#oneword2023 - elevate

New Year's Resolutions have been around for a while. Over 4,000 years in fact. According to History.com, the Babylonians were the first to make resolutions as they planted their crops, launching a new year.  I have no idea how well the Babylonians did with sticking to their resolutions 4,000 years ago, but in modern history at least, it seems that resolutions are discarded and forgotten often before the calendar turns from January to February. Resolutions are lost much quicker than the weight loss that seems to be the focus of many a January First Proclamation of Intention.

I first encountered the one-word concept in 2016 in a Twitter Chat when Bethany Hill, at the time an Elementary Principal from Arkansas, mentioned her one-word for the new year. She shared how her one-word, Empower, would be a focus for her throughout the year. I wrote that year about using my daily run to ruminate and reflect on the concept of one word and to consider what my one word would be. I chose the word "serve" and kept the word and the concept at the forefront of my personal and professional life. With my 2016 one word and each one that would follow, I could really have just kept the same word in perpetuity because the one word is always bigger than a single task or goal, it tends to be a perspective or focal point as I approach the various opportunities and challenges that appear along life's way.

More recently, in 2021 and again in 2022, I chose words that reflected the times, resilience in 2021, and forward in 2022. Each served me well. Ironically, I had no idea that forward would lead me forward in returning home to serve the school system I grew up in. My mind was set on retiring one day from the incredible school system I was serving. That changed when family members began to tell me it was time to come home after one of my heroes, Dr. Tony Baldwin, announced his retirement. I have and do actively seek God's will in my life. My wife, Rene, and I began to pray for God's will in our lives as we contemplated a move from the coast to the mountains.

After leaving Buncombe County over twenty years ago, I served in affluent communities and in communities with high levels of poverty. I served in very diverse communities and in communities with little obvious diversity. As a Superintendent, my first opportunity for service was in an amazing school system made up of four schools. My second superintendency pushed me to grow as I began to serve a school system with 20 schools. Returning home would mean accepting the challenge of serving 45 schools across a large and growing county.

I had not thought that I would ever change jobs again, and yet, in November 2022, I found myself face-to-face with an incredible opportunity, an incredible challenge, and an incredible blessing. I returned home more experienced and hopefully wiser than when I left, but knowing that it was and is crucial for me to continue to grow as an educator and as a leader. Equally, knowing the personal sacrifices my family has made over the many years of my career, I know that I must continue to grow as a husband and as a father.

In that moment, I selected my theme, #elevate, for my first school year of service back in my home district.

In this moment, I choose the same word as my #OneWord2023. My one word for 2023 is elevate.

On November 1, 2022, I posted a message on my personal Facebook page:

Here we go! A new adventure awaits! With the memories of my own teachers and administrators and the difference they made in my life, fresh in my mind, I am excited to honor their legacy and the legacy of every teacher, staff member, administrator, and Board Member who has ever served in this school system. I know that I must elevate my performance, my commitment, my dedication, and my service. Despite the successes I may have had throughout my career, this is new and different and I must continue to grow as an educator and as a leader. Holding fast to all I have learned in the amazing school systems I have been blessed to serve in, I return home, ready to elevate my work, dedicated to each and every student and staff member.

Two months later, I remain excited and honored by this incredible opportunity and even more aware that I must continue to elevate my work. Elevating my work means doubling down on being fully present in each moment with students and teammates. It means recommitting to personal professional development through formal opportunities and through my own action research. It also means being the very best "me" I can be. The students and staff I serve deserve and are worthy of my very best and I am committed to giving them just that, my best.

My #OneWord2023, elevate, is bigger than just an authentic commitment to continuous improvement for myself. I also want to elevate the profession I love. Reports of fewer education majors and of educators leaving the profession worry me. I know the difference that educators make in the lives of students and families. We need amazing educators in every classroom and in every support position. Elevating the profession is about sharing the difference that educators make every day and telling the stories of these amazing educators. It is also about ensuring that elected leaders at all levels know of the challenges faced by our educators and helping bring about positive change in working conditions and increased salary and benefits for all educators. It is an honor to tell the story of the incredible men and women who dedicate their lives in service to others and I am committed to doing just that.

Like every #oneword I have chosen over the last eight years, elevate is multi-faceted and will grow in application to my personal and professional life as the year progresses. As I have considered its import over the holiday break, I have come to understand and commit to a third application point, I want to elevate kindness everywhere I go. Through example and modeling in every personal and professional encounter I have, to encouraging kindness as a goal for the institutions I serve, I want to amplify and bear witness to the power of kindness in making the world a better place and in student outcomes. I cannot imagine an educator who cannot tell a story of a student who blossomed when treated with kindness. Being kind to students does not mean lowering standards or being soft on expectations. It means treating students (and teammates) with respect, grace, and understanding. The world needs more kindness.

Welcome to 2023 and Happy New Year! I am excited about the coming year and all that it will bring.

I would love to know your #OneWord2023 and want to extend a special invitation. If you would like to share your #OneWord through a blog post, I would be honored to elevate your voice by sharing your post on my website. If you are interested, send me your thoughts and reflections on the #OneWord you choose and I'll share it with the world.

"I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes because then you are trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're doing something." - Neil Gaiman

Again, Happy New Year! May it be your best year ever!

A Sample of Past #OneWord posts:

#OneWord2022 - Forward
#OneWord2021 - Resilience
#OneWord2016 - Serve