Welcome Forward.

Every August, we hear a familiar phrase in education: Welcome back. Welcome back, teachers. Welcome back, students. Welcome back to another school year. I understand why we say it. There is something exciting about coming back together, reconnecting with colleagues and students, and beginning another year. But this year, I want to offer a different way to think about it.

Welcome forward.

Instead of simply coming back to school, I challenge all of us to think about how we can move forward this school year. Bring everything we learned last year with us. Bring the successes, the mistakes, the relationships, the lessons that worked, the ones that didn't, and the experiences that changed the way we think. Take all of it and use it to move forward.

That is one of the things I love most about education. Every school year gives us another opportunity to grow. We get another opportunity to become better educators, better listeners, better connectors, better collaborators, and better learners. Our students get that same opportunity. We don't have to erase what happened last year or completely reinvent ourselves. We get to build upon it.

As you begin this school year, I challenge you to ask yourself a different question. Instead of only thinking about, “What am I teaching this year?” add another question: “Who can my students become because of the experiences we create together this year?”

I love that question because it opens up so many possibilities.

Maybe this is the year you try that project you have been thinking about. Maybe you connect with the business down the street and invite them into your classroom. Maybe you reach out to someone in your community and ask them to share their expertise with your students. Maybe you allow students to solve an actual problem instead of a hypothetical one. Maybe students create something that lives beyond the classroom and beyond the gradebook.

Maybe this is the year you give students more opportunities to communicate, collaborate, think critically, adapt, create, and solve problems. Give them opportunities to discover their strengths, interests, aptitudes, and abilities. Most importantly, give them opportunities to understand that they can bring value right now.

Not someday.

Not only after graduation.

Right now.

Knowledge will always matter. I also believe our students need opportunities to develop the durable skills that allow them to use that knowledge. They need experiences. They need relationships. They need opportunities to demonstrate what they can do. They need stories they can eventually tell about solving problems, working with others, overcoming challenges, communicating ideas, creating something meaningful, and making an impact.

They need opportunities to discover their value and then learn how to show that value to the world.

That can happen through an internship, a community project, a digital portfolio, a presentation, a business partnership, a podcast, a student led initiative, or a problem that nobody has solved yet. There are countless possibilities when we expand our definition of where and how learning can happen.

Our communities can play a huge role in that. Businesses, nonprofits, entrepreneurs, parents, mentors, colleges, tradespeople, healthcare professionals, engineers, creators, and countless others are doing incredible work right outside our school doors. I challenge us to find more ways to connect those people and organizations with our students.

Imagine what can happen when students aren't only completing assignments for their teachers. They are solving problems for real organizations. They are presenting ideas to professionals. They are conducting research, creating marketing campaigns, analyzing data, designing solutions, building products, and working alongside adults who can introduce them to possibilities they may never have known existed.

Those experiences can change the trajectory of a young person's life.

And welcome forward isn't only about our students. It is about us as educators too.

I challenge every educator, myself included, to identify something you want to build in yourself this year. Try something new. Learn a technology you haven't used before. Connect with someone outside your normal circle. Ask a question you haven't asked before. Listen to a different perspective. Take an idea you've been sitting on and finally try it.

Some of it will work.

Some of it won't.

That's growth.

I want to continue becoming a better educator every year. I want to learn from the people around me. I want to understand what is happening outside education so I can bring those experiences into education. I want to keep asking questions. I want to keep connecting people. I want to keep creating opportunities for students.

So as we begin another school year, I challenge you to ask one more question:

What are you building this year?

What are you building in your students? Confidence? Communication? Curiosity? Adaptability? Critical thinking? Professional skills? Relationships? A sense of purpose?

What are you building in your classroom?

What are you building in your school?

What are you building in your community?

And what are you building in yourself as a professional educator?

Choose something.

Try something.

Connect with someone.

Create something that didn't exist last year.

Give your students an experience they might still talk about five years from now.

And when something doesn't work exactly as planned, learn from it and keep moving forward. That is one of the greatest lessons we can model for our students.

There is a lot to be excited about at the beginning of a school year. New students. New relationships. New opportunities. New ideas. New challenges. We get another year to learn from one another and another year to get better at what we do.

So yes, welcome back to your colleagues. Welcome back to your students. Welcome back to the relationships and communities that make our schools special.

And then let's take everything we've learned and build upon it.

Welcome forward.

Forward toward stronger relationships.

Forward toward authentic learning experiences.

Forward toward stronger community connections.

Forward toward helping students develop durable skills.

Forward toward giving young people opportunities to create real value.

Forward toward helping students discover who they are and what they are capable of becoming.

And forward toward becoming better ourselves.

Welcome forward to another school year.

I can't wait to see what we build.

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