3 minute read
A Letter from the Mayor, Muriel Bowser
ALL OF US Together
CLASS OF
Dear Students,
Whether this was your nal year of high school, your last year of elementary school, or anywhere in-between, I hope you are wrapping up a successful school year and that you are excited to celebrate summer and all that comes next.
As students and as people, you have been through a lot over the past two and a half years. I know that your teachers and principals worked hard to make this school year an exciting return from many months of distance learning. I hope you enjoyed getting back to friends, group projects, specials classes, and after school activities. I also want you to know how proud I—and your community—have been of how you adapted so quickly to new ways of doing things—new COVID testing protocols, new pickup and drop-o procedures, new ways of interacting with your teachers and classmates. But you did it. I hope you will take a moment to feel proud of your accomplishments too. I also hope you will take some time to thank the people around you who supported you through distance learning and then with your return to school.
One thing we know from our experience throughout this pandemic is the importance of working together as a community. As Mayor of Washington, DC, I feel incredibly proud of how our city rose to meet this once in a lifetime challenge. At every stage of the pandemic, Washingtonians of every age, and across all eight wards, have worked together to keep each other safe.
Now, as you prepare for summer, my call to action to each of you is to pick an issue or problem you care about and then nd other people in our community who want to help you create a solution. There is no issue too big or too small for you to care about.
You might want to join the growing number of Americans nationwide who are demanding solutions to gun violence. In fact, you might already have an idea for how we can make our community safer and stronger. You might have heard about the campaign being led by professional women’s sports teams in DC to distribute free sports bras to girls who need them, and you might have your own idea for how we can help and encourage more girls to play sports. Maybe every day on your walk to school you notice a part of the sidewalk on your street that needs to be xed and you want to do something about it. Maybe you’re just about to turn 18 and you’re frustrated about not having any United States senators to vote for and now you
want to play a bigger role in the ght for DC statehood. Again, there is no issue too big or too small for you to care about. Being a Washingtonian is a unique and wonderful experience. Washington, DC functions as a city, county, and state. That makes my job interesting because it means I function as a mayor, county executive, and governor. For you, as a citizen, this also means that there is so much opportunity to make a positive change in your hometown. You can have an idea today and by working with other members of the community, you can bring that idea to life by the summer. And I hope you will! I always tell my team at DC Government to bring me fresh ideas. One thing I know for certain is that our young people have the freshest ideas!
Again, I am so proud of DC’s students. Let’s keep setting important goals, dreaming big, and working together to keep Washington, DC the greatest city in the world, and soon to be the best state in the country!
Sincerely,
Muriel Bowser Mayor
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