Education is Not a Taco BY DR. LIZ STANDISH

by Dr. LIZ Standish, NASBO President

One Saturday night after a long swim meet, I headed to Chipotle, starving and craving tacos. The dining room was dark, the drivethru lane was full, and I found a sign on the locked door that said “Due to the labor shortage, the dining room is closed. Mobile ordering only.” The drive-thru sign said “Mobile order pick-up only.” So, I downloaded the app, placed my order, waited a few minutes, and moved into the mobile order pick-up line for my 7:00 p.m. (quickest available) pick up time. Forty minutes later I was through the line and on my way home with tacos. I was, of course, hungry and frustrated but totally fine. While I was inconvenienced, my needs were met. This example reminds me that as a society, we too will persevere through these inconveniences. Recently the following quote struck me… “A Friday note from Goldman Sachs researchers led by Jan Hatzius finds that 3.4 million of the people who left the labor force — meaning they're not working or aren't actively looking for work — are over 55. Roughly 1.5 million of them were early retirements, and 1 million were normal retirements. Those two groups of retirements 'likely won't reverse,' meaning that, out of the five million workers Goldman estimates are still missing from the labor force, about half may never return.” (https://www.businessinsider. com/labor-shortage-millions-retired-early-pandemic-notgoing-back-2021-11) I find myself wondering what the labor shortage will mean for the future of education. How will we retain our current workforce with wages rising dramatically in the private sector and how will we attract new employees out of a limited pool? How will we manage the upward pressure on wages within the context of stressed budgets? When you talk to teachers, bus drivers, custodians, nutrition service workers, and the many other staff members who are so critical to our school systems, you see their eyes light up when talking about the students they serve. The smiles

are so big you can even see them through a mask. Joy from the work we do, the feeling when a child’s eyes light up with understanding or says thank you. It’s that passion for helping others that led them into public education in the first place. However, today we find ourselves constantly tested, criticized, and called out through public assertions often based in misinformation. You do not have to look very hard to find news articles referencing controversy on multiple topics. This recent subtitle caught my attention STANDISH “Schools are bearing the brunt of anger over school mask mandates, critical race theory, and library books.” (https:// districtadministration.com/fbi-tracks-threats-againstteachers-school-boards-masks-crt-vaccines/) School board meetings can be a place of controversy from time to time. The current widespread angst rising to the level of an SNL skit is something not seen before. Tearing down public education is an overwhelmingly dangerous endeavor. We need people who love working in schools. We desperately need people working in public schools to feel supported and valued, internally and externally. I fear the current political climate will weaken the pride we all feel in our roles serving students in amazing schools across the state. It will certainly test it. The pride, at least partially, comes from recognizing the contribution to the community, the contribution to a child’s well-being, and, dare I say, societal gratitude. How do we keep or, if we are honest in the midst of the most trying years of our careers, find joy? Yet another challenge we face. We are all exhausted from challenges. Locking the doors and passing tacos out of the window is not an option. One thing we have learned for sure is students need to be in school, in person, with caring adults in various roles. How do we turn down the negative and turn up the positive? If we can’t get back to where we once were, the question becomes what can we design for the future? In the short term, I challenge each of us to lead by lightening things up, giving ourselves and everyone else permission to laugh, cut ourselves some slack, have fun and spread joy! What we do at all levels in all roles is so critically important not only to students but also to our communities, the economy, and the future. ■