I had the honor of speaking at our annual Yadkin County Schools Convocation to kick off our school year in early August. This event is attended by the teachers and staff in our district, so I wanted to use this opportunity to thank the educators in Yadkin County for the work they do day in and day out for our students and our community. Below is the transcript from my speech (the names of some students have been changed when necessary to protect their privacy). I am sharing it today as a reminder to ALL educators about how important public education is for our state and our country. With the school year getting underway, this post felt like an appropriate way to close up our Summer Blog Series. I hope you enjoy it and I look forward to bringing back our NC Ed Leaders Summer Blog Series next June. Have a great school year everyone!
Good morning everyone, my name is Boomer Kennedy and I am the principal here at Forbush High School. I am honored to have the opportunity to speak to all of you this morning. My staff will tell you that I like to talk… so I have been warned by several of them to keep my remarks brief! So I will try to do that, but this beginning of the year Convocation is a celebration for our district, so I want to use my time this morning to do just that, to celebrate the awesome educators here in Yadkin County.
It seems like more and more often we hear from politicians and from “experts” about how public education is failing; about how the public education system needs to be completely overhauled because it just “isn’t working.” You’ve heard what those “experts” say, right? Those experts—who haven’t spent a day in a classroom or in a school building—but they have all the answers for why public education is “broken.”
I am here to tell you—no, I’m here to remind you—that public education is not broken. Public education is strong—in Yadkin County, in North Carolina, across the country and the world. Graduation rates are at their highest, literacy rates continue to go up, the job force is strong, college-going rates are up. Why are all those things happening? Because our K-12 public education system is strong and continues to get stronger. Can we grow? Can we improve? Sure, and we will! But make no mistake, public education is anything but broken. Public education continues to be the great equalizer in this country, in our state, and in Yadkin County.
Sometimes I just want to ask some of those “experts,” do you really think public education is broken?
If so, then you should talk to “Haley,” a young girl who enrolled at West Yadkin Elementary last year and who did not speak a word of English. She was nervous, uncomfortable, and she worried about how she would fit in at her new school. But the other students at West Yadkin helped her out tremendously and the fifth grade teachers—Mrs. Watts, Mrs. Hobson, Ms. Cox, and Mrs. McDonald—worked with her every day. By the end of the year not only did Haley love coming to school, she considered West Yadkin to be HER school!
Or let's consider a rising fourth grade student at East Bend Elementary, we'll call him "Big G.” This student had some notable behavior issues going into third grade last year and he had basically given up on himself in many ways. But his teacher, Ms. Pettit, refused to give up on him and continued to fight for him, sometimes even when he did not want her to! In the end, because his teacher and other staff members at East Bend never gave up on him, he had a successful school year, growing academically and gaining a ton of confidence in himself.
Still think public education is broken? Why don't you ask London, or Ethan, or Allison, or Jay-Bez, or Dorothy? Because the teachers at Jonesville Elementary sat down with those students and told them, face-to-face, why those children inspired them and motivated them every day to be their very best. And then, those teachers videotaped those messages and shared them with their school community.
So, you don't think public education is working? Why don't you talk to the staff at the Yadkin Success Academy (our district’s alternative school), who work tirelessly to support the needs of their students. Even if those students have struggled in school or made some poor decisions in their lives, the staff at YSA still pushes them, and cares for them, and helps them get back on track. Last year, three students at YSA earned high school diplomas and another 15 students earned their way back to their regular educational setting, including several who graduated from Forbush and Starmount High Schools. That is another 18 Yadkin County success stories thanks to the hard work of the staff at YSA!
Are you not sure if the work we do every day matters? Let’s check in at Boonville Elementary, where a student named “Carson” perseveres every day through a rare blood disorder that impacts his body and has caused him to have over 100 blood transfusions. However, with the support of his friends and the Boonville staff, he comes to school every day with a positive attitude and he finished first grade last year on grade level. Carson is the definition of determination!
Since we are on the topic of determination and perseverance, let's talk about Julie Dalton, 1st grade teacher at Yadkinville Elementary. Julie overcame an illness that led to her needing a kidney transplant and now she is back for her 22nd year of teaching. It is teachers like her—those who are truly dedicated to our students—who make our district so great!
Still not convinced? Well then you should have been at Starmount High School’s graduation last spring when the entire graduating class and audience gave a very special student with disabilities a standing ovation. This student had major complications at birth, but he was a daily blessing to Starmount High School. He is a top notch kid who tried his best in every class, had great attendance, and always had a smile on his face. What a role model for all of us to follow!
And finally, if we still are not sure if public education is working, maybe we should ask Forbush High School graduates Madison Carter and Navaeh Hemric. Madison and Navaeh were Health Science and HOSA students with Mrs. Adrianna Sloan, and with Mrs. Sloan's guidance and the support of numerous Forbush staff, both of them were accepted into Lenoir-Rhyne's very prestigious and highly competitive RIBN program. And I have to end by telling you about Zach Morris and Zeke Matthews, both of whom are automotive students with Mr. Keith Senter. With the help and support of Mr. Senter and so many others at FHS, Zeke—who is a rising senior—earned a $5,000 scholarship to Lincoln Tech and Zach—who just graduated last May—earned over $30,000 to UTI!
And those are just a few of the numerous examples of success stories here in Yadkin County. I want to thank all of the principals who shared those stories with me and I wish I had time to share more, but let those stories be a reminder to each of us that what we do, day in and day out, really matters. It matters to our kids, it matters to their parents, and it matters to our communities.
The educators in this gym are the heart and soul of public education is this county. The work you do changes lives; the work you do breaks cycles of poverty; the work you do builds communities. Thank you for your passion, for your dedication, and for your commitment. Thank you for all you do and have a GREAT school year!
Boomer Kennedy is the principal of Forbush High School in East Bend, North Carolina. Connect with him on Twitter @BoomerKennedy.
