It hardly seems possible that Thanksgiving has come and gone and in a little more than three short weeks from now we’ll be heading into winter break. The school year is passing at warp speed. As I visit schools and talk with staff, I know that everyone – students, teachers, principals and support staff – are working harder than ever. It’s no exaggeration to say that this current time involves the greatest levels of change most of us have experienced in our educational careers.

During the past several weeks, Deputy Superintendent Dr. Carolyn O’Keeffe and Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education Kathleen Poole have been teaming with me to visit the staff and parent groups at our schools most impacted by enrollment growth and overcrowding to share the work that is taking place to address current needs and implement a longer term solution.

Like all of our school communities, those heavily impacted schools are managing a sizable load of reforms and changes such as new learning standards, changing assessments, technology deployments, new reporting systems, new evaluation systems and numerous other initiatives. On top of that, those schools are living with several hundred more students than their schools were built to educate. At Frank Love Elementary School alone, over one-third of the nearly 700 students are kindergarteners, with most of those coming from outside the Frank Love service area. Situations like that weigh heavily on a school community. I cannot begin to adequately express my deep gratitude, respect and appreciation for the positive attitude, patience, understanding and resilience I’ve encountered throughout my recent visits.

So in the spirit of the Thanksgiving season, I want to take this opportunity to express my sincerest thanks to the many families and staff members supporting an outstanding, world class educational experience in circumstances that are unquestionably less than ideal.

To you and to all of our families and staff, I wish you a safe and restful holiday season.

Larry Francois is the Northshore School District superintendent, which serves both Bothell and Kenmore.