Aug. 29, 2014
Living out our HP motto: Enter to learn. Go forth to serve.
Dawson.Orr.7.2.2013 It is my pleasure to welcome you to the 2014-15 school year. Each new year represents a special time in the lives of students, families and educators. This year carries additional significance as the centennial year of Highland Park ISD. As we strive to prepare future-ready students for a complex world that requires them to be entrepreneurial, adaptable, resilient and creative, we draw from the enduring and nobles traditions of a district that for 100 years has inspired its students to action through a simple, powerful call:

Enter to learn. Go forth to serve.

Our traditions are those things from our past and in our present that we truly need to see continued in our future. Their absence would represent a loss of connection to the values and beliefs that help guide us, to the exemplars who have inspired us, and to the common experiences that enrich our lives. Throughout this year, there will be many opportunities to celebrate our commitment to excellence.

Dr. Orr thanks 2006 HP graduates Clayton and Ellen Kershaw for taking the time out of a hectic Los Angeles Dodgers schedule to let their teachers  know what a difference they made in shaping their futures.
Ashley McCutchin and Chad Coffey

Among the traditions are the opening convocation, where all HPISD employees gather in the high school auditorium to honor outstanding teachers and focus on the school year ahead. 

This year, our three speakers inspired the crowd.

Hyer second-grade teacher Ashley McCutchin had the crowd laughing with her memories about being far from the model student growing up.

"Stereotypically, when you think of a great teacher, you connect them with excellent grades, type-A personalities and superb behavior," she said. "I was none of those things. I was pulled for remedial assistance and for speech. And for me, getting on the behavior honor roll was major!"

Ashley went on to point out that, "my academic challenges benefited me in the long run. In fact they were a gift," she said, concluding, "As we all know, life has a way of knocking your feet out from under you from time to time. It is our job to make sure our students are protected with knowledge and life skills so they are able to get back up and fight the battle of life - and win." Click here to view Ashley's speech.

Highland Park High School government teacher and track/cross country coach Chad Coffey recounted his lifelong struggle with stuttering and how colleagues and mentors helped and supported him, allowing him to pursue his dream of becoming a teacher and coach.

He described the ups and downs of 18 months of speech therapy that allowed him to grow from a young man who could barely string a few words together without a stutter to a skillful classroom teacher who was voted HPHS teacher of the year.

"As we start off this new year, what will encourage or inspire you? Is it looking back on influential teachers that you've had, is it the pleasure of working with colleagues who challenge you and who encourage you every day? Is it our past students or our current students - those who come up and say, 'Coach Coffey, I understand that now!' Whatever the case may be, keep encouraging others, be an inspiration, try new things, and together, we'll all have a great 2014-15 school year," Coffey said. Click here to view Chad's speech.

The audience sprang to its feet, giving both the teachers of the year standing ovations.

Then it was time to hear from keynote speaker, 2006 graduate Ellen Melson Kershaw.

Many may know Ellen as the wife of fellow 2006 HPHS graduate and star Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw. But ask a group of orphans in Zambia who Ellen is, and they'll tell you she is the reason they have a roof over their heads and have a school where they can learn. That's because Ellen's heart reaches far beyond herself and her immediate circumstances, as exciting as they are, to Africa, a place she could not forget about once she started studying about it in middle school.

Ellen traced her journey, beginning at Hyer Elementary, where she described herself as frequently being crippled with anxiety.

"Change terrified me," she recalled. "Thankfully, I don't remember most of the epic stories of my meltdowns, but my mother certainly does! She reminded me the other day of the Hyer Holiday Bazaar, when I was found hiding in the corner behind a fern."

Ellen's mother, by the way, is Leslie Melson, our school board president.

Ellen described how her teachers and counselors nurtured her through the elementary school years, preparing her for a bigger world in middle school.

"To my middle school teachers: you taught me about a world of people I never knew existed. I learned that there are people who live all over this world, and most of them live very differently from us. My eyes were opened to poverty and politics and cultures around the globe."

Ellen's interest in the day-to-day circumstances and challenges of those living in third-world countries continued into high school, where she deepened her resolve to one day go out and discover what she could do to make a difference. Ellen also described her budding relationship with her high school sweetheart, Clayton, whose ferocity at the mound was so apparent even then that he was immediately drafted by the Dodgers.

"He was going to live out his dream to play baseball after high school and I knew it was time for me to take my own leap of faith - it was time to consider Africa.



"The first time I held a Zambian orphan, my life forever changed," she said. "It became very simple to me: if I could just make a difference in this one little child's life, that would be enough. For the next five years, I made annual summer trips to Zambia to visit these children. I had formed relationships with them, and had seen growth over the years that made it impossible to not return as often as I could."

After Ellen graduated with a degree in communications from Texas A&M, she and Clayton married, and just a few weeks later, they were on the plane to Zambia, where Ellen introduced Clayton to the place that tugged at her heart for so many years.

The Kershaws have gone on to live out the notion of going forth to serve in a powerful way. Not only did they build an orphanage and school in Zambia, they also pick new projects and partner with nonprofits in Dallas and Los Angeles. One of those is Connecting Point, a newly launched organization devoted to creating an "all-inclusive safe, nurturing and stimulating day program" for adults with disabilities. Many students with special needs who graduate from HPHS go on to Connecting Point. The Kershaws have also authored a book together, Arise, to raise awareness of the plight of the children in Zambia. Click here to view Ellen's keynote speech.

So many of our teachers remember the little girl who hid behind the fern and the lanky boy who loved to play ball. Imagine how moving it was for them to see Ellen and Clayton today, standing on the stage and sharing the story about how their global commitment to service first took root in the classrooms of HPISD. Surely there is no more dramatic tribute to the power of the relationship between a teacher and student.

It is no surprise that the audience jumped to its feet to give a standing ovation - four times! The last standing ovation was for our finale performance, which was the drum dance, performed by 2014 graduate Annie King and the HPHS bagpipers.

As we celebrate 100 years of excellence in learning and service, we thank all of our inspiration convocation speakers and performers, including Peggy Tucker and her orchestra students, who added their musical magic to the morning.

I wish each one of you a wonderful school year, and I look forward to continuing the journey as we enter a new century in Highland Park schools.

Sincerely,

Dr. Dawson Orr
HPISD Superintendent of Schools
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