A year ago today on March 10, 2020, Governor Whitmer announced the first presumptive cases of COVID-19 in Michigan.
We’ve had plenty of time to reflect on the profound losses of the past year, but as I visit with the students, educators, support staff, and parents of this incredible school district, I also see the rewards of our collective experiences.
We are one year wiser about the application of technology in education. A year ago, we asked our students and teachers to pack up their learning materials for what we thought would be a two-week closure.
We returned with a 1:1 technology program, a host of digital learning resources, and life lessons about the human tolerance for screen-time.
We are one year more deeply connected, having embraced a shared responsibility to keep one another safe and healthy. Clarkston citizens, frontline workers, first responders, business owners and public servants have made incredible personal sacrifices over the last year for the sake of the larger community. It’s what we do, and we are all better for it.
We are one year stronger. Our teachers, students, and parents no doubt have been through the wringer as the pandemic pushed us to our limits and refused to accommodate the comfortable and predictable routines of the past. I’ve witnessed resilience and determination that until 2020, I didn’t know the human spirit was capable of summoning.
We are one year more appreciative of the good in our lives.
Sometimes it takes adversity and struggle to show us the things we truly appreciate. Never again will we take for granted the simple beauty of the “ordinary day.” Throughout this year, who hasn’t looked back on the ordinary, pre-pandemic days and wished, even if only for a moment, to have them back?
Ordinary days will return, and we will appreciate them that much more.
One year ago, I wrote, “This situation is evolving moment-to-moment and we must adjust our sails to the current weather.” I could not have known then just how many times we would be adjusting our sails over the course of the year. I know now that this is more than a “three-hour tour!”
We will continue adjusting our sails for some time to come, but I’m one year more grateful for my companions on this journey.
The people of this community are second to none.
We have proven again and again for the past year that we can face rough waters and keep sailing on together.
On behalf of all those who serve your neighborhood public schools, I thank you for your continued support, Clarkston.