Back to School: Remember the Faculty!

Like many other Patch readers, I have sent my children back to school for the 2012-2013 school year.  The faculty members of our Tucker cluster schools, however, have been back to school for a number of days.  Some, of course, are 12 month employees who probably felt like they never left!

For the past four years, the people of have found a way to remember faculty members at and at the start and end of the school year.

This past week, we continued this tradition by providing breakfast one morning to the Idlewood Elementary faculty and lunch to the Tucker High faculty.  What a gift it is to see the faces of teachers, administrators, and other school employees light up as they realize they are not alone. 

I firmly believe that small, regular acts of kindness and love make a difference in the lives of people.  We may not be able to change the class sizes, teacher compensation, condition of our school buildings, or the issues with schools budgets, but we can inspire the ones entrusted to inspire the children and grandchildren of our community.  At our church, we have decided that remembering the faculty is a critical tenet of our responsibility to the community.

This year, our church had a new opportunity to serve breakfast to the faculty at , in addition to our ongoing partnerships.  What a treat!  Then, I talked to another pastor in our community, Robert Bookman, and his church, Cross of Grace, served breakfast to the Tucker High School faculty as a part of their care for our community! 

On other occasions, restaurants and businesses in the Tucker community have provided door prizes and small gifts for the faculty members that we were able to deliver as a part of our faculty meals. It is an incredible privilege to share the calling of encouraging our faculty with other churches, neighbors, associations, and companies in our community. The truth is, no one company, church, or organization can encourage and support the faculty and students of our schools.  It will take us all.

I would encourage you, your company, and your neighbors to make serving the faculty members of our Tucker cluster schools a priority this year.  Talk with the principals and PTA leadership in our schools and find ways that you can serve. Get involved in championing not only the faculty, but our schools as a whole.  I envision the day when the faculty members and students of the Tucker cluster are covered in a continuous flow of encouragement that inspires them to their best efforts.  Let's champion all of our schools with a grassroots out-pouring of encouragment.  After all, they need us more than ever!