As we move closer to the end of our first academic semester and into a new calendar year, we roll up our sleeves and continue to work toward achieving our goals. Sometimes, the goals we set for ourselves seem impossible to achieve! JFK once said, “We choose to go…not because it is easy, but because it is hard, because that goal will serve to measure and organize the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one that we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.” Our profession can be emotionally and mentally exhausting yet rewarding and exciting at the very same time! Collectively, as a focused professional learning community, we can create safe, intellectually stimulating environments that nurture and shape our future. Just think about the opportunities we have every day to make a difference in some young person’s life. I really didn’t think much about this until one of my middle school students told me I was “like a mother” to him. Truthfully, I felt like a mother to this student because I had been his elementary and middle school principal! How rewarding it has been to watch this fourth grade child grow into a young man just two years away from graduation.
Together, we will face new and existing challenges as we journey through this academic year. One of the goals of this blog is to stimulate discussions surrounding ways we can continue to “discover the wealth of all students”! As the Executive for Student Support Services, my goal is to maximize coordinated efforts that will reduce barriers to learning and enable students to achieve in a safe and effective environment. I invite you to blog along with me by sharing your thoughts to this and future posts.
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Scenic Roanoke is located in the southwestern portion of the state of Virginia. The "Star City", as it is often called, is one of the largest metropolitan areas and transportation hubs that is located between the Blue Ridge and Alleghaney Highlands.
(Not pictured above)