Express Gratitude
Our staff members at Tomorrow River Schools have six agreed upon “trust accelerators” for how we treat each other and how we do business. Trust accelerators are another way of saying these are our norms, our operating procedures, or this is who we are and who we seek to be. While all of the trust accelerators are important and factor into a strong community culture, with the holiday season upon us, I want to focus on our final accelerator and that is Express Gratitude.
Relationships are built on trust and many other factors, and gratitude is the gatekeeper for those factors. When people feel appreciated, they are more likely to collaborate, communicate effectively, and find common ground or work towards common goals. Appreciation helps to unite us in purpose and identity. Gratitude is also a requirement for empathy, which is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others.
Our Express Gratitude trust accelerator reads, “We will recognize the contributions and celebrate the efforts of others/ourselves.” As a staff, we strive to model that with each other, with our students, and with our families. The language used for Express Gratitude was very intentional. We did not want to only recognize “achievements”, we wanted the focus to be on contributions and efforts, the daily interactions and doings that make up our culture and build our relationships.
When our students learn to appreciate the efforts of others, they are more likely to develop a sense of community and belonging. Further, that appreciation of others leads to other important outcomes, such as improved emotional well-being of our students. Ultimately we want that sense of appreciation to go beyond the school community to the entire Tomorrow River community.
Our incredible schools are due to the contributions and efforts of many. First, thank you to our students for working hard every day to learn and grow together. Thank you to our staff for being focused on what is best for our students and community. You are dedicated and talented and it is noticed and appreciated. Finally to our families and community members, thank you for collaboration, conversations, volunteering time, and for your financial support to help create the best learning environment for all students. Great schools do not happen in a vacuum, and you all are a reason for our success.
In closing, I would like to share my own appreciation and thanks for the community support and collaboration. Whether I am wearing my Superintendent hat, my community member hat, or my dad hat, I am grateful for the community support and kindness. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the community and be a part of the community. Thank you again, and please help me by sharing your gratitude to those around you. Tomorrow River is a special place, because of all of you.