Colleagues,

A week ago, my wife was sitting quietly on the back porch of her daughter’s duplex. There is a high school just down the street. She could hear the celebratory sounds of graduation, and she began to cry. In a normal year, these would have been tears of joy, but this night she could only feel profound sadness. The week before, nineteen children and two teachers were massacred at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, just days before the end of the school year. They would never walk across a June stage.

These two teachers gave their lives for their students. Fortunately, most teachers will never have to make this ultimate sacrifice. But every day, all the teachers we know give their lives for their students. At no time has this been more true than during the past school year, one filled with trauma as both students and teachers have had to learn how to go to school again. At ConnectED, we are deeply grateful for the thousands of teachers who devote their lives to caring for children and helping them leave school able to realize their full potential. We hope that this summer, more than ever, you will have the time to rest and heal.