Admin

Announcement
Published on Apr 15, 2020 16:11

April 15, 2020

Dearest Millis Small School, Big Family,

First, I want to thank you all for your support and patience during this emergency closure. Principals and teachers report that students and their families have been doing an amazing job adjusting to remote learning! This is a crisis that has affected millions of people, one that has caused us to adjust everything we do as educators and as a society. It is also a crisis that has exacerbated gaps in access to food and other resources, gaps in ability to care for children and support their educational and social-emotional needs at home, discrepancies in who works comfortably from home and who must put their health and their loved ones’ health at risk to keep our healthcare system and society functioning. I am extremely proud of how our Millis Public Schools family has responded to this crisis, working tirelessly to meet students’ needs and reduce those gaps.

That, and the many other ways that Millis families have shown love, support and strength of character over the years, make it hard to announce that I will retire as of Dec. 1, 2020. There is no good time to say goodbye to the people, community and the organization that I love. I had planned, with the School Committee, to announce this earlier but first wanted to ensure that Millis was in a solid place. We have now hired a wonderful new Elementary Principal, and we have begun to weather this storm of Covid-19. My goal is to try to make sure that the transition in leadership is not disruptive and that the strong, caring, collaborative, and creative culture we have consistently nurtured here in the Millis Public Schools continues.

Even though I, at first, did not seek to become Superintendent 12 years ago, I loved the community and I loved the direction we were taking Millis, so when the opportunity arose, I set aside my insecurities and “leaned in”. I believe our district has become a true learning organization, one with teams that are empowered to take risks, be innovative and develop even better ways to serve our students well. It’s a place where students and families are respected and brought into a collaborative partnership of personalized learning. We try to ensure that every member of the “Small School, Big Family” feels that sense of connection and belonging.

There is still plenty of work to do, things to improve, and there is little doubt that we will continue to face challenges. But during my 14 years here we’ve met various challenges, built a new school (!) and taken tight budgets and, with creativity and in partnership with families, we’ve built a great school system TOGETHER. None of that happens without community support! I look forward to working with our School Committee, with your input, to ensure that this transition strengthens the Millis Schools and positions the district for an even greater future.

Thank you all for the many years you have entrusted your precious children to us and supported the work of MPS, dedicated to helping our students become the best they can be. It has been a great honor to serve you and the community.

With gratitude and love, Nancy Gustafson 

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