2025 has been a year of reckoning — and a year of clarity. across the country, superintendents, principals, teachers, school boards, and communities have confronted deep questions about belonging, identity, trust, and purpose. throughout the year, in my blogs and podcasts, a set of themes emerged with striking consistency: real change is relational, system-wide, community-rooted, and built on trust.
looking back across pieces on curriculum, accountability, readiness, redistricting, and the evolving role of schools in regional economies, we see not separate arguments but a coherent philosophy — one grounded in humanity and in the belief that schools are living institutions shaped by the people they serve. even as technology, ai, and automation reshape every aspect of society, the work of public education remains, at its core, profoundly human.
beneath all of this lies a purpose as old as the nation itself. the remarkable 52 words of the preamble remind us why we educate: “in order to form a more perfect union...” we are continually learning from our past, applying those lessons, and preparing young people to sustain and strengthen our democracy.
i am honored to be an educator, to serve learners, to be part of an amazing profession who have dedicated their lives to communities and our country. thank you, colleagues.