Convocation invokes theme of inspiration
Aug. 19—The St. Joseph School District has much to celebrate in the coming academic year, and educators came all together for the first convocation in nearly a decade to make it happen.
Board of Education Vice President LaTonya Williams said Communications Director Eileen Houston-Stewart has been advocating for a big August new school year party for some time, of the kind familiar to large school districts keen to boost staff morale. With the support of the 3D Institute and keynote speaker Ben Glenn, The Chalkguy and Superintendent Gabe Edgar, hundreds of SJSD employees and volunteers gathered Thursday morning in the Downtown Civic Arena.
"This event had a great vibe today," said CEO Wes Simmons of the 3D Institute. "You could feel it when you came in. There was excitement in the air. It's just great to see everybody coming together around a common purpose, really, about helping meet the developmental needs of the kids of this community.
Edgar has adopted the theme "Making a Difference" for the 2022-23 school year that begins on Monday. Glenn — a celebrated artist and orator able to render a photorealistic landscape image with chalk in about 15 minutes — carried that through in his keynote address. He told the story of how a teacher in his youth recognized his talent and motivated him to commit himself to an unconventional job he loves and attain success. Brooklyn Jones of Spring Garden Middle School said this resonated with her.
"I want to make an impact on children's lives," she said. "I want to be the reason why they say, 'My teacher, back when I had Ms. Jones, she was the person who stood out to me, who actually cared about me, who told me I am the one that can be something in life. And I just think that's what being a teacher is all about."
Tabitha Blevins, principal of Edison Elementary School, attended the last SJSD convocation as a teacher. She affirmed how the first day of school on Monday is in many ways a new dawn for the district. Staff have just gathered together all under one roof for one grand celebration just for them, for the first time in years, in the wake of troubling times in which that wasn't possible. And she said together, they will make a difference.
"I think it speaks to the contribution that teachers make in individual lives," Blevins said. "I don't think there's a single educator in that room who doesn't remember someone in their past who did the same thing for them."
Marcus Clem can be reached at marcus.clem@newspressnow.com. Follow him on Twitter: @NPNowClem
