I recently had the opportunity to join in the student achievement celebrations at some of our schools. I wish I could have attended all of them, but I was excited to get to Harrison, Northern and Breckinridge elementary schools and Tate Creek Middle.

What a great feeling! Our teachers were so happy and emotional about the successes of their kids. They knew how hard they and their students had worked, so to see it all come to fruition was an amazing time. Some cried, some laughed. Many were already talking and making plans about helping our kids get to the next levels. We ate chicken at one event, ice cream at another, and I even got to help shave a teacher’s head to fulfill a promise he made to the kids. (By the way, I will have to keep that same promise to the Breckinridge kids when they break 100. It is getting close because at 95 this year, they are knocking at the door.)

The kids at Breckinridge loved watching their principal have her hair sprayed pink, and at Harrison the kids who performed at the distinguished levels in all core content areas were going to lunch with their principal in a limousine! When our hard work results in great things for students, it is so important to take time to celebrate that success. Thanks to so many of you, there was a lot to celebrate across our district.

At the same time, we have a tremendous amount of work to do. We must close the achievement gaps in all of our schools. Even though our overall achievement has continued to rise in these past five years, our gaps have not yet closed. We do have examples in some of our schools of closing the gaps, but they are the exception rather than the rule. At our leadership meeting this month, I plan to talk with our principals and other leaders about the sense of urgency we must have in closing these gaps. It can be done, it is being done, and there is no reason not to do it everywhere.