…Words of encouragement to fellow educators by Stacey James McAdoo…
The following is the transcript of a video memo delivered on March 17, 2020 (the first day that all public schools in Arkansas were closed to onsite instruction after 16 COVID-19 cases were confirmed).
This is Stacey McAdoo, your forever 2019 Arkansas Teacher of the Year. I’ve been hesitating to make any substantive remarks or posts as it relates to this coronavirus pandemic because quite frankly like some of you, I am overwhelmed, in shock, and still trying to process this ever-changing, new normal.
But here’s what I know — I know that I am proud of the thousands of educators who are creating and sharing resources and platforms to assist not only their students and parents but also their fellow educators near and far. I am beyond thankful for the many helping hands and partnerships in our communities who are forward-thinking and determined to provide the essentials to those in need.
I don’t know what the future holds or what tomorrow will bring, but I know that the lessons our students are learning by watching us, seeing how we respond to this crisis and the things that we place emphasis and value on are teaching them lessons that ultimately mean much more than anything that can/will be assessed on a high stakes test.
So as we are all going through this — please don’t forget to love, laugh, reflect, create, and breathe.
Stay safe. Stay well. Stay Writeous!
***
*Stacey James McAdoo, the 2019 Arkansas Teacher of the Year (affectionately referred to as 2019ATOY), is a 17 year Oral Communication instructor, AVID Coordinator and sponsor of the spoken word collective called Writeous Poets from Little Rock, Arkansas. She teaches at the historic Little Rock Central High School where she is the living embodiment of her ATOY platform of using passion and poetry to close the opportunity gap.*
Still Stacey 