Next week is the week set aside each year to honor teachers throughout the country during Teacher Appreciation Week. There are these types of appreciation days or weeks throughout the calendar year that celebrate the excellence and hard work of this group or that. For example, last Wednesday was Administrative Professionals Appreciation Day. I hate to admit that there are so many different appreciation days during the year that I sometimes lost track and don’t take time to recognize everyone for the great work they do in the specific role in which they work in the district. So as we come to the end of the 2020-2021 school year, a year that has taken place under the COVID-19 pandemic cloud, I would like to take a moment to thank all of the Mount Vernon Community School District staff members for their great work throughout the course of the year. If you see these people when you are out and about, I suggest you do the same because their work this year has been exemplary.
Thank you for the passion and creativity you bring each day to the classroom and to the students. Thank you for bringing calm to stressful situations. Thank you for greeting our students with a smile, a hug, a high five, and words of encouragement as they enter our schools, our classrooms, and our buses. Thank you for being patient when a student pushes back against you for whatever reason, and for hanging in there with them until they are ready to move forward in a positive way. Thank you for doing your part in keeping everyone safe. Thank you for being a shoulder to cry on, and a beloved person to celebrate with. Thank you for driving the buses, serving the lunches, keeping the schools clean, teaching the lessons, coaching the teams, working with the parents, tending to the scraped knees, fixing the broken hearts, and for being wonderful role models. Thank you for believing in our kids, especially when they struggle to believe in themselves. Thank you for believing in this community and its schools. Thank you for coming to work when you have feared for your own health and have dealt with your own personal challenges. Thank you for working many hours at home outside the regular work day to be prepared every day to provide our students with the best learning experiences possible. Thank you for working as a team and supporting one another. Thank you for being Mustangs!
Mount Vernon Staff Members: Thank you for all you do. I would not trade you for any other staff around! I am proud to be your leader and friend.
Dr. B.