What a decade!  A lot has happened since 2010.  Self-driving cars, Netflix streaming, social media and virtual reality have risen to mainstream while new inventions like the little chip on credit/debit cards, hoverboards, Instagram and smart watches have created new habits for people.  Investors saw S&P returns of a mind-boggling 250 percent this past decade. The New York Times reports that world poverty has fallen by more than half since 2008 and malaria incidence is down nearly 60 percent in Africa.

During the next decade, multi-use rockets, gene editing, robot agility and drone delivery services will integrate themselves into our world.  I am sure several life-changing inventions we don’t currently anticipate or conceptualize will become commonplace by 2030. 

All of this can be exciting and a bit overwhelming.  How do we prepare for it? I believe we must expose our students to new technologies, teach them problem-solving skills, teach them how to collaborate with others and teach them to cope with and adapt to change.  Sherrard School District has always been known for innovation and embracing new technologies and that tradition will continue.

Traditional core values need to guide us when dealing with change.  These values include compassion, integrity, friendship, patience, balance, courage, gratitude, forgiveness and love.  A lot of life’s meaning and purpose is lost without values. Weaving our values into new technologies will ensure our technologies will provide more help than harm.

The life of an educator is full of ups and downs. Good news follows bad news and vice versa. It’s quite the roller-coaster experience.

The administrators are reading a book called The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon.  The chapters we are reading this month deal with negativity.  One of the points in the book is that there will always be negativity everywhere and in everything we do.  We need to learn how to deal with it and learn what to do with it.

One of the things that helps me deal with negativity is locating good news about our district from sources outside the district.  Two specific instances of good news come to mind and they remind me that we have a great school district.

1. In October, the Illinois State Board of Education announced the school designations for all schools around the state.  There are 57 schools in the Quad City area and 10 of them received the highest rating – 4 of those highest ratings were given to Sherrard schools!
2. This month, Sherrard received national recognition for its Advanced Placement classes.  The College Board organization identified 250 school districts across the nation that demonstrated a high level of student test scores and growing access to Advanced Placement courses.  Only eleven Illinois districts were chosen.

Problems in our district need to be corrected, but they must not be allowed to symbolize our district.  The good far outweighs the bad and there are plenty of reasons to celebrate being a Sherrard Tiger!  #SherrardRoars

On Monday, November 11, the students and staff of Sherrard School District will honor our local men and women who have served in the United States Armed Forces.  All K-12 schools will gather at the high school for a ceremony that will include music, personal recognition of local veterans, a speech from a military officer, and video messages from active duty service members in locations around the world.

The Sherrard School District chooses to have the students attend school on Veterans Day and use the day as a learning opportunity.  It is important to teach the next generation about the cost of freedom and the selfless sacrifice of veterans who have defended it.

In the northeast corner of the high school commons, there is an Honor Wall for the names of Sherrard graduates who have gone on to military service.  In addition to the name, the year of graduation and the service branch is noted for each of the veterans.  The list is incomplete, so the public is invited to submit information of known veterans who qualify to have their names added.