Dear Colleagues,

Earlier today, I shared the following message and videos with our middle and high school students, and I wanted to share that messaging with you as well.

Good afternoon, ACPS Middle and High School Students:

I hope you are all doing well today and are looking forward to the weekend. Please take a few minutes to view this video message that I created for you. In it, I talk about the responsibility we all have to look out for and support each other in our school community. In particular, I talk about national and local attacks toward Asian-Americans, some of which are related to our own schools. I ask for your help in addressing such problems. In ACPS, we say we value excellence, young people, community, and respect. I believe that these values are in common with the values you bring from your family to our schools every day. That is part of what makes our school system a great place, and I thank you for that. I ask that we all do our best every day to bring these values to life as we support one-another.

In addition to today’s video message, I also want to share the video I recorded on March 19 to address anti-Asian language and attacks, particularly the saddening incident that occurred in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 16, 2021.

Sincerely,

Dr. Matthew Haas
Superintendent of Schools