“If your school year were a weather pattern, what would it be?”
At the ESS Spring Cross-Network convening on May 20th, educators from across Oregon answered with little hesitation.
“Turbulent.”
“Foggy with moments of clarity.”
“A mix of storms and sunshine.”
Laughter spread across the room, but the reflections carried weight. After a school year shaped by shifting priorities, problem-solving, and constant adjustment, educators finally had time to pause and reflect on what the year had actually felt like.
One of the teams described how community partnerships helped strengthen support within the school during a particularly turbulent season. Another team highlighted how aligned practices across classrooms and grade levels can help students feel more supported as they progress through school.
Those conversations grounded the day in the realities of the work.
Cross-district conversations also gave educators the opportunity to step outside their own systems for a moment. Teachers exchanged ideas across roles and grade levels. Team leads compared strategies and reflected on planning challenges. Administrators talked through the challenges of creating consistent learning experiences for all students.
Again and again, people returned to the importance of having time to learn from one another, emphasizing that ongoing collaboration is key to professional learning and improved student support.
The convening also made room for joy alongside reflection.
Markers squeaked across paper as educators created hand-drawn trading cards during the Joy Lab activity, inspired by strengths, humor, and memorable moments from the year.
(Hover over the images to read more about the trading cards)
After lunch, Educator LoterÍa shifted the energy in the room again. Participants laughed through cards inspired by familiar moments from school life. For a while, the room felt like a collective exhale at the end of a long school year. The activity reinforced a key takeaway: joy helps sustain the work of education and is an integral part of the process.
By the end of the day, attention shifted towards the year ahead. Teams filled chart paper with things they wanted to carry forward and what they wanted to leave behind.
Many conversations centered on protecting collaboration time, creating more welcoming learning spaces, and continuing to build systems that support both students and the adults doing the work alongside them.
Then, the facilitators gave the final instruction: tear off the “leave behind” side of the chart paper and throw it away.
Some teams laughed before doing it. Others paused at first.
By then, the weather question from the morning felt different.
The school year was still ending, the way many seasons do – with growth, uncertainty, and unfinished work all existing at once. But before summer pulled everyone in different directions, the convening had given educators the time to reflect on what they built together and what they want to carry forward into the next season of the work.
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