Letter from AZCASE President

Happy New Year Arizona Administrators of Special Education!

This past year has been a year to remember, a year to forget, and a year of 'firsts'.

It was a year to remember the importance of the home-school connection.  To remember that kids care about learning once they get a device, get a connection, and get to a quiet corner of the house. These roadblocks were difficult for some and convenient for others.  This year marks a unique start of parent and teacher relationships.  Partnerships like I have never seen before.  A year in which trust was a necessity, not a 'nice to have.'

It was certainly a year to forget, to forget about dances, sports, after school activities, and not forget but respond to the loneliness our students may have experienced without their school family or security.

It was also a year of firsts for almost everything in education; first multi evaluation team (MET) meeting on a video call, first faculty meeting in sweatpants, and first time we have placed school logos on face masks. These first have stretched us in ways that don't need to 'snap back.'  Through these firsts, we have experienced better team participation, easier sharing of documents, and no traffic to get from one meeting to the next. We have experienced new training opportunities that reach beyond our traditional participants, teachers leading and administrators removing barriers for those teachers, and an increased sensitivity to others emotional and physical needs.

This year is certainly one for the books.  A memory book that I am happy to put on a shelf, in a storage room, out on a highway that I do not frequently travel.  I then can capture the positives from 2020 as I choose to remember and use them to help lead in 2021.

I wish you and yours a Happy New Year, the ability to take the best of 2020, and the knowledge that you can create an amazing 2021! 

Warm Regards,

Alissa Krantz, AZCASE President