With a full spring in the books, the Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt took time to reflect and analyze the initiatives witnessed in the field and across the state since January.
Truitt briefly covered the “now what” in the May State Board of Education meeting.
“How can we scale up the pockets of excellence we have seen,” Truitt shared. “My team and I are working to figure out how we can leverage the expertise of what we see across the state. …. We are committed to working out how we are going to take what we see and hear and improve outcomes for all kids.”
Reflecting on the past six months, Truitt shared about her experience learning and listening to so many remarkable educators and school leaders that have continued to put students first throughout their challenges faced.
A message from Superintendent Truitt, as delivered during May’s State Board of Education meeting:
When I was sworn in as superintendent, I introduced the agency to “sawubona” which translates to “we see you”. The customary response is “yebo, sawubona” meaning “yes, we see you too”. After a year or more of virtual and hybrid learning, this phrase has an even greater impact – because we are finally physically seeing each other again.
As we wrap up the unprecedented 2020-21 school year, it’s important as an agency that we reflect on the amazing work happening in the field to ensure our students have a bright future as North Carolinians.
Throughout the spring, my team and I have visited numerous schools and districts and met with a countless number of educators who persevered through a challenging year. However, despite the difficulties, they continued to put students first.
We witnessed how students were cared for from pre-k through high school, highlighted by early literacy, community mentoring and CTE opportunities. We heard from teachers and principals about the support the receive to educate students. Overall, we saw the passion North Carolina teachers have for the profession and the willingness to go above and beyond for students.
Throughout these past five months, we have begun to build a communication feedback loop with districts and schools to better support them from the agency. We met with districts and stakeholders to build relationships beyond the boardroom.
Our goal continues to be how we can lift up and support the amazing initiatives from Murphy to Manteo to enrich the lives of every student in North Carolina. We’ve listened and learned from the field on how we can best support educators to enrich the lives of students.
I love that NC State Superintendent @CTruittNCDPI greeted educators this morning with the Zulu greeting, "Sawubona!" It means "I see you!"
I could ask for no better starting point for our leaders. Thank you @ncascd for facilitating the update this morning! #ShineTheLight
— Dr. Rob Jackson (@Dr_Rob_Jackson) February 16, 2021
As the summer learning approaches, Truitt and the DPI team plan to continue their visits to learn about the initiatives across the state as students recover and accelerate back into the classroom.