Parents, Staff, Students, and Community Members,
I typically do not weigh in on national matters, but today I feel differently. It is with a heavy heart that I feel the need to write about recent events. I see our county hurting as protests and riots broke out across the country in response to the horrific and unjust death of George Floyd. The pain and suffering our African American students and community members have experienced, as well as others are feeling right now, is incomprehensible.
As the school leader of Joppa-Maple Grove School District, I have an opportunity to be a voice for change and a healing presence in our communities. Choosing silence and indifference may not be what our community needs right now. Joppa-Maple Grove School District does not, nor will ever, condone hatred and injustice and will always strive for equality in our policies, practices, and service to this community. We stand together and continue to learn and grow as we contribute to being part of the solution, rather than the problem. We are blessed to serve in a school community where our primary focus is to create a positive learning environment for all students that is equitable and inclusive.
As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
Now is the time to do everything we can to make sure students and staff feel safe and are treated equally. I, as a school leader, encourage everyone to choose kindness, tolerance, understanding and empathy. It’s time to love each other and come together to treat everyone with respect and dignity.