Gratitude, Celebration, and Learning in Tumultuous Times

Gratitude, Celebration, and Learning in Tumultuous Times
Dear Colleagues,
As I reflect on the collective work of the education community in 2020, I feel a deep sense of gratitude for the compassion and tenacity of our education first responders— from central office administrators to cafeteria workers and of course teachers and principals—who selflessly worked to support students, building relationships, belonging, and connectedness in a time of great disruption. While there were and continue to be great challenges to teaching and learning, I hope that we can all find time to celebrate these heroes and learn from their service.
As schools and districts began to shut down in March, the Aspen Education and Society Program set an aggressive pace in convening and creating resources for state and local leaders. Vision, values, and strategy are only more important during times of volatility and crisis, so we created spaces for leaders to lift up from the day-to-day to look both deeply and downfield. Our work, grounded in principles for recovery and renewal, addressed both short- and long term needs during the pandemic: fostering connectedness through support social, emotional, and academic development, ensuring students receive culturally and linguistically responsive education, providing concrete guidance to Governors and mayors to support schools in the recovery process, and to school leaders in rebuilding community, and wading into the contested space of ensuring assessments advance equity in the 2020-21 school year.

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