Dear AUSD Community:

On Teacher Appreciation Week I wanted to share some thoughts and appreciations for the people who lead our classrooms every day, and ask you to join me in appreciating teachers across the school district. 

One thought that resonated indelibly with me as a young teacher came from James Baldwin's 1963 A Talk to Teachers. I've referenced it before, and in that piece, Baldwin asserts that the ultimate purpose of education is to create in a person the ability to look at the world for themselves.

There’s something in that idea that feels especially important right now, in this world that feels broadly unsteady, and seems to be trading in a surplus of hardship and division.

And yet the work of our teachers continues steadily, in often unseen moments when students begin to trust their own thinking, for instance, when curiosity and budding confidence replace hesitation, and when a young person starts to see themselves as capable of shaping their future.

Those moments don’t always show up in easily measurable ways, but they are everything - including our best and most reliable path forward as a community.

This year has not been without its challenges. We’ve seen many aspects of our external world in chaos.

Locally, the district and our teachers have navigated contract negotiations and other challenges that required us to be in hard and extended conversations together. In my view, that’s part of the reality of a system that collectively cares enough to work through complexity. And today, because of what our teachers do in our classrooms, and for our students, I find myself even more inclined and more motivated to contribute to our shared work together.

Our best teachers show up every day and provide our students with a steadiness that takes the form of so many different teaching styles and instructional approaches to inspire or instill.

Some of our teachers bring outsized personalities and beautifully amplified humor to the classroom; others convey wisdom and subtle reassurance in lower key but equally impactful ways. Some of our teammates exude scholarly passion and commitment; others bring a more casual and facilitative approach that quietly empowers young people.

Yet the common denominator that teachers of all styles share is the commitment and purpose underneath the delivery.

Teaching, it’s been said, is an act of belief—belief in students, in possibilities, and in unknowable futures.

Sixty-three years ago, Baldwin wrote in his essay on teaching that, “We are living through a very dangerous time. Everyone in this room is in one way or another aware of that.” Today it again feels like we’re living in precarious times.

And during this time, I want to again recognize that the work of our teachers does steady our kids and our community. It asks for their energy, their intellect, their heart, and most certainly their patience.

I am forever grateful that they continue to give all four and more to AUSD, and ask our community to join me in thanking them for this very important work.

Pasquale Scuderi

Superintendent