During the last few months we have heard a lot of “he said, she said” types of comments in the local papers, blog sites, and at Board of Education meetings. I thought that perhaps searching for a different type of “he said, she said” comment might help us navigate the difficult change that we face in the weeks ahead. Personally, I could relate to a quote from Woodrow Wilson: “If you want to make enemies, try to change something.” I also came across these words: “If you’re in a bad situation, don’t worry it’ll change. If you’re in a good situation, don’t worry it’ll change.”

Brian Whiston

Then I read the following by Maria Robinson” “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”

We can’t go back and start over. We can’t pretend the $12 million in cuts from Lansing didn’t happen. We are faced with a new beginning that looks different than the beginning we had in September. Our new beginning, although not ideal or the one that we want, can have a successful ending, an ending that is even more meaningful than the one we planned when the school year started.

It has been said that, “We are like tea bags — we don’t know our own strength until we’re in hot water.” I believe the strength of our staff is the key to a successful ending to this year. The devotion to education and teaching will be the strength that moves this district forward. It is the strength that comes from leaders and, according to an old Welch proverb, “He that would be a leader must be a bridge.” I’m confident that our staff will be a bridge to a new beginning that will maintain our focus on student achievement.

This year we are making mid-year cuts, something the district has never done before. Not only are schools facing the possible loss of a teacher, parapro, or other vital staff member, but they are facing the difficult task of changing the way we meet the educational needs of children or how we deliver instruction. The task ahead will not be easy but it is vitally important to the success of the students in our classrooms. I understand that there may be philosophical differences in “what is best for children,” and other outside factors can divert our attention away from the job at hand, but I know that each and every staff member in this district is dedicated to the students in the classroom and to providing them with quality instruction.

According to John Maxwell, “The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.” Together, let us adjust the sails from an ill wind that has blown our way and move our ship forward so that the months ahead will lead us on a course that ends with a successful school year for all students in the Dearborn Public Schools.

Brian Whiston is superintendent of Dearborn Public Schools.