New Chapter, Same Mission: Turning the Page Together Convocation 2026 Recap Video — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:05I am excited to officially welcome you
2. 0:07to the kickoff of the new school year.
3. 0:09And by the looks of it, our Patrick
4. 0:11Henry and William Fleming drum lines and
5. 0:13cheerleaders have gotten you ready to
6. 0:16celebrate this morning.
7. 0:17>> It's just a nice way to start off the
8. 0:19year and get kind of pumped up and see
9. 0:21everyone's school spirit and you know
10. 0:24the t-shirts and we always like to do
11. 0:26crazy outfits. Um so it's just fun.
12. 0:28>> I feel very excited. a little anxious, a
13. 0:30little nervous. It's been a short
14. 0:31summer. Um, and actually it's a return
15. 0:33for me to Rowan Oak City. So, I'm most
16. 0:36excited about uh meeting and interacting
17. 0:38with our scholars and our families uh
18. 0:39and just reaclimating myself to the Ron
19. 0:41Oak City community.
20. 0:42>> An education is one of the few gifts in
21. 0:45[music] life with no return policy. Once
22. 0:48earned, it is owned. It cannot be taken
23. 0:51back. Not by circumstance, [music] not
24. 0:54by hardship, not by anyone. It belongs
25. 0:58to our students forever. [music]
26. 1:00Thank you for choosing a profession that
27. 1:02asks so much of you, yet gives [music]
28. 1:04us the incredible privilege of changing
29. 1:06lives every single day. Let's make a
30. 1:08year where we turn the page [music] with
31. 1:10hope, with courage, and with a purpose.
32. 1:13Let's write our story students will
33. 1:14remember, not because everything was
34. 1:17perfect, but because they knew they were
35. 1:19seen, challenged, [music] encouraged,
36. 1:21and loved. Here's to a new chapter.
37. 1:23Let's turn the page together. It was the
38. 1:26the first week of school last year when
39. 1:29I visited right here, William Fleming
40. 1:31High School during lunchtime. And then I
41. 1:33saw a young man waving me over to his
42. 1:36table. Uh it was [music] this table was
43. 1:38full of students. And I walked over and
44. 1:40he introduced himself [music] and he
45. 1:42said his name was Josiah and he asked me
46. 1:44to sit down and Josiah had gotten into
47. 1:47some trouble that summer and because of
48. 1:49that he couldn't play football last fall
49. 1:52even though football was his whole heart
50. 1:54and he asked me right there at that
51. 1:56lunch table if [music] I could help him
52. 1:59out. Our team concluded that Josiah
53. 2:02needed to have accountability and that
54. 2:04meant that he couldn't play football
55. 2:05last fall. But we told him that if he
56. 2:07stayed on track and stayed focused on
57. 2:10his studies that he would have a shot at
58. 2:12playing spring sports. [music]
59. 2:13>> I decided to turn the page. Instead of
60. 2:16letting my mistakes define me, I decided
61. 2:18to let them develop me. I stayed
62. 2:20committed to the process. I kept
63. 2:22training when nobody was watching. I
64. 2:24focused on recovering my grades. I
65. 2:26completed every assignment I needed
66. 2:28[music] to finish. I earned my weather
67. 2:30certification because of the opportunity
68. 2:32from the school and people checking on
69. 2:34me. I became more open about my story
70. 2:36because I realized that sometimes your
71. 2:38testimony [music] can help someone
72. 2:40else's survival. Today, I'm proud to say
73. 2:42that I'm committed to Shaw University
74. 2:44while I have the OPPORTUNITY
75. 2:47[cheering]
76. 2:48[applause]
77. 2:52[music]
78. 2:57where I have the opportunity to continue
79. 2:58my [music] education and showcase my
80. 3:00talents at the collegiate level. That
81. 3:02happened because I finally learned what
82. 3:04it means to turn a page. Turning a page
83. 3:06doesn't [music] mean pretending the last
84. 3:07chapter never happened. It means
85. 3:09learning from it, growing from it.
86. 3:17Sure, I spend my days floating around
87. 3:20[singing]
88. 3:21in the bubbles and my feet on the
89. 3:23ground. But there is more to me than
90. 3:26just my name. Give me a chance and I
91. 3:28could change the game. And maybe one
92. 3:31day, Mr. Krabs will say, "The Crusty
93. 3:34Krabs, it's your lucky day." That
94. 3:36[singing] is what I've always wanted.
95. 3:39Then I can finally say [singing] I've
96. 3:41done it.
97. 3:45Let me have adventure, be a contender,
98. 3:49and more.
99. 3:51>> You're not [singing] a simple.
100. 3:53>> I wish you'd see I'm not just a sponge
101. 3:55next door.
102. 3:57>> No, you're not a [singing] simple
103. 3:59[music] sponge. There's got to be a
104. 4:01better way, a way to save this town I
105. 4:04love. [singing]
106. 4:05But how can I stop the end of the world?
107. 4:10Am I just a simple
108. 4:12>> No, you're not a [singing] simple
109. 4:13sponge.
110. 4:17>> No. Let me have adventure. Be a
111. 4:20contender.
112. 4:22[singing]
113. 4:23>> You're not a simple.
114. 4:25>> I will show on the just as much.
115. 4:29No, you're [singing] not a simple.
116. 4:31>> I'm going to find a better way, a way to
117. 4:34save this life I love. And I am going to
118. 4:38stop [singing] the END OF THE
119. 4:40>> NO, YOU ARE JUST A simple sponge.
120. 4:44>> No, Mr. Krabs. I'll find a way to stop
121. 4:46that volcano. We'll use science and
122. 4:49literacy and math.
123. 4:51>> Still a very simple sponge.
124. 4:54>> We can use to get to the top. Wait.
125. 4:57Pretty sure it's not that [music]
126. 4:58reliable.
127. 4:59>> Yes, a very simple sponge.
128. 5:04>> Critical thinking skills plus problem
129. 5:06solving plus my
130. 5:09>> Yes, a very simple sponge.
131. 5:17>> I'm not sure what my thing is, but that
132. 5:20won't stop me. No, I'm not a simple
133. 5:25contender.
134. 5:28>> [screaming]
135. 5:29>> I am not
136. 5:30>> not a simple
137. 5:33sponge.
138. 5:35[screaming]
139. 5:45[applause]
140. 5:47>> And I know it it [music] does not feel
141. 5:49complete and it is not complete without
142. 5:51our teachers and our staff members here.
143. 5:54And [music] so we know that our teachers
144. 5:57and other staff members who couldn't be
145. 5:59here with us today, we know that they'll
146. 6:01be watching this a little bit later.
147. 6:02[music]
148. 6:02So to our teachers, and I'm I'm going to
149. 6:05look over here because I believe that's
150. 6:06the camera. That's I see Allan over
151. 6:07there. To our teachers and to our staff
152. 6:10members, just know [music] that we value
153. 6:12you. We support you. We hear you. We
154. 6:15appreciate you. And I want all of us to
155. 6:19look in that camera right there and give
156. 6:20our teachers and staff members the
157. 6:22applause that they deserve. [applause]
158. 6:32This year will ask something different
159. 6:34[music] from us and of us. Every year
160. 6:36does. No cohort of students is the same.
161. 6:39Every year always asks something
162. 6:41different [music] of us. budgets get
163. 6:43tighter, buildings change, roles shift,
164. 6:46and somehow our students continue
165. 6:48[music] to thrive because what really
166. 6:50matters is what we do with and for our
167. 6:53students each and every day. And it has
168. 6:55been about all of you showing up for our
169. 6:57students every single [music] day. So,
170. 6:59let me remind you of just some of what
171. 7:01we've been able to accomplish over the
172. 7:04years because of our collective
173. 7:06willingness to dream and inspire [music]
174. 7:08and work hard. And keep in mind that
175. 7:10reflection is a part of professional
176. 7:13learning and it is important for us to
177. 7:15remember our goals that we've laid out
178. 7:17in our strategic plan and then to
179. 7:19celebrate our accomplishments. So when I
180. 7:23ask you who did that as I'm reminding
181. 7:26you, I want you to [music] remind
182. 7:30everyone here who did it by yelling out,
183. 7:33"We did that." Okay? You got it?
184. 7:37>> All right. All right. I'm going to see
185. 7:38who can do it best. [laughter]
186. 7:40No, no pressure. And even though we have
187. 7:43a smaller group than normal, I expect us
188. 7:46to be just as loud and rowdy and
189. 7:48energetic as we would have been at the
190. 7:49Burgl Center. Got Okay, deal. So, the
191. 7:52Community Empowerment Center served
192. 7:54nearly 2,000 families in its first year,
193. 7:57and the Commonwealth of Virginia has
194. 7:59already taken notice, naming it, [music]
195. 8:02naming the Community Empowerment Center
196. 8:04an official community hub. and our lift
197. 8:07center at Fallon Park Elementary. Let me
198. 8:09hear you, Fallon Park.
199. 8:11[cheering and applause]
200. 8:13It also earned its own recognition from
201. 8:16the state as a community school site.
202. 8:19[applause]
203. 8:20Who did that?
204. 8:22>> I [cheering] saying also since the 2020
205. 8:252021 school year, chronic absenteeism
206. 8:29has dropped 20% [music] divisionwide.
207. 8:33[cheering]
208. 8:34[applause]
209. 8:37as well as out of school suspension days
210. 8:39are down 25% over the last two years.
211. 8:43[cheering]
212. 8:44[applause and music]
213. 8:46Now that is the product of the
214. 8:48relationships that we have built with
215. 8:50[music] our students and with our
216. 8:51families. Who did that? [applause]
217. 8:54We did that. So two years ago we cut the
218. 8:57ribbon on the Charles W. J technical
219. 8:59education center and doubled our CTEC
220. 9:02capacity, opening doors for our students
221. 9:06in everything from cosmetology and
222. 9:08barbering to landscaping and welding.
223. 9:10[music] And our students who complete a
224. 9:12two-year pathway have a 100% graduation
225. 9:15[music]
226. 9:16rate. Let me say that again. What's the
227. 9:19percentage?
228. 9:21>> Cats off to a CTE. [applause]
229. 9:25This past year, every single one of our
230. 9:28preschool programs met or [music]
231. 9:30exceeded expectations on the state's
232. 9:32early childhood measurement system
233. 9:34[music] with Virginia Heights, where's
234. 9:36Virginia Heights, where are you?
235. 9:38Ranking in the top 3% of programs n
236. 9:41statewide [music] and Crystal Spring and
237. 9:43Grandon Court ranking in the top 10%.
238. 9:46This June, 930 students walked across
239. 9:49the stage between our two high schools.
240. 9:51That is the largest graduating class
241. 9:53[music]
242. 9:54in RCPS history.
243. 9:58[applause]
244. 9:58>> Who did that?
245. 10:00>> We did that. [cheering]
246. 10:01>> We did that. And so turning the page
247. 10:03[music] takes effort and it takes will
248. 10:06and it takes skill and it takes a plan
249. 10:09[music] just like the plan that our team
250. 10:11has built for Josiah. And this year
251. 10:14there will be students in this division
252. 10:15[music]
253. 10:16just like Josiah and who will have their
254. 10:18own stories and they might have some
255. 10:20other kinds of things just like all of
256. 10:22us. Everybody's going through something
257. 10:24if we are honest with each [music] other
258. 10:26right so we don't judge we support and
259. 10:28those who need one adult to look them in
260. 10:31the eye to say let me see what I can do
261. 10:34[music] and I am sure that that adult
262. 10:36will be you. So here is my charge to
263. 10:39you. Let us stay focused on the same
264. 10:42goals that have carried us through
265. 10:44[music] each of the years that I've
266. 10:46stood before you before. This work does
267. 10:48not stand still and neither do we. And
268. 10:52that is what it means to turn the page.
269. 10:55Not just closing one chapter, [music]
270. 10:57but seeing it through to the very end
271. 10:59and asking with confidence, what's next?
272. 11:02And it takes all of us working together
273. 11:05to move the needle for our students. So,
274. 11:08I would like for everyone in this room
275. 11:10to stand up, [music] stand for our
276. 11:12students, stand for our community, stand
277. 11:14for each other. And when we conclude our
278. 11:16year and our time together, I will ask
279. 11:18you again and the community will ask us
280. 11:21and what we'll be able to say a couple
281. 11:23of things for certain. I'm going to ask
282. 11:26you, who did that?
283. 11:29>> We did that and we will do it again. We
284. 11:32will get it done together. Give the
285. 11:35person beside you a high five. Wave your
286. 11:37wands in the air. And let's get this
287. 11:39work done. Have an amazing school year,
288. 11:41everybody.