Who's Nurturing Whom?

I'm hesitant to be so vulnerable in a blog, but I feel compelled to share that last week was super difficult for me. Between work obligations, national and international news stories, and personal stressors, I was feeling the strain. But, you know what? Y'all are amazing. Your compassion and love is inspirational. Thank you.

So, here's my question: Who's nurturing whom?

In August, I shared that I viewed my professional position as being one of support to you. In my mind, it was a one-way street, from me to you. That's true in some ways, but when I show up in your classrooms, you never fail to ask, "How are you?" Then, you take the time to actually listen. You make space for me to be human. I love that about you (yes, all of you).

A bold birdie at ACHS built her nest right into spikes. 

When you're working with scholars, I see that part of you, as well. You check in with your students on a deep level. You listen. You care. You offer youth an opportunity to be heard by someone who has profound compassion for them. You allow them to be human.

Who's nurturing you these days? One of my great hopes for YESS is that we find avenues for all our staff to build trusting, respectful relationships with one another. This, of course, is insanely tough for a bunch of folks who work in different locations, with different administrators and students, and on different schedules. You know better than anyone how taxing the role of YESS Program Manager can be. I hope you reach out to your colleagues in between team meetings to share what's working and to seek support, when needed. At the end of the day, we're all here for the same reason: To promote our scholars' success.

I'm honored and privileged to work with (and for) you and our youth. Take care of yourselves this week.

Welcome!

As part of my professional growth, I've set a goal to open lines of communication between Carlo and myself. I'd also like to promote this idea with all YESS staff, so I decided that I would create a blog. The primary focus here will be to highlight all the fantastic things I find in your classrooms each week. Secondarily, I'd like to use this space to offer resources for you to use in your practice. I'll begin in earnest next week. In the meantime, I hope you all take some time for yourselves and remember how much I appreciate you.