Thank you for joining WEC’s Annual Meeting
Twenty-three days until we can say goodbye to 2020. The plague year. The year of uprisings. The year of fires. The year of drought. The year of political upheaval. The year when bills came due. The year of change, upheaval, chaos, and yes, of revelation and awakening. The year 2020 has exposed fissures, fractures, and inadequacies in every sector of American society. And these revelations have seeded an awakening…the belief that we absolutely must work to re-imagine new and better systems, policies, approaches, and yes, attitudes that work for all people. And at the heart of that re-imagination, there are some things on which we absolutely need to focus.
As you know, I always look at things through the lens and vantage point of education. And from my vantage point at the Worcester Education Collaborative, as we as a community and a district re-imagine how we accomplish teaching and learning we absolutely must be guided in that work by the centering of the child and their needs and gifts along the lines and principles of equity.
The seeds for this type of re-imagination are taking root in Worcester. As we respond to the multiple bills that have come due, we have come together in a shared response—witness the Worcester Together Fund, the Black Lives Matter Mural, the Worcester Mutual Aid FB page, and in the education eco-system, the emergence of the Worcester Education Equity Roundtable.
For WEC the work of re-imagination is not new work. We have always held as our north star, not what is merely acceptable for our children, for our common future but what is possible. Tonight, we will consider what is possible through the interplay of education and technology, but our work goes beyond that to seek what is possible when the community is fully behind our kids and our schools and when our schools are fully allied with our community.
In March of this year, WEC began its 11th year of operation. While our work with the schools and community have borne fruit—a strategic plan, and strong literacy program in seven of our schools, an ongoing series of community briefings, a community of practice for the education eco-system, a social and emotional learning training program—our work is ongoing. Thanks to all of you, to our financial supporters, and to those who offer their time and expertise to assure that this important work is accomplished.
Tonight's special and heartfelt thanks are due to Patty Eppinger. Patty has served as our resolute and unflappable board chair since 2015. Smart, visionary, politically savvy, and fearless she has guided WEC to maturity. She is a personal friend and professional support and patient beyond words she saved me from fleeing on to Main Street to shout at randomly passing cars. Patty will be stepping down this year but will remain on the board in a new role. We are looking forward to continued work with her. Patty, many, many thanks.
