During this holiday season, we celebrate peace – the quiet strength that holds our communities together and sustains everyone who serves with heart and purpose.
To our school board members and charter school trustees: Thank you for leading with grace. You listen deeply, bridge differences, and keep students at the center of every decision. Your steady presence brings calm to complexity and shows us what principled leadership truly looks like.
To our superintendents, educators, and staff: You are peacemakers in the truest sense. Each day, you create spaces where children feel safe enough to learn, brave enough to ask questions, and valued enough to belong. Your patience in difficult moments, and genuine belief in every student’s worth – this is how you change the world, one young life at a time.
For some, peace is simply the absence of conflict. For others, it is the presence of justice, belonging, and genuine care. For our school communities, it’s what you exhibit when you welcome a struggling student, resolve a tense situation with wisdom, or show up with kindness day after day.
Your work matters deeply. The safe havens you create, the bridges between different perspectives that you build, or even the dignity you offer all who walk through your doors – these acts of peace and kindness ripple outward in ways you may never fully see.
As we enter 2026, may you feel held by the same sense of peace you so generously give to the 1.4 million children we serve. Thank you for all you do, and I wish you joy, fulfillment, and prosperity in the months ahead.
Warm regards,
Tim
