Dear Mira Vista Families,
I miss you! This has been a hard few months of school. Our school is wonderful, because of the people we interact with everyday. We have such a strong community and such great students. It is hard not to see everyone on campus. I truly look forward to a time in the near future when we can be together again. That being said, health and safety are always first on our minds and we will follow the guidelines provided by the State and County experts in how and when we will be able to reopen the site.
Our teachers, students and families did a remarkable job of keeping the learning going during our closure. From day one our teachers were providing high quality instruction and the vast majority of our families were accessing the work. This was a huge endeavor. Making sure each of our students had a tablet and wifi and knew how to access the curriculum was a big deal. Thank you to our wonderful office staff for their tireless work.
Although we are celebrating our accomplishments, it is not without a heavy heart. I need to pause and recognize the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others. And the resulting outrage, protests and impact on our community. Black lives matter. Black minds matter. Mira Vista is strong because our community is diverse and vibrant. Mira Vista is strong because our Black students and families are strong and vibrant. We work hard not to replicate and to dismantle the institutionalized racism that is pervasive in our country and will continue to do this work. Now is a time for us to pause and see the pain and suffering of our Black community, but give space for grieving. We are here for our Black community and will continue to listen to how we can improve our support for our community.
Schools are where we create the change we wish to see. Making safe spaces for every student to explore their own identity and expand their minds is our work. On a daily basis there are thousands of wonderful interactions that show what a great job our staff and community are doing. There are also issues which we need to acknowledge and improve upon. Our job is to teach children to safely experiment and learn from their mistakes. That is also the case with our adults. We are learning and growing everyday. If we have missed something or are making a mistake, please let us know, so we can learn from that mistake and not make it again. We live in a flawed world that does not always see or care to see the struggles of everyone. It is our job to make Mira Vista a space that is safe and supportive for all of our students. I thank you for allowing me to be a part of this work and look forward to seeing you all soon.
Thank you,
Gabriel Chilcott
