Welcome to your union.
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Community.
This was the theme I focused on this year at the NHPS Convocation that kicked off our school year. I described all of the many ways the New Haven community shows up for our students and our schools. I talked about the Back to School celebrations and backpack drives that took place across our city - the Hill, Fair Haven, Edgewood Park, Bowen Field, Newhallville, the Shack, and more. I talked about our newest members who went on community tours during the New Educator Academy in August. These educators saw firsthand our neighborhoods’ strengths and resources, as they engaged in hands-on learning, with the goal of bringing knowledge and opportunities back to our schools and classrooms. I talked about the home visits taking place to welcome our newest learners - kindergarteners and 9th graders - to our NHPS community. And then I reflected on an important question: Who makes these events possible? All of us in this community - union members, parents and caregivers, young people, city leaders and residents - make the choice to communicate, collaborate, and build something better for the common good. Building something better for the common good and centering community is the approach we must take when it comes to problem solving. As much as we celebrate the wonderful things in our community, we also know that we experience significant problems: facilities crises, breakdowns in communication, inadequate resources, increasing caseloads, increasing stress, and compromised educator well-being. These complex problems require real solutions. I don’t name these problems in order to cast blame; rather, I name them so that our community can work to achieve targeted solutions rooted in collective action. As we think about the problems faced by our community, we must identify who is impacted and who has the most direct experience with the issues. These people should be at the table when we work together to build something better - because building something better is possible. Some might say that optimism is overrated or naive, but I don’t think so. Let’s remember: Optimism requires both bravery and action, and our collective action makes an impact. Just as we need optimism as one of our tools, we know we need other tools too, both tangible and intangible: paper and pencils, books and computers, compassion, creativity, and cooperation. When we find ourselves short, as we know at times we will, it is through a community approach that we can address our needs. And when we think about it, we have to wonder why we’re messing around with any other approach. Think about all our community holds:
In closing, I will remind us of what we already know: This work won’t be easy. And yet, as our community reminds me each day, the more we trust in one another and act with clarity, courage and optimism, the more we will all bear witness to the joyful and transformative outcomes that are possible. Believe it. Leslie Blatteau President, NHFT October 2024 [email protected] 
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