President’s Perspective - Dr. Stephanie Nehus

New Year, New Focus

Happy New Year! I love working in a profession where we have an opportunity to start fresh and new every fiscal year. It is also nice to get to celebrate a “new year” in both January (calendar year) and July (school year). I am honored to serve in the role of AAEA President this year. As we head into the 2021-2022 school year, I hope each and every one of you takes a little time this summer for self-care – rest, relax, refresh – whether it be at home or away (isn’t it great that we can take vacations this summer?). My focus this year is going to be on traditions, transparency, and communications.

Traditions – we all have them and they provide such wonderful memories. I think about our family holiday traditions and they make me smile. What about our school traditions? This will be the theme of our district administrator’s retreat in July. School traditions provide memorable educational experiences for our students. It is critical that we, as leaders, intentionally plan for these experiences. Students and families depend on us to prepare students for life, and isn’t life all about experiences? Our district will be honing in on all grade levels, kindergarten through twelfth grade, to ensure students are experiencing the traditions of our district and developing a true sense of Trojan pride.

Transparency and communication go hand in hand. As we plan for the upcoming year, it is critical that we communicate with all key stakeholders in a transparent way. The definition of transparent is having thoughts, feelings, or motives that are easily perceived. Think about how we are perceived as administrators. Unfortunately, perceptions are one's reality and perceptions can be good or bad. It is my goal to be clear, consistent, and positive in relaying all important information.

On behalf of the AAEA Board, I invite all of you to the 2021 AAEA Summer Conference. This two day conference is a perfect opportunity to network and grow professionally. We look forward to reconnecting! Thank you for all you do for students, families, and educators across our state! Here’s wishing you a wonderful school year!