Thank you school district “Elves”

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One of my daughters is a schoolteacher. I have been observing her schedule and thought process, as it relates to the education of her students, as well as caring for their overall well-being.  This has given me a new appreciation for the school system.

Staff arrive on campus at or before 7 a.m. and leave no sooner than 4:30 p.m., without the typical breaks throughout the day other career fields offer. The educators are working to get everyone on or above grade level whenever possible, teaching reading/writing/arithmetic, etc., while also providing a comfortable and safe environment for the students (where they spend many hours of each day) and making sure they enjoy the fun times too … like Christmas. The environment and extras in the classroom are on the teacher’s dime, and time.

They, along with coaches, principals, bus drivers, lunchroom personnel, maintenance crews, security teams, janitors, special education staffers, counselors, librarians, secretaries, administration… each have an important role in providing a safe, educational, and nurturing environment.

Like all other fields, you have well-suited, capable, enthusiastic employees, along with those who wish they were anywhere else, doing anything else. But with children, unlike for example newspapers, poor behavior by staff can cause real lasting harm to a human being.

Thank you to all the good people who work in our education system, watching out for the very best interest of the children you are responsible for.

This year, the school staff took on something else for their students. For the very first time, every elementary school in four counties was tasked with taking each student’s letter to Santa, typing it in Word format, and submitting it to the newspaper for publication. Thanks to their efforts, we can bring to you, once again, the letters from students (and some teachers) in our annual Letters to Santa edition. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year —Kelli