Dear Lincoln-Eliot Families,

I’m sorry to say I will not be returning to Lincoln-Eliot in the fall.  This summer, I will be offered a teaching position in the town where I live and it’s an opportunity I can not pass up.  I had hoped to know definitively about the new position before the end of the school year, but it has been pushed into the summer.

I have thoroughly enjoyed being a teacher to so many Lincoln-Eliot kids over the last seventeen years.  Lincoln-Eliot is such a special school.  I look forward to being here every day.  The kids and the staff are the only reason I’ve made the long commute day in and day out.  As Ruby Bridges told us during her visit a few years back, “This is what schools are supposed to look like.”

Unfortunately, the commute to and from school has become too much of a burden for my family and me to bear.  I typically spend 2 ½ to 3 hours every day in the car.  In foul weather or when there are accidents, my driving time extends far beyond the three hours.  I’m constantly forced to make choices between things like seeing my kids when they wake up and getting to school on time, or between preparing the classroom for the next day and getting to my kids’ games.  My commute is making me less effective as a teacher and as a parent.  It’s not how I can continue to live and work.

I will truly miss you all – especially the younger kids and siblings who stop me in the hall to tell me they want to be in my class when they are in fifth grade.  It’s a wonderful compliment and it’s one of the reasons I’ve stayed here.  I look forward to seeing you all in the future when I’m back to visit my friends here.

Sincerely,

Sean Davan