Guest Commentary | Welcome back to school!
Welcome back! A brand new school year is upon us, and we cannot wait to see your students walk back through our doors.
Summer always goes by fast, and I hope yours was a good one. On our end, we’ve been counting down the days until our students walk back through our doors.
Before we look ahead, I want to celebrate the previous academic year, because our students had one worth bragging about. Across the School District of Lee County: Not a single school earned a D or an F. Twenty-nine of our schools raised their letter grade. Our buses ran on time 98 percent of the time. And every classroom was led by a certified teacher, ready from day one.
But here’s what those numbers really mean to me: a child learning to read; a student finally understanding a math problem that used to stump them; a senior walking across the graduation stage because someone believed they could. That is the work. The grades are just how we measure it. None of that happened by chance. Our students showed up ready to work, and our teachers refused to give up on a single one of them.
So here’s what I know about our students: when they set their minds to something, they get it done. That’s exactly the energy we’re bringing into this year, as we keep pushing every school forward, keep working toward our highest graduation rate yet, and keep climbing toward an A-rated district. All while having fun doing it.
To every student: Thank you for showing up ready to learn and grow. To every family and community member: thank you for trusting us with your children. I am so proud of what our students accomplished, and the best is truly yet to come.
Welcome back. Let’s make this a year to remember!
Dr. Denise Carlin is Superintendent of Schools for the School District of Lee County.