Once a year the entire Pre-K 4 SA staff gathers in the same room for Convocation to start a new school year. The theme of this year’s Convocation was becoming. Lately, I have been thinking a lot about this idea because at Pre-K 4 SA, we have been and still are on the journey of becoming.
The Idea of Becoming
Becoming is such a simple word, yet it carries so much weight. Becoming speaks to the idea that none of us is ever finished. We are always in the process of becoming something more, new, or different. It is a word full of movement and momentum, never content to stay the same. Becoming is the heartbeat of growth and the quiet drumbeat of transformation.
Here are three questions to ask yourself:
What if who you are today is not the final version of you?
What if you are still unfolding, still stretching toward your fullest self?
What if…we are all still becoming?
The Vision of Pre-K 4 SA
More than a decade ago, a group of visionary leaders in San Antonio came together as part of the Brainpower Taskforce. They asked a bold question: What would it take to change the future of our city by investing in our youngest learners? They dared to imagine a city-funded, early learning initiative to provide high-quality prekindergarten and lift the quality of early education across San Antonio.
The mission of Pre-K 4 SA has not changed. We will continue to provide high-quality early learning and build a strong educational foundation for San Antonio’s future. This was our WHY then and it still is today; yet the HOW has changed, but this is a good thing.
At Pre-K 4 SA, we have grown, learned, and listened. This includes responding to evolving policies, studying the latest research, and supporting evolving needs of children, families, and staff. What began as four model Education Centers has blossomed into a powerful ecosystem inclusive of professional learning, community grants, and systems-level leadership.
Our schools have grown to serve not only four-year-olds, but also three-year-olds. Our Gardendale site includes children all the way through second grade, and our new South Education Center will soon begin welcoming infants and toddlers. We have become a model of high-quality early learning that spans the entire early childhood continuum.
Pre-K 4 SA is not what it was in 2012, and it will not be what it is today in 2032 because we are always becoming. Each of our schools, departments, and partner programs are living, breathing communities of becoming.
The Impact of Becoming
No team stays static. Every challenge, change, and new colleague adds something new to the dynamic. When we choose to be open to learning, to listening, and to growing, we can help each other become. Working together as an organization, we become more responsive, courageous, and innovative. This leads to transformation.
Now, becoming is not always easy because it can be uncomfortable. We are asked to stretch beyond what we know and to admit we do not have all the answers. But this is exactly what we ask of children daily. Children stumble, try again, trust, and take risks. So, we should do the same, right?
The Goal of Becoming
For this upcoming year, I remind you that you are not finished because you are still growing and becoming. We are all still becoming. Let it guide you through the hard days and the high-fives, the meetings, the laughter, and the learning.
Let it remind you this work we do is shaping lives, which is the most powerful becoming of all. On behalf of Pre-K 4 SA, thank you for being part of this extraordinary journey with us.
