Happy Thanksgiving 2020

November 24, 2020

Dear District 89 Parents, Students and Staff,

As we head into the Thanksgiving holiday break, it is a tradition to write a message to families expressing thanks and gratitude.

In normal years, it is a simple message because I get to regularly visit classrooms and see dynamic learning taking place across our district at all of our schools. However, COVID-19 has shaken everyone’s world and the positives that are occurring in our district can easily be overshadowed by the unprecedented challenges we face.

With that in mind, I thought deeper about what I am thankful for this school year. What I realized is I have even more gratitude for our teachers, who have adapted to incredibly difficult circumstances, our parents who altered their work schedules, our custodial staff for keeping buildings clean and sanitized, cafeteria workers for preparing meals and school/district administrators for their leadership. Mostly, I have gratitude for our students who have demonstrated tremendous patience, resilience and understanding as they navigate new learning models through this pandemic.

At the end of the day, each of us are trying to do the best we can under incredibly difficult circumstances. It has not always gone smoothly, but I believe we have learned a lot since the first day of school that will only help to make us better prepared and stronger for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year and beyond.

The district will be closed from Wednesday, November 25th through Friday, November 27th. eLearning will resume on Monday, November 30th.

Indeed, these are challenging times, but during these next few days, I encourage you to focus on all that you are grateful for, especially family, friends and all others that are so meaningful in our lives. Have a Happy Thanksgiving and please continue to be safe.

Sincerely,

Dr. David Negron