Living in Extraordinary Times
Dear Central Academy students and families,
These are extraordinary times.
I am shaken and saddened and relieved and inspired by the decision to keep our school doors closed for the remainder of this school year and transition to distance learning. As a parent of a senior, I feel quite keenly the loss of in-person classes and activities during this particular semester. I am sure many of you do as well. As a person with asthma, I am thankful that our Superintendent is putting the health and safety of our community first. And as an educator, I really miss the students.
In times of crisis our character is revealed. We cannot always control what happens to us, but we can control how we respond to what happens. In this moment, DMPS is choosing to get creative in how we support our students and families.
The Central Academy staff, like all DMPS schools, has been hard at work these last two weeks devising strategies and learning new methods for reaching our students remotely. We have been surveying seniors and all of our students who have signed up for AP exams, for example, to understand the scope and scale of the needs in our community. The Superintendent’s decision to transition to distance learning means we do not have to keep planning for several contingencies and instead can focus our efforts on making this transition as quickly as possible.
Every April Academy has a senior recognition ceremony. Of course, this year it has been postponed. But we will celebrate our seniors! I’ve been speaking with Lily Jordan, our elected senior speaker– even if we go virtual, she’s all in to make this year’s Senior Recognition one for the record books!
These are extraordinary, difficult, amazing times. There are real opportunities here to connect with each other in new ways and to learn challenging new things. At Central Academy we like to say that we hold ourselves to the highest standards, and support each other in our lowest moments. Hang in there, friends. We can get there together.
And students, check your school email.
Be well!
Dr. Gogerty
