February 1, 2023
| As Superintendent Brown mentioned in his message from January 24, we are continuing to highlight our Portrait of a Graduate competencies in the second half of this school year, and I have the honor of being the first staff member to provide and example of one of these traits from my personal experience. |  |
Three years ago, I remember watching the press conference when Governor Mike DeWine announced that students would not be returning to school for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. Like every other high school principal across the state, my thoughts shifted to how we would honor the graduating class of 2020. As a leader, I have always possessed a very collaborative mindset. I did not know just how much that mindset would be tested that spring.
Every high school conducted their graduation that spring a little differently. For the class of 2020 at the high school where I was prior to coming to Granville, graduation consisted of coming into a gymnasium with seven members of their family, walking across the stage to pick up their diploma, having a short zoom session with their teachers (who were watching from home) before exiting back out of the building. The entire process was videotaped and was compiled into a video that was shown at the local drive-in theater to serve as their graduation. Prior to arriving at the theater, the students participated in a parade through the town so the community also could recognize their accomplishments.
As I reflect upon this monumental event years later, all that we did to try and make things normal for the class of 2020 was only possible through outstanding teamwork and collaboration. Each part of the graduation activities had a different person leading that endeavor. While it was extremely demanding and stressful, the difficulty of the process was reduced due to the collaborative culture that already existed in our school. I believe the only way to know how collaborative an organization is, is when adversity strikes. I am thankful that I worked with a team that believed in this model, because without collaboration, we would not have been able to do all we did for the class of 2020.
Just like then, our staff at GHS works in collaboration each and every day to best serve our students. It truly is a team effort to make all the moving parts of our school work. Our staff and students are fantastic people who love to collaborate to make GHS the best possible place for everyone.