Hello DSST! My name is Meriwether Joyner, recipient of the 2020 Core Value Award for Responsibility. This is my fourth year at CGHS and my eighth in education. I currently teach AP English and serve as the English Department Head as well as the 12th Grade House Leader. I was touched and honored to receive this award last year, and this year in particular has given me ample opportunity to reflect on my commitment to responsibility as well as the ways true responsibility impacts my work in education.
When I was given this award, I remember thinking it was likely because I had agreed to take on so much last year, wearing more hats than I ever had. And while this may be part of the reason, winning the award prompted me to question what true responsibility was. Was it just doing the work you are asked to do and taking on as much as you can handle?
As I started a new year that challenged my responsibility in many ways, I began to think that there is a deeper form of responsibility that we engage in at DSST. When we take responsibility for a project, a class, an event, and especially a student, we communicate something important about the value of that project or person. When we take responsibility for the people we educate, we name that they belong, and that we are committed to take care of, to nurture, to protect, and to do our best for them. Yes, responsibility sometimes looks like taking on a lot of work, roles, or duties, but true responsibility is participating in the divine act of saying, “you belong, and I am committed to you.” It is saying, "I will take ownership of my actions because of you. I will follow through with what I say because of you. I will remember you when I feel like I cannot give one more piece of feedback on an essay, revise one more lesson, go to one more hall duty, have one more reset conversation." This year has felt heavy in so many ways, but reminding myself of the sacred responsibility I took on when becoming a teacher — not just of lesson plans, grading, and duties, but of a responsibility to my students — has helped me a great deal.
As I considered where to give my donation, I knew that CrossPurpose was an organization that takes responsibility for the citizens of Denver in a way that mirrors what we do at DSST. CrossPurpose is a career and community development program that serves underemployed members of the Denver community including formerly incarcerated individuals. They seek to be a program that goes beyond “the limitations of traditional relief and fragmentary approaches in addressing the deep generational poverty of our neighbors.” In 2020 alone, CrossPurpose graduated 124 people from their program, saw 804% growth in pre- to post-graduation income, and were able to guide 90% of graduates to obtain jobs in their desired career field. In their five years of this program, they have helped over 1,200 men, women, and children out of poverty in the Denver area. Their mission aligns deeply with my belief that responsibility is more than just a task list. It is a commitment to the people in our schools, our communities, our families, and our city.
Thank you to DSST for the opportunity to support another organization in our community that is loudly proclaiming, “you belong, and I am committed to you” with their daily acts of responsibility!