Our school, our district, our state, our country... have all been through a tough year. 2009 was a year that brought along record teacher layoffs, the danger of H1N1 into our classrooms, and some of the biggest cuts in education funding in recent California history.

Still, in each other we saw hope, especially during these last 4 months of 2009.

Our school year is only 4-months old, but already we have seen a brighter tomorrow. Our new principal has supported our curriculum, and shown the leadership necessary to turn our school back to a Distinguished School it once was. Teachers are beginning to embrace technology as a method of engaging and helping students. Most importantly, students are witnessing changes in our society that give them hope for their future.

The “Yes We Can” attitude has emerged. From it, we have developed a strategy to end the war in Afghanistan and are in the eve of passing a historic Health Care Reform. Now, the stage is cleared for education. 

President Obama’s first State of the Union Address will be in January. Quoting him from yesterday’s interview with the Huffington Post he said, “We’re going to have to make some special efforts, and it start with early childhood education; it starts with education generally. That’s why I’m putting such a big emphasis on that.”

Hope

It’s in the air, and it’s still 2009.

Happy Holidays Everybody!

This post is part of the MAT@USC Hope for the holidays event. Did you have an experience or witness something in 2009 which gave you hope for the future of American education? If so, please see this post for more information on how to share it.