Meeting our Destiny

Each August we welcome our faculty and staff back to the district in a convocation assembly to kick off the start of a new school year. It is a time to introduce and welcome our new employees, catch up with colleagues after the summer break, and to set the tone for our upcoming journey. It is an honor for me as the superintendent to provide a 'keynote', if you will, that I hope inspires confidence and energizes our employees. This year, the title of my address was 'Meeting Our Destiny', which is the hashtag that you will see used on our social media channels in addition to the traditional #hudsonschools. 

This year, I asked our faculty and staff to focus on the idea that each of us are destined for greatness and that we must instill that belief in the students and families we serve. Our charge then, for this school year is to help our students meet their destiny. It is our duty as educators to uncover and nurture our students' talents in an effort to help them realize a life of fulfillment and happiness. To help them meet their destiny.

The beginning of a school year provides a perfect venue with which to reset our expectations and provide everyone with a fresh new start. A blank canvas if you will, on which we will create a tapestry of experiences that will hopefully guide our students on a journey of self discovery in their quest to answer the all important question: What will I be?

A yearly theme, or hashtag if you will is not a new concept here at Hudson. In fact, I have been doing it for quite a few years. It comes about over months of reflection and is a closely guarded secret that only becomes revealed during the convocation. 

I chose #MeetingOurDestiny for multiple reasons. This idea really started to come to fruition over the summer when I found myself wandering our campus on those hot Friday afternoons of summer. I really started to think about our shared historical perspective as a school district over the last decade and a half. Where we have been and where we are right now. It's really quite remarkable, but easily dismissed because we have lived through it. But to think about where we are right now doesn't tell the whole story. To stop right here would leave our tale untold. Our destiny unfulfilled. And where we are headed will be a site to behold. 

During my keynote, I took our employees on a trip down memory lane. Now, it would have been easy to focus just on these last three years, because there certainly is a lot to unpack in those boxes. But instead, we considered a much broader expanse of time, hearkening back to a time when the district was struggling financially and had to implement severe budget cuts due to decreasing enrollment. I can distinctly remember that time, especially the cold dark February evening when the school board made very painful and difficult decisions. Decisions that as painful as they were, were the right [and only] decisions that could be made at the time. The school board at that time was incredibly brave and no doubt laid the foundation for the successes the district now enjoys.

Almost a decade and a half later, the picture couldn't be more different. In just the last two years, our enrollment has grown by almost 10%, our financial position is very strong, and the academic performance of our students is unmatched. Through a vision that was collectively embraced as a school district and proud community, we have turned our school into a destination district for many.  Families are flocking to our schools because of the quality education that our teachers and employees deliver and our relentless focus on creating effective learning environments that result in success for all students.

These accomplishments are not accidental. They happen by design. Its' in our DNA. They happen because of the hard work put in by our employees, their ability to drown out the noise, and their unrelenting focus on excellence. 

Three years ago, when we first emerged from the pandemic I chose the theme and hashtag #PirateRising during my opening remarks. I borrowed this from the popular image of a phoenix rising from the ashes, which signifies the emergence from a catastrophe stronger, smarter, and more powerful. I wanted us to rise above the wreckage of how the prior school year ended and prove to ourselves and our community that, not only could we open our schools, but we could keep them open and provide our students with an outstanding education. It was challenging, and by the time the school year was over, there were many schools who could not make that claim. Our schools did. 

Then last year, I challenged our employees to  #MoveMountains and to put their students—all of them, regardless of their social station—at the center of their work. To remove obstacles and lift our students. Our teachers answered the bell and made it happen. 

This year I ask, after all the challenges that we have faced together, to help our students answer with confidence: What will I be? Help our students to meet their destiny so they can realize their dreams and one day, when they grow up, they can be whatever it is they want—even a veterinarian.