What a strange year this has been for our graduating students. COVID was certainly their "senior surprise" — but other challenges materialized as well. Their grit in powering through it and asking for social and emotional support when needed yielded realistic strategies they’ll tap when life presents new obstacles and crises.
Moving Forward, Navigating in Real-Time, and Asking for Help
Winding back the clock to the start of high school for the Class of 2021, these rising adults couldn’t anticipate that their graduation year would be characterized by upheaval and uncertainty. COVID shuttered schools, stymied summer plans, and sequestered these students in their homes as they closed out junior year. Returning for in-person instruction after months of going dark on campus was scary. Students and their teachers lived each day as though they’d stepped onto the set of a dystopian, virus-running-amok movie (think, Andromeda Strain or I Am Legend): mask up, queue for temperature checks, socially distance (“leave room for Moses”), report a minor headache, avoid congregating with friends, sanitize everything. But the drama was real and living in it would be an exercise for them, their families, and their entire school community in navigating in real-time what was once mundane but was now potentially deadly: the formerly “normal” routine of attending school.
In knocking down this school year, I would argue that the single most important lesson a school could teach was “how to exhibit grit and flexibility in the face of change.” This entire year, our extraordinary seniors have shown up and showed out. Their teachers’ and their families’ expectations that they keep going — staying focused on the normal tasks of attending classes, completing projects, and taking tests — occupied them constructively, limited the time available for worry, and modeled the behaviors they’ll need throughout life. Through COVID; the appearance of new students mid-year as their families fled high-positivity states; the unexpected passing of our founder and benefactor Sheldon G. Adelson; and the social-emotional isolation that deprived youth of teenage memory-making, our seniors kept moving forward. That motion was inconsistent and sometimes tacked in ways that temporarily appeared backward and herky-jerky. It often included periods in which students tapped out and needed each other, our counselor, their teachers, and our leadership to pick them up, build temporary guardrails to right their headings, and give them (multiple) loving pushes. But, ultimately, isn’t that what a great school community does to take care of its members and live its values?
The 2021 Adelson Educational Campus graduation celebrated our seniors and savored this one final moment together at the end of their journey towards commencement. As I handed each senior their diploma and watched them move their tassels, it resonated with me how much the attitude of these graduates personifies our school mission and exemplifies the spirit of our founders. Thank you to the many team members — parents, faculty, coaches, and leadership — who came together to support our seniors over the past year and throughout high school. We are so proud of these remarkable students and the resilience they have shown this entire year — what they learned here and the mindset they built will apply to every challenge they face in their lives. That why we say that we say that the Adelson Educational Campus delivers an Education for Life. Congratulations graduates!