As I sit down to write this final yearbook message as principal of Lincoln School, I find myself reflecting on the journey we have shared over the past eleven years. Lincoln has been part of this community for nearly eighty years, and long before I arrived, it was already a great school with a proud history and a strong foundation. What has made these years so meaningful to me is not simply what Lincoln has been, but what we have worked together to help it become.
I am reminded of an old parable about two stonecutters working side by side. A traveler approached the first and asked, “What are you doing?” The stonecutter replied, “I’m cutting stone. It’s hard work, but it pays the bills.” The traveler then asked the second the same question. This stonecutter paused, looked at the rising structure behind him, and said, “I’m building a cathedral.” Both were shaping the same stone. Both were using the same tools. But one saw a task, and the other saw a vision.
When I think about Lincoln over the past decade, I think about that difference in perspective. For many years, schools everywhere focused primarily on delivering coursework, completing requirements, and moving students from one grade level to the next. There is dignity in that work. But together, we began to ask a larger question. What if we are not simply operating a school, but building something that prepares young people to lead, to create, and to make a meaningful impact in the world around them? What if academic rigor is paired with entrepreneurial thinking? What if service is woven into the fabric of who we are? What if the arts and athletics are not extras, but essential expressions of excellence and character? What if graduation is not an ending, but a launch?
Even during seasons that tested every school, including the uncertainty and disruption of COVID, that vision did not fade. If anything, it sharpened. We continued to innovate, to raise standards, and to find new ways to serve students well, refusing to let circumstances define what was possible for Lincoln.
Over the last eleven years, I have watched our community choose the cathedral. We raised expectations and strengthened our academic standards. We built new and innovative pathways to graduation. We expanded opportunities in service, arts, and athletics. We created spaces where ideas could move from imagination to action. We challenged ourselves to think differently about what a high school experience can and should be. None of this happened because of one individual. It happened because a community of educators, students, parents, and supporters chose to see Lincoln not just as it was, but as it could be.
Today, when I walk our campus, I see more than classrooms and programs. I see students launching initiatives, competing at the highest levels, creating original work, and stepping confidently into futures that are wider than ever before. I see a school that honors its eighty-year legacy while boldly shaping what comes next. I see a community that understands it is not merely cutting stone, but building something that will stand for generations.
As this chapter closes for me, I feel deep gratitude and even deeper confidence. The vision is shared. The standards are set. The momentum is real. To our graduating seniors, thank you for embracing the challenge to build something greater than yourselves. To our returning students, you are inheriting not just a campus, but a culture of courage and possibility. To our faculty and staff, your belief in what Lincoln can be is what made all of this possible.
As you turn these pages and look toward the future, I hope you remember that the work you do each day matters. You are not simply completing assignments or fulfilling requirements. You are helping to build something meaningful. The stones are in your hands now, and the structure is still rising.
Keep building.
Garrenteed Learning 