If you look on line, you will find the “kindergarten time capsule” videotaped by teachers Becky Jensen and Shelly Mangskau in the school year 2002-2003. (Search Youtube for NRHEG Class of 2015.) The adorable youngsters to be seen there are this year’s graduating class. It is positively astounding to see those young children and compare them to the accomplished young adults they have become. Among them are members of our state championship girls’ basketball team, performers in our one-act play, students who continuously strive to earn strong grades, members of our trap shooting team, and trusted employees at businesses of every type all around our area.
The charming kindergarteners in that video, and in those from previous years which have also been posted online, are living demonstrations of the limitless potential our children represent.
For me, as a steward of public education for our district, they are also a statement of the challenges we face. Most of you reading this can recall all the celebration and excitement in 1999 leading up to the new millennium. Remember the anticipation, and the sense of privilege for being in the right place in history to experience not only a change in century, but from the one-thousands to the two-thousands...the concern that computers would crash because they wouldn’t know how to handle the change? It doesn’t seem that long ago, does it? Many of us still have specially printed dishes in our cupboards that commemorate the event.
But guess what? Most of the students in our school buildings are younger than those dishes, and they are very much children of the new millennium.
The opportunities and challenges of the future have always been similar to the horizon, persistently moving and shifting ahead of us. But for members of the current generation, it seems boundaries are expanding more quickly than ever. They live in an increasingly global society, where the advances of technology allow information to spread worldwide nearly instantly; where the pool of applicants for any job might come from anywhere on the planet; where change is the only constant.
This gives our schools the task of nurturing flexible, observant, capable individuals who can easily recognize their personal strengths and capitalize on them. Equally importantly, it requires us to help them build a sense of balance that will steady them in the myriad of possibilities.
As I mentally review the wide range of interests and abilities which have already manifested among our students and alumni, I am astounded. Actors, musicians, a young man who has won awards for his ability as a mechanic, highly regarded athletes, educators, and business people; the list couldn’t be more varied if our communities were 10 times their size. I can’t help thinking that we need to do even more to help assure that current and future students have the opportunity to keep reaching for their dreams.
Most of you are aware, of course, that the school district is planning to ask for funding to expand our facilities. Additional classrooms in Ellendale would allow for more flexible instruction, especially for the opportunity to provide enhanced learning for those students who show strengths in particular subject areas. Expanded and enhanced facilities in the New Richland building would provide growing room for many of our endeavors, including hands-on courses like woods and mechanics; for our athletic programs; and for performances by students in our music and drama offerings.
From my perspective, these improvements are not simply “helpful,” they’re necessary. Time is flying; the next thing we know, we’ll be watching the kindergarten time capsule for the class of 2028. I want them to remember coming of age with a range of opportunities and offerings that allowed them to fulfill their potential…which, based on the people who have come before them, is invaluable.
My biggest thought as I look at our district and its accomplishments is that we have to keep chasing the horizon; we have to determine what helps our students most, and do more of it. Our programs and offerings must remain flexible and forward-looking, for the sake of helping our students find themselves and continue building their futures. I have been working with members of our community who want to find programs and systems which incorporate student learning with real-life experience. Teachers have come to me with plans for new classes and extra-curricular activities to broaden our students’ opportunities. These conversations have already led to a number of new class offerings and programs.
I am pleased to speak with all parties who have the interests of our students at heart, and to consider how their ideas can benefit learning and personal growth. The more the better. After all, we have a horizon to catch.
