Superintendent's letter to the Class of 2026

Dear Graduates,

You have no doubt been bombarded with advice as you prepare for your high school graduation and what comes next. Advice from family members. Advice from teachers. Advice from social media. Advice from graduation speakers. Advice is everywhere this time of year.

Entire books have been written around a single piece of wisdom. Graduation speeches often sound like collections of life’s greatest hits: Make your bed. Call your mom. Learn from failure. Handle setbacks. Define your own success. Write your own story. Take chances. Work hard. Be kind. Dance like no one is watching.

And now, this letter becomes part of that tradition too.

Recently, I asked our BCPS leadership team to share advice they would give the Class of 2026. These are people with decades of experience serving students and leading schools. Many hold advanced degrees. All of them have dedicated their lives to helping young people succeed.

As expected, their responses were insightful, entertaining and occasionally ruthless.

One leadership team member offered this gem when asked to contribute advice in a group text: “When wanting to respond to the group text, don’t.”

Honestly, that may be one of the strongest survival skills of modern adulthood.

If you are asking why you should take advice from people who graduated decades ago and suddenly feel deeply qualified to tell you how to live your life, just know all of this “adult wisdom” comes from people who care about you and want you to succeed. Your teachers, principals, counselors, coaches, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, parents, grandparents and this community have spent years cheering you on toward this moment.

You are graduating into a world changing faster than any generation before you. Artificial intelligence will reshape careers. Technology will continue to redefine communication, relationships and work. Some things that seem important today will fade quickly. Other things will matter forever:

• Character
• Integrity
• Resilience
• Kindness
• Wisdom
• Humility
• Work ethic
• Discernment
• Relationships

Those things never go out of style.

As superintendent, my own advice is simple: What you do today affects all of your tomorrows.

Small decisions become habits. Habits become character. Character becomes direction.

The choices you make now about your attitude, your effort, your friendships, your priorities and your integrity will quietly shape the life you build over time.

Now comes the advice from the BCPS district leadership team, paraphrased into language I hope you can relate to. Future you will thank you for pinning this for later:

• Stay locked in.
• Stay humble even when your aura is up.
• Don’t become a robot. Be a real person.
• Notice the people around you. Main character energy is overrated.
• Get off your phone once in a while. The world is still happening offline.
• Laugh hard and often.
• Call your grandparents. Seriously.
• Some of the best memories will never hit the camera roll.
• Give full effort even when nobody’s liking, posting or reposting it.
• One day you’ll miss the random ordinary moments you barely noticed at the time.

Class of 2026, congratulations.

We are proud of you, excited for you and grateful to have been part of your story.

Now go write the next chapter well.

DR. MIKE SWAN

Superintendent

Burke County Public Schools