A Life's Work

A Life's Work
By, Miriam Miralles Mickelson, Ed.D. Superintendent
Sedro-Woolley School District

Mickelson_Miriam16Miriam Miralles Mickelson, Ed.D. Superintendent, Sedro-Woolley School District

A chance encounter can sometimes prove to be a pivotal moment that forever changes your life. I was an impoverished college student in the Philippines when such a moment occurred. I was buying food from a street vendor outside my college campus, doing my best to stretch my meager weekly allowance, when a young boy approached me from nowhere. He looked to be about ten years old. He wore nothing but a grimy, oversized shirt that hung askew on his shoulders, too loose for his rail-thin body. Without pants, it was a small mercy that the shirt dropped below his knees. His bare feet were calloused, and his body caked in dirt. Many tiny spots across his face hinted at a vitamin deficiency.

Miriam_1Miriam during her last year of high school

“Ate, kon di kahurot sa imo pagkaon, pwede ako’y kaon sa imong sobra?” Sister, if you don't finish your food, can I eat whatever is left? he asked. The desperate tone of this plea told me he had not eaten in a long time. Gripped with compassion, I gave him half of my food. It was the beginning of a friendship that would give me purpose beyond my personal goals.

Neil was an orphan without any relatives to claim as family. He roamed the streets of Cebu City by day and slept on sidewalks at night. Every day, for the next five months, he and I ate lunch together. When I also had no money for food, we just talked. He was always animated, kind, and friendly. Because my family still lived two hours away, in the village I grew up in, Neil became my adopted brother.

Miriam_2Miriam with her family

One day, an epiphany struck me: Neil could live with my family in the village. My family was poor, but we could offer him a home, family, and education. Neil readily and excitedly agreed when I tested the idea with him.

I went home that weekend, impatient to tell my parents the brilliant plan. They are two of the most compassionate people in the world, so I was certain they would agree to take Neil in. He would come home with me, as a new member of our family, and finally have all the love and support he deserved.

When I saw Neil, he was waiting for me with an expectant smile and looked up eagerly. “Ate, unsay sulti sa imo Mama ug Papa?” What did your mom and dad say?

“Neil, I—” I started. I couldn’t say the rest. I just looked at him. I couldn’t explain to him that my parents would have loved to help him, but they were adamant another mouth would be too much to feed. I couldn’t tell him they said no. I couldn’t say any of that to him, and he didn’t need me to.

He looked past me, smiling a faint, abstracted smile. He ran away without a word and vanished into the crowded street. My heartache and hopelessness to see him go, though they stole the strength in my legs, could not have compared to his. I never saw Neil again.

Miriam_3Miriam in college, about the time she met Neil

Losing Neil brought me to a soul-crushing realization that my destitute existence was a barrier to my family helping others, a barrier that stopped me from doing something for Neil that could have changed the course of his life. My parents are generous, compassionate people, and yet they felt too hamstrung by poverty to believe they could take in an outcast child. Out of this heartbreak, I became fiercely determined to leverage education to eliminate the barrier of poverty from my life. I could not bear to let down a child in need again.

That painful chance encounter forever shaped my view of education as the great equalizer, and I am immensely grateful to be part of a school district and community that share this belief. Although it is only my second year as superintendent, I can say with the utmost confidence there are countless things about the Sedro-Woolley School District of which I am proud. I wish I had the space here to describe them all.

Visiting schools and workspaces each week, I see displays of unyielding commitment to the cause of making all our students feel loved, seen, and inspired. The caring interactions I see staff have with each other and with students speak to a welcoming culture, where everyone matters and belongs. Everywhere, I see work driven by a pervading sense of gratitude for the opportunity to shape students’ futures. I see creativity, innovation, and hard work creating a system that promotes student learning.

Our early learning program is generally recognized as one of the best in the state because of its sustainable financing and strong basis in child-development research. Our services are supported by an ingenious blend of grants, community partnerships, and other sources of funding. The state points to our stellar early learning program as an example to be emulated. It positions our students for success in kindergarten and beyond.

Our Food Services Department serves healthy, nutritious meals with locally grown, fresh ingredients from local farm partners. Having previously worked in four other school districts, I have no doubt that our student meals are peerless. This year, our Food Services staff worked hard to secure grant funding so that all students can eat for free. I know all too well the challenge of trying to learn on an empty stomach, and this kind of resourcefulness is worth celebrating, especially in today’s economy.

We have robust athletics and extracurricular programs that are well supported by our community, and our students in these programs are engaged and thriving. Their academic performance is as laudable as their extracurricular talent.

Year after year, our Transportation Department receives high marks in the state’s random yearly inspection of bus safety. And our Business and Operations staff work very hard to ensure we have a balanced budget, despite underfunding from the state, which enables fiscally responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars for the sake of student learning.

The school board is a group of highly effective leaders. They care earnestly about student learning and serve the district with the students’ best interest at heart. They listen to the community, and they support the work of our staff.

My experience in Sedro-Woolley has been that I can trust families and community members to partner with us in the education of our students. From highly supportive Parent-Teacher Organizations, responsive police and fire departments, and collaborative local leaders to charitable clubs and organizations, the district has dependable allies to whom we can turn for support at any time.

Like any school district in the country, we have a number of issues to attend to. Public education is rife with challenges, and the task of preparing all students, regardless of their circumstances and their readiness for learning, is daunting beyond comparison. However, we tackle these challenges with courage, determination, and perseverance, and we do so together.

I still often think about Neil. Each time I do, my heart breaks into pieces all over again. To put the pieces back together, I convince myself that he is okay. I tell myself that he is happy and fulfilled. In his honor, I will continue to leverage education to help students fulfill their potential and become the people that they are meant to be: compassionate, civic-minded, and responsible members of society. Thankfully, I am exactly where I need to be to do my life’s work because this community understands the transformative power of education as much as I do.

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