Hope is sometimes all that students or players need to get through the next day. It gives them direction and helps them move toward the following week.

Hope can be 100 times better than the world they’re living in at home.

At the start of this year, our administrator sent out a letter with a message about hope. Their message was clear: it’s our job to give these students hope. Every single day, our focus should be on offering that hope, even when it’s hard. These students often come to school carrying deep trauma, and some days, it will turn classrooms upside down. But no matter how difficult, the next day we must offer them hope.

Hope gives a student the chance to see a way out.

But giving hope isn’t just about offering comfort—it’s about maintaining high standards and expectations. We have to help these students and players work through challenges, even when it’s tough and there’s resistance. It’s part of the process.

Hope means biting our tongue when we want the last word.

Hope means giving more chances than a student or player might seem to deserve.

Hope allows a student to see their strengths, their potential, and their ability to create their own path to success. It won’t be easy—there’s a lot for these kids to unpack and learn—but ultimately, it’s the only option we have.

Sometimes, we see the world in black and white—right and wrong. But there’s always a gray area, and we have to be willing to navigate it with patience and understanding in that gray area.

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“Never deprive someone of hope; it might be all they have.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

“Hope is patience with the lamp lit.” – Tertullian

“Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.” – Martin Luther