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Dear Families,
Last evening, we, the LNC Board of Education, met for our September meeting. LNC Board Chair Rick Buckler opened the meeting with the following important statement:
“I'd like to start the board meeting a little differently tonight. It's a non-traditional start, but as you will see, I believe we are at an important crossroads that deserves a notable approach. So with that in mind, I have a statement to read on behalf of the board to the entire LNC community...
Teachers, staff, students, parents and families,
On behalf of the board of directors, welcome back to five full days a week of in-person instruction. Let's take a moment to acknowledge how far we have come. It is truly a reason to celebrate.
I want to thank all of you for adapting and changing with us so many times as we have navigated the pandemic. We have largely kept our community safe and maintained a level of instruction enviable by many school districts. It hasn't been perfect, but it has been comparatively remarkable.
I am incredibly proud of my 5+ years on LNC’s board. I have seen the LNC community come together to build an elementary school, enhance our main campus and navigate a pandemic. However, I’m not proud of the culture change in our community that I’ve witnessed over the last 18 months. We understand that change is difficult, the pandemic is stressful and emotions are running high. But this tension has spilled over to the way we treat each other, and it has to end.
We greatly appreciate so many of you who reach out to the administration with constructive, solution-based feedback on a variety of school issues including carpool, homework, dress code and pandemic-related protocols. We need you. We are better and can make better decisions when we have full awareness from all perspectives. But far too often, we receive feedback in the form of nasty communications and degrading social media posts which do nothing other than damage the school, teachers, administrators and the broader LNC community.
As we start the school year, I commit to you on behalf of the board, that we will continue to have the best interest of our students and community at heart. We promise to listen and to hold ourselves and our leadership accountable to a safe, successful year. We will:
- approach our work collaboratively
- assume positive intent
- give each other the benefit of the doubt
- treat all community members with dignity and grace.
We humbly and passionately ask that you do the same. There will be times when we or the administration make a necessary change or difficult decision that you don't agree with. Please remember that we all share the common goal of doing what’s best for our students and this community. Rather than attacking individuals or spreading anger and negativity, let's positively and collaboratively find a way through it. Together, we can be better.
We are all so proud of our tradition of academic excellence at LNC. That's why we entered the lottery or chose to work or volunteer here. We didn't get to our national and local rankings by accident. Nor did we receive an “A” from the state every year since 2013 through luck. Those things happened because our culture has attracted the best administrators and teachers. They truly care about our kids, push them to grow, and coach them with lifelong skills to find happiness and success. We can continue this tradition of excellence and assure its long term sustainability - but we need to find our way back to being a strong, supportive community where together we learn, lead and serve, as our motto promises. Let's pledge to ALWAYS model a positive approach for our children and our greater community so that our culture can be just one more reason families love to be a part of LNC.”
After the opening statement, the meeting covered many topics, most importantly the health and safety of our students and staff as they relate to the pandemic. LNC administration and Ms. Rebecca Shipman, district healthcare coordinator, reminds you to do the following:
- In light of the pandemic, please keep an eye on your student’s general health and keep your child home if they are not feeling well
- Contact Rebecca Shipman at 704-948-8600 x1200 if your student tests positive for COVID, has been exposed to COVID or is symptomatic for COVID:
- Cough
- Sneezing
- Fatigue
- Headache
- General allergy symptoms
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LNC is holding a vaccination clinic on the main campus on September 9 from 3:00- 6:00 PM; click here to make an appointment for either your first or second COVID vaccination, your flu shot, pneumonia or your shingles vaccine. We encourage you to have your child vaccinated if they are eligible.
Additionally, the board discussed revisiting the dress code policy with a holistic approach and we expect that process to begin this fall.
Due to technical circumstances, we do not have a video recording to share, however we will email the meeting minutes next month when they are approved at the October meeting (10/7/21).
We wish you a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend.
The LNC Board of Education
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