who attends all the student’s games.
Sometimes it’s the records office or bookkeeper who helps the student process forms at the last minute without judgment or scolding.
Or it might be the outreach worker who links families to free and desperately-needed services, the career center staff who insists on submitting that application, or the speech therapist who helps a student finally feel comfortable communicating. Sometimes it’s someone else. But all of us touch our students’ lives. We are all a family who works together for the benefits of our kids.
And regarding our kids, I have noticed that the students here are kind, friendly, and honest. They turn in phones and cash when they find them. They hold doors open for each other and ask if you need help when you are carrying something. They love you so much…they were frantically searching for you and the other staff members at graduation and had tears in their eyes when they asked them to take pictures.
I will miss you: the staff, the students, and the beautiful campus in its sprawling splendor.
I will miss the blossoming trees in spring like the students’ blossoming futures.
I will miss the bright hot sun shining in summer like the shining smiles on students’ faces.
I will miss the autumn leaves falling dramatically, collecting in corners of concrete and dancing in swirls of wind like the students preparing to leave childhood behind and to grow and change into the adults we know they can be, and the dark cold winter with its gray skies and bare leaves that creeps into our souls when the students start to stumble.
But remember, it will soon be spring again and hope will resumes, just like our resilient kids who can recover and continue chasing their dreams, and all of us who can overcome all darkness with our light. Keep your light shining and someone will see it. You never know who will need it.
Maybe a little overdramatic towards the end, but you get the point. 🙂
Instructional Coach Collins 