I Am So Thankful for My APS Family!

Gobble, gobble! It’s Thanksgiving!

In our fast-paced lives in public education, we often don’t get the chance to stop, reflect on and express how thankful we truly are for the many blessings in our lives. With Thanksgiving just around the corner, all of us in APS are taking the time this week to celebrate all for which we are grateful.

This week, as our schools are closed from November 19-24 (It’s back to school on Monday, November 26!) for the Thanksgiving break (gobble, gobble!), we are focused on creating new memories and cherishing existing ones with the people we love: our friends and family. The meaning of the word family can mean different things to different people, but it encompasses everyone around us, the people who bring joy and meaning to our lives and the people for which we do the same.

I am thankful to my APS family — our 6,000 colleagues who continue to show through their actions all year long that they truly do believe in our mission and, most importantly, in our kids. That means the world to me. I see in them every day an unwavering passion and commitment for the hard work of preparing our students for the choice-filled lives they deserve, and, for that, I am truly humbled and grateful.

Our APS family includes our amazing partners! I am so thankful for all of our partners who have embraced our Journey of Transformation and continue to propel our school district and our students forward toward success through their ongoing support. We recently celebrated our 2018 Districtwide Partner of the Year — Delta Airlines — at our APyeS! Awards earlier this month. Thank you Delta for the incredible commitment of support you’ve made to APS and our communities. You have been a stellar example of what a true partner is to APS. We appreciate the extraordinary leadership, time, and talent you continue to invest into our students, teachers and staff. You have proven your commitment, and, more importantly, you are making an indelible impact on the culture of our schools and in the lives of our students. To ALL of our partners, I say THANK YOU! Please know that we couldn’t do this work alone, and we need the support that you each give.

Striving every day to help APS become a high-performing school district where students love to learn, educators inspire, families engage and the community trusts the system is hard work. To my APS family, I say “rest up!” over the Thanksgiving break because there is so much more work ahead for us.

Once we return from this week’s break, remember that December 3 – January 11 marks the Universal Screener Winter Window for many of K-5, 6^th-8^th, and 9^th and 10^th grade students. In addition, December 21 will mark the end of the first semester (Yes, time really does fly!). But, no matter how fast time flies by, don’t forget to stop and take the time to reflect on that which you are grateful. And, despite what it may seem like, we all have something we can celebrate.

I am thankful for my APS family — that’s all of you, the wonderful people who believe in and are engaged in the work of this District. I know that by working together on this journey, we will arrive at a destination where every one of our 52,000 students are prepared to graduate APS ready to succeed in college and career.

For that, we can all be thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!