Caricature of Superintendent Healey done by a former student.
May 7, 2019
To All Teachers and Support Staff,
As spring starts to finally kick in, RSU 16 has many things to be thankful for as an organization. The high quality of our educational offerings, community events, sporting and co-curricular activities are but a few. The single most important thing I am thankful for, is the highly dedicated and compassionate educational professionals, who walk the halls and the classrooms of our five great schools. It does not matter what job title you have in the district we are all educators in our own way. To say you make the engine go, is an understatement; you are the educational engine of Regional School Unit 16. Without the engine we have no school unit and that isn’t fake news, that is a fact Jack!
You only have to think about the lifelong impact your own teachers and support staff have had on you as a student and now as an adult. For me, that person was Mr. Don Doliber, he was not only my favorite teacher but he also, unknowingly, served as one of my personal heroes, role models, and administrative mentors. As we get older, many of us fear turning into our parents (some of us already have). Even more far-fetched, have you ever stopped to contemplate if you are turning into or might have turned into one of your own educational icons? Do you ever spout “isms” to your students that you can easily trace back to one of your own teachers of so many years ago? Do you find yourself telling bad jokes or stories to your students that might have originated from the lips of one of your legendary former teachers? If either of these things are remotely true in your classroom today, then you just might have turned into your favorite teacher, without even knowing it. We are all products of our past and the teaching profession is no different, so continue to pass on each and every valuable lesson that you have gained from your own teachers, even if they are corny and outdated.
On this special day and week let’s all be mindful of the sacrifice, dedication and love of the profession that it takes to be a teacher, school counselor, nurse, education technician, secretary, driver, foodservice, or custodian in the world today. I’m grateful to be working beside the quality and professional corps of educators that we have here in RSU 16 and our students are the benefactors of your impressive skill set. Keep up the great work and enjoy the praise you get during this week as we celebrate the awesome teachers and support staff of RSU 16.
Sincerely,
Ken Healey