Dr. Jennifer Garrison, Superintendent

Vandalia Schools

Summer has a way of slowing us down just enough to notice things we may have missed all year long.

In schools, we often come to know people through a particular role. We know the teacher in the classroom, the student in the hallway, the coach on the sideline, the secretary at the front desk, or the quiet young person sitting a few rows away at an assembly. But every once in a while, we get the opportunity to step beyond the familiar introduction and discover the quieter dimensions of the people around us — the passions, talents, dreams, hobbies, and hidden stories that make a community feel wonderfully human.

That spirit is at the heart of this Summer issue of Vandalia ONE.

Inside these pages, you’ll meet people whose lives extend far beyond what many may know about them at first glance. A first-grade teacher who spends weekends DJing barn dances in ostrich costumes. A freshman finding her voice through heavy metal music and hand-drawn portraits. A sixth grader dreaming of Broadway stages after discovering “his people” through musical theater. A longtime educator whose precision in the math classroom is mirrored in the handcrafted woodworking projects he builds by hand. A school secretary quietly competing in bowling leagues for two decades. A martial arts instructor shaping confidence and discipline long after the school day ends.

You’ll also meet students whose interests and ambitions remind us that talent often grows in unexpected places: on dairy farms before sunrise, on dance stages, through pageants and performance, in engineering labs, nail salons, music notebooks, and countless other corners of life where curiosity and commitment take root.

One of the greatest joys of serving a school community is realizing that no one here is one-dimensional. Every hallway contains stories we have yet to hear. Every classroom contains gifts still unfolding. And every generation of Vandals continues to demonstrate that small communities can produce remarkably big lives.

What I love most about this issue is that it celebrates not just accomplishment, but individuality. It reminds us that our schools are not simply places where students learn subjects. They are places where young people — and adults alike — discover who they are becoming.

Thank you, as always, for supporting Vandalia Schools and the people who make this district such a special place to call home. We hope this Summer issue leaves you smiling, surprised, and perhaps seeing a few familiar faces in an entirely new light.

Have a safe, joyful, and restorative summer.

— Dr. Jennifer Garrison