“I love public schools” was the theme of this year’s back-to-school convocation, an opportunity for the entire staff of 763 to rally before the new school year.

Kicking off the annual program on Monday, Aug. 17, at Poplar Bluff High School was Board of Education President Dr. Cynthia Brown, who was elected to serve her eighth consecutive term in April. She provided her testimony as a lifelong learner.

Growing up in the Melrose Public Housing Projects in the South Bronx, Brown reflected on the key public educators who believed in her along the way. When she decided to go into the nursing field because the highest-level job in her family was a nurse aide, a counselor encouraged her to pursue becoming a physician instead. She completed her initial medical schooling and earned that distinction in 1982.

Before her son Rex Rattler, Jr. was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, she shared, the staff dismissed him from his first private daycare. The Poplar Bluff School District conversely directed her family to numerous resources available, ultimately paving the way for her son’s graduation from PBHS in 2015. Today he assists his father in managing Rattler's Grocery on Garfield Street.

“My son and I are examples of the power of public education,” Brown declared.

During his state-of-the-school address, R-I Superintendent Dr. Aaron Cornman echoed the theme of ensuring public education is accessible to every child, summarizing the teaching profession with three words he wove throughout his speech: pulse, proof and purpose.

To maintain a pulse on the campus community, Cornman emphasized: “As educators, we should prioritize connection over perfection.” Acknowledging the importance of accountability to state standards, the superintendent continued: "Students need proof they can master tomorrow what they couldn't even comprehend yesterday." He concluded by asserting that teaching is a profession of purpose: "Public education serves as the bedrock of democracy in our country."

Cornman expressed gratitude to the 40 new teachers in attendance for choosing Poplar Bluff and commended the returning faculty for their dedication in serving the community. Carrying on a long-standing tradition, the Ministerial Alliance gathered to pray over the school system.

Organizer Greg Gilberto of Northpoint Nazarene Church took the opportunity to surprise former school board member Dave Elledge of the Bluff Church with a special plaque for recently helping to build his 1,000th bed for a child in need in the greater Poplar Bluff Area.

Elledge co-founded the local chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace with wife Luann, a former school counselor currently employed in the attendance office at Junior High, after attending a Bright Futures symposium in Kansas City with R-I social workers when they became aware of the child bedlessness crisis. For more information, click Sleep in Heavenly Peace.

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Cutline: The entire staff of Poplar Bluff Schools gathers in I Heart Public Schools T-shirts following the annual back-to-school convocation last week in the PBHS gymnasium.