If you're ending the school year, knowing that you won't be returning to your current school or role, then this episode is for you.

Hello, friends, and welcome to the Bright Morning podcast. I'm your host, Elena Aguilar.

And in each episode, you'll learn how to lead conversations that build connection and spark change.

Today, I want to speak to those of you who are preparing to say goodbye.

Maybe you are leaving your role as a teacher or as a coach, or maybe you are leaving the district

that you're in, or maybe you are leaving education.

Maybe you're stepping into something new that you're excited about. Or maybe you're

leaving because you have to, because it just isn't working anymore. Whatever your reason,

if you're not coming back next year, then this episode is for you.

Because how we end matters.

So let's get into it.

Some years ago, I left a role that I loved at a school that I had helped to build.

It was a bittersweet choice. I was stepping into the next phase of my career.

But I was also leaving behind relationships and routines and a sense of home.

And I remember walking into team meetings in those final weeks and just noticing how quiet

it felt.

I didn't want to take up space. I didn't want to make things all

about me. And yet, I could also feel how awkward it was. Like we were all pretending that

nothing had changed when something big had changed.

So I mustered up my courage and I said, I want to be thoughtful about how I close out this

chapter.

I want to leave well.

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