Superintendent Dr. Kim Morrison speaks during the Mount Airy City Schools convocation. (Submitted photo)
The first day for students in Mount Airy City Schools was Monday, Aug. 23, but teachers and school staff in the district returned to work on Monday, Aug. 16. After a full week of preparation the district came together on Friday for its annual convocation.
“This event is a time for employees to take a collective breath, catch up with one another from across the district, hear from featured speakers, and leave excited about the year ahead,” said Executive Officer of Communications Carrie Venable.
Last year, three of the district’s schools met via Zoom while Mount Airy High School staff members were face-to-face in the auditorium where the event was held. While the district continues to follow the state’s guidance, all staff members were allowed to be in the high school auditorium while wearing masks thanks to removal of mandatory six feet of social distancing guidelines, and many have had the opportunity to get vaccinated. This and other guidelines have been adjusted thanks to the number of school districts which participated in the ABC Collaboration’s research to find the best mitigation measures for fighting COVID-19.
“While we had numerous layers of mitigation efforts last year, we are thrilled that the CDC and NCDHHS have discovered that the most effective measures are vaccines and masks. This has allowed our children to go mask free outside, work closely with peers indoors while wearing masks, share resources, go on field trips, and ride two to a seat on the bus,” said Venable.
School staffs arrived in a staggered schedule for breakfast and by 9 a.m. everyone was seated for the event to begin. Board of Education Chairman Tim Matthews welcomed the crowd while Vice Chair Ben Cooke led the invocation. Dr. Kim Morrison introduced Jason Dorsett as the Principal of the Year while Dr. Phillip Brown welcomed Marie Hauser as the district’s Teacher of the Year.
As the district’s Teacher of the Year, Hauser took everyone in attendance through her journey of what it means to be resolute. She asked the crowd to “focus on these words from the great physicist Albert Einstein, where he said, ‘there are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.’” She noted that she chooses the latter and feels bonded to others in Mount Airy City Schools for the shared experience of COVID-19.
“What we accomplished together last year in Mount Airy City Schools is nothing short of miraculous. If you were connected to this school system in any way, you were part of a miracle,” Hauser said. “You, we had a resolute desire to keep going. Resolute. What does that even mean? Resolute means admirably purposeful, determined, marked by firm determination, unwavering.”
She continued to share a list of adjectives that described the amazing feat of the educators and staff in the room and she pointed out that the traits modeled over the past year were exactly what young students and people of any age need.
She urged her peers to remember who they are and be resolute. She then gifted each member of the audience a pencil with the word “Resolute” written on it to remember how much they have accomplished and what it will take to continue.
Following a standing ovation, administrators from across the district introduced new staff members and those who had taken new roles within the system to the crowd.
Superintendent Dr. Kim Morrison then took the podium to share the year’s theme of “Rethink Education” to a sea of blue with the words blazoned across the back of each employee’s shirt. Morrison shared that author Adam Grant, “wants us to understand the power of knowing what we don’t know. Rethinking is the process of doubting what you know, being curious about what you don’t know, and updating your thinking based on new evidence.” She pointed out that, “This is a tremendous skill we try to build in our youth but this is also a tremendous skill we, as educators, must build in ourselves.”
If anything has taught educators and the world to rethink what they know, it has been COVID-19. “This past year has taught us how to pivot. We were asked to suspend everything we know about the world around us and question it,” Morrison reminded them. She went on to encourage staff members to rethink education and dream about how learning could be obtained in different ways by students.
Morrison then introduced the Wall of Leadership and Service honorees for 2021. Four graduates of Mount Airy High Schools were honored: Phil Thacker, Class of 1972, Paige Johnson, Class of 1984, Captain Jackson “Jack” Campbell, Class of 1976, and Cathy Cloukey, Class of 1978. Thacker and Johnson addressed the crowd, sharing moments from school and the impact of educators over their lifetime. Campbell was represented posthumously by Wayne Boyles who shared the characteristics that made Campbell such a great leader who was service-oriented. Cloukey was out of town but able to provide a speech via audio to the crowd receiving laughs from her experiences in athletics as a high school student.
To wrap up the event, Morrison invited Chief Finance Officer Audra Chilton to the podium to see what types of monetary gifts employees could receive for their hard work and dedication. She kicked off the idea with $5 and Chilton agreed that each staff member could receive a gift card to Mount Airy High School’s Blue Bear Cafe. Attendees cheered as the delivery of sweet treats is always a great idea.
Next, Morrison asked about $50. Chilton agreed that four staff members could get drawn for gift cards to Wal-Mart. Morrison pushed the envelope a bit more by asking could something be done for part-time staff. Chilton gave a thumbs up to $250 for each half-time employee. When $500 appeared on the screen, Morrison wondered if the district could provide that amount to each full-time employee. With a big two thumbs up from the finance department, the crowd celebrated the decision and were dismissed to have a great year. COVID-19 money was used for COVID-related extra actions supported by staff.
