My niece, Emily, is a senior at Stone Bridge High School this year. Like all seniors at this time of year, there is a lot of stress: college applications to complete, financial aid forms to fill out, essays that encapsulate your life in 250 words to write, not to mention all of the other rigorous courses that come with being an academic superstar like Emily. She asked me to read one of those college application essays where she had to explain her favorite word. Her writing was beautiful, personal, and honest, but my favorite part about it was that it captured her hopefulness and optimism about the future. She wrote about the word “blossom,” and all of the new growth on the journey that lies ahead for her.
Emily’s essay, like most things I run across these days, reminds me of Willard Intermediate School and our journey. The joy of opening a school is seeing the blossoming of this community all around me. On November 1, we welcomed the second member of our Willard family. Erin Halouska joins the team as our school’s bookkeeper. She is organized, dependable, and efficient, all of the attributes one would want in a bookkeeper, but more than that, I know from her work at John Champe High School, that she is caring, personable, and focused on the reason why we work in schools: children. At John Champe, she was respected by teachers and students, always operating with care and compassion toward the students with whom she worked. I am thrilled that she is part of the Willard family, and I have no doubt that you will feel the same as we interact with each other over the coming months.
Last week, I also hosted two parent meet and greets. I was overwhelmed by the positive response from parents and their support in the community. We had offers of people to head up a PTO or PTA, participate in parent retreats, and help in numerous other ways. Future Willard students were in the audience, with anticipation, anxiety, and hopefully a little excitement about what is to come.
My favorite part of the meet and greet was when I showed the picture of what Willard will look like and heard an audible gasp from the crowd. The building really is spectacular, with spectacular views, state of the art technology, and flexible learning spaces for students. One of my favorite parts of this process has been touring the building and watching it rise up from a cement slab off of Braddock Road. I took a tour today, and the progress since my last visit on October 26 has been amazing. Where there were once gaping holes, a grand staircase awaits. A plain cement slab now has steel framing and a roof for the main gym. Holes in the wall have been replaced with actual windows. The building is beautiful, and progress is everywhere.
I’ll admit, up on the roof today, there were substantial wind gusts, and out past the construction site where we were standing you could the leaves turning various shades of red, yellow, and orange. There is a huge amount of work to be done, both at the physical site and in building a community where students, parents, and staff feel welcomed, involved, and empowered, but while outside the air is turning colder and the days are growing shorter, at Willard Intermediate School, signs of a coming spring are everywhere.
#welcome2willard