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2020-10-12
Finally something to celebrate
The Los Angeles Lakers had not been to a final in ten years. Our city was full of hope and excitement when this years team was assembled (along with a new head coach). Then 2020 started and our world seemed to fall apart. For the team and our city specifically the loss of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gigi and all those on that plane, that foggy morning in February was almost too much to bare. The truth is that this year has seen the loss of so many positive people in our society, that partnered with the global pandemic and the terrible leadership in the White House has dubbed this year the unofficial official worse year ever. Of course I think the title is a bit dramatic and things can always be worse but I think we can all agree that this year has been pretty terrible, politically, socially, economically and morally. The lakers won last night, I was watching with my city and for the first time in a long time felt the need to celebrate. It’s the end of the year, and I can’t help but hope that this cause for celebration will be a turning point. -
2020-09-02
Board Meeting & Thank You Cards
2 nights. 8 hours. 2 school board meetings. Wow. Nampa School district decided early in August to push their start date back to 8/24/2020 to allow for extra planning time and to start the year entirely online. Included with this decision was the responsibility for the board to reevaluate this every two weeks. Well, this week we hit that mark. There have been many rumblings regarding what was to come in the decision. The biggest community push seems to come from parents who want their students involved in athletics. As of last Friday, 8/28/2020, one of our local hospitals was reporting 17/18 bed occupancy in their ICU unit due to Covid. The situation in Idaho is not stellar. Tongiht, at our board meeting, 2 trustees fought and fought for schools to reopen and athletics to continue. However, our superintendent held strong. She continually cited information from the health experts in our area. She noted the tremendous work our teachers are doing. At one point, early in the meeting she said, "teachers are working twice.....three times as hard as usual. They are working harder than they have ever worked before and we need to acknowledge that." - Dr. Paula Kellerer, Nampa School District. WOW. I am submitting this item to the archive to write Dr. Kellerer's name down in history. She is a champion for teachers, all students, and the well-being of our community. In a time where the teaching profession is under attack and districts are fielding those hateful Facebook comments...Dr. Kellerer stands strong. She advocates. She's thoughtful. She listens. I recognize how tremendously fortunate I am to work in a school district with such tremendous leadership. So, tonight, I wrote thank you cards. I know I could easily email Dr. Kellerer and other trustees but there's something about a thank you card that has extra 'umph'. Dr. Kellerer, we see you - we appreciate you - and we thank you for being an advocate for education for all.