Ben Contine
A parent walks alongside her child. She grips his hand tightly. She is excited, to be sure, but she will shed some tears today as she leaves her child for his first day of kindergarten. Thirteen years later, she will watch that same child walk across a stage, accept a diploma and end his journey through the K-12 educational system. For many Americans, these two engrained images serve as the cultural bookends of our educational continuum. The emotions parents often feel; excitement and fear, hope and anxiety, are similar in both experiences. Sewn with these emotions, is a promise that our entire community makes to empower that child. By doing so, we ensure our own prosperous future. In our community, we codify that promise through our school district and the Carson City Empower Plan (www.carsonccityschools.com).
We all know that Carson City is an incredible community who cares about its kids. That was no more evident than when teachers, students, business leaders, and parents worked long hours to create the Empower Plan. Through this process, three things became evident 1) Teachers are incredible. We must support and empower them. 2) Parents care a lot about the future of their kids. 3) The larger Carson City community, including business and civic leaders understand that our viability depends on investments in young people.
While I invite you to view the entire Empower Plan, here’s the gist; our community’s prosperity depends on future leaders who can innovate, lead, and think. To build the capacity of our students to do this, the Empower Plan lays out five major goals:
• A community in full partnership
• Engaged families
• Healthy students
• A relevant, rigorous curriculum
• A preeminent faculty and staff.
This work is not easy. Budget cuts, economic uncertainty, and increased world competitiveness have led to a future that is unclear. The rate of technology is moving so quickly that most of the jobs that our students will compete for do not currently exist. Despite these challenges, the child’s journey does not stop. They do not have the luxury of waiting for budgets to get better, for the economy to improve, or for us to decide that they matter. Their time is now.
Carson City is home to some of the most talented young people in the world. They come with different backgrounds, interests, passions, and learning needs. Carson City’s unified purpose must be to make the most of every day for each child and prepare them with the skills and knowledge, values and opportunities they need to thrive. In Carson City, we know that the future of our young people is in our hands. I invite you step and be part of a renewed effort to improve the prospects for our young people.
To find out how you can become an educational partner, please call our school district office at 283-2000 or email rstokes@carson.k12.nv.us.
