Dear Community,

Recently I met a man who was traveling with a team of draft horses.  He was preparing to take a 5,000 mile journey that circled eleven of the western states.  The wagon his horses pulled was more of a modern RV on the inside with solar panels that rested on top of the wagon.  A few days later, he visited the school and shared some of his experiences and his horses with the elementary students.  As I visited with this man, he expressed a great love for our country and the people who live here.  He said, "Only in America would I be able to do this.  As I travel and visit with people all over America, I have come to realize that 99% of the people are very good people; what a great country we have."

His comments on the good people of America caused me to realize that too often one can spend a great amount of effort focusing on the little bad and lose sight of the greater good that exists.  This may cause one to take for granted the good that takes place every single day.  I learned from this traveling wagon-teamster that we need to be more aware of all the good that takes place and focus more effort on sustaining the good rather than turning all attention to the little bad that comes along from time to time.  By the way, the elementary students really enjoyed his visit to the school.  It is not often you get to pet an eighteen hand horse that weighs 2,000 lbs.  To learn more about his visit to our school, go to his website at www.wagonteamster.com.

As the school year begins the final quarter and state testing comes to an end, it is a great place to pause momentarily and reflect on all the good that takes place at Sanford Public Schools.  All the successes of the year must not be lost in the bustle of end of school year activities.  Our great staff who work very hard with the students should continue to focus on all the good that can be achieved in the remaining weeks.  The greatest impact upon a child's education is his/her classroom teacher.  Our teachers have many great successes to celebrate and many to continue to focus upon as the school year comes to an end.

It is what we do well that attracts so many out of district students to Sanford Schools.  Celebrating all success is very important to keeping our focus student-centered.  We have a great student body who attend our school.  This is a result of the great parents who continually support them in their efforts.  As we finish out the school year, it is my hope that we can spend more time reflecting on what is good about Sanford Schools and less on the small problems that sometimes cloud our vision.

It isn't often one gets to learn a valuable lesson from a traveling wagon-teamster.  America is full of opportunity!  Great things await our students as they graduate and go out into the world.  America is full of good people who care about others.  Sanford School is a part of the good that exists in our world.

Sincerely,
Kevin Edgar