Back to School 2026
Like most people, the Accrescent Institute team has been reflecting this month on the notable excitement and challenges of the Back to School season.
While we agree with an emphasis placed on understanding children, their background, their behavior and their experiences - we also want to acknowledge educators and school support staff.
You’ve also been off for a couple months now, being able to be a person. Outside your role as teacher, facilitator, administrator, clerical, and office duties - you can be a person and do things that you want to do.
Now you have to jump back into it and be not yourself as a person, but needing to be that person “for the children”. You need to be that person “for the parent”.
Educators are not just about education anymore. That's been changed considerably, and you’re very much about assisting in the development of the character and the development of the child's self-esteem, self-image.
And yet we often still think about the teacher as a teacher teaching. We think that, in some ways, that’s the easy part of it anymore. It's not just teaching data anymore, you’re tasked with meeting a holistic kind of expectation. You need to shift into this very conscious, intentional, goal-oriented role.
All school staff have the challenge of setting up the environment so you can deliver the benefit of the education. And teachers have to set up the environment with a great deal more individualism in your classroom than you ever had to do before.
Both individualism in the sense of “What is the genetics of the child?” but also the talents of the child, and also the encumbrance of the child. You also need to be able to do that by 15, or 25, or 35 times, all interactive at any one time.
There’s a complexity of working in your unique environment.
Whether you are a teacher, aide, administrator, librarian, custodian, coach or in any other way supporting the students returning to school this fall - we acknowledge and are grateful for your meaningful impact.
You may also be interested in resources for: Early Childhood Education Professionals
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