In recognition of American Education Week, MCPS Superintendent Jack Smith emailed the following message to staff on Monday, Nov. 16.
Dear Staff:
As we celebrate American Education Week, which is November 16-20, we can look at the last eight months and know that Montgomery County Public Schools staff has done a tremendous amount of incredible work on behalf of students and families. The work has been, and continues to be, hard. But it is critical for students, their families and this community.
Across Montgomery County, support staff have provided thousands of meals to students each week. They have delivered technology, connectivity devices and instructional materials anywhere they have been needed. Often working remotely, they have registered and withdrawn students, and helped families get school records. They have worked with teachers to support student learning and well-being, sanitized facilities and upgraded HVAC systems. They have opened new schools. Teachers and teacher leaders have set up digital classrooms and reworked thousands of lessons and instructional materials to meet the needs of students in the virtual world. They have calmed anxious families and encouraged students. They have engaged students and attended to their well-being, often while attending to their own families and overcoming challenges at home. They have supported and connected with struggling students. Coaches and advisors have created unique ways for students to come together virtually around the activities and sports they love.
Principals and administrators have redesigned schedules, planned new distribution systems for curricular materials, and interviewed and hired about 900 new teachers and several hundred other staff. They have conducted meetings and comforted disconnected students. They have bolstered their staffs; conducted virtual meetings for parents and communities; and planned for the construction and renovation of schools. They have found new ways to address the thousands of situations, tasks and challenges that occur in a school and a school system every single day.
Staff has done all of these things and so much more. They are working tirelessly to make connections with and to support students and families during a time of tremendous uncertainty and anxiety. This is no easy task. The work gets done every day because of the dedication, commitment and perseverance of the employees in this school system. It simply would not happen without you. We can all look back and remember a great teacher who influenced our lives.
Thank you for all you do. Stay well and safe.
Jack R. Smith, Ph.D.
Superintendent of Schools
