Nearly 93 percent of households with school-age children reported some form of distance learning during COVID-19, according to the US Census Bureau. Education leaders met this unprecedented and unforeseen shift in teaching practices with a warrior spirit. You developed new tactics for collaboration and stretched your team in ways that just one year ago would have seemed unimaginable. All the while, the expectations you held for your administrators, teachers and learners remained high.
Even in the best of times, educators are commonly regarded as heroes. But the year 2020 has created an even greater appreciation for your work. “It is hard to imagine there will be another moment in history when the central role of education in the economic, social, and political prosperity and stability of nations is so obvious and well understood by the general population,” the Brookings Institute wrote in a recent report.
The weapon you wield is not one that can be seen, but rather felt. Passion and a strong belief that all students can and deserve to reach their full potential drives your warrior spirit. As 2020 draws to a close, take pride in all the challenges you have overcome, the innovative strategies you have deployed, the inner strength you summoned, the lessons you have learned and, most importantly, the lives you continued to impact – even as the world changed around you.
A special thank you to educators across the nation for all your incredible work—your work makes a difference!