Hi, and happy September!

September has always signaled “new starts” for me. It makes me believe that someday fall will actually come, and I will be able to take my dog on walks outside without him laying down in every shady spot we come across. September also signifies that the school year is really getting off the ground, at this point you are probably starting to feel a lot more settled than three weeks ago! 

As we kick off this month, I wanted to take a moment to look back at Elena Aguilar’s book “Onward.” Aguilar says that September is the month that we need to pause and focus on building community:

“We are social beings, and we need each other to thrive. A strong, healthy community can bolster us through challenging moments and bring joy to our lives. When we build community, we can build empathy for each other; and building empathy for each other helps us build community.” 

Hopefully, you already feel in strong community with the other people in this program, and the regional workshops this past week, helped you think about what you want the culture of your regional groups to look like! 

But, what I want to challenge you to do this week is try to build a little more community within your school. This week, seek out and connect with that teacher who you saw struggling to use the copier the other day, the social studies teacher down the hall that knows all your students’ parents, another teacher who just got their schedule changed and could use the support. 

Ask yourself what community do you need in order to thrive? And go build it! 

So much thanks for all you do, 
Lizzy