From the Desk of the Superintendent
As our 2025-2026 school year gets rolling, I know that our students and staff are very excited about all of the year’s new possibilities. But I also know that whenever there’s so much going on all at once, it can be hard to know what really deserves our attention. Plus, with so much extra information also coming at us online, on TV, and in conversations, it’s easy for kids and adults to sometimes feel a little overwhelmed.
If you or your kids ever feel like there’s too much going on and you need to step back and adjust your focus, here are three suggestions to help you block out any distractions and zero in on what really matters.
First, what’s the necessity?
For example, if a lesson or an assignment feels overwhelming for a student, help them step back and look at the bigger picture. What skills or competencies is the class really trying to teach? Why is this knowledge important? What aspects of this project are fundamental to the class — and to the final grade — and which are optional? If you can do this to help a student streamline their focus, they’ll be able to spend more time and energy on the core aspects of the work rather than feeling stuck.
Second, what’s the opportunity?
Sometimes it can be hard to decide what to focus on when so many different possible choices are all vying for our attention. For example, should a student skip attending a school sports event in order to catch up on homework? Depending on what’s at stake, that could be a hard choice. To make it easier, it’s helpful to step back and ask: what good things could happen by choosing option A or option B? For example, choosing to catch up on homework likely means less stress and better academic performance, but attending a school sports event is a chance to strengthen friendships and practice social skills. Which of those is the “right” choice will differ from student to student, but having a process for comparing the opportunities those decisions offer can be extremely useful for making good choices.
Finally, where’s the joy?
As they say, life’s a journey, not a destination. If you’re not enjoying the process of getting from point A to point B, it’s going to be hard to keep yourself motivated. If it ever seems like too many things are competing for your time and attention and you start to feel burned out, that’s a good time to step back and ask: of all the things I could be doing right now, which one will give me the joy, excitement, and positive energy I need to keep going?
As parents and teachers, we need to help our kids develop good decision-making skills. But we also need to help them remember that life is more than just obligations and deadlines. When in doubt, let’s err on the side of making the world a more joyful place.