Today, we hear from someone who is shaping young lives at Je-Neir Elementary—Alexis Johnson. Like other professional educators in the Momence District we’ve spoken with, Alexis is building bridges for learning through the power of relationship. Her Fourth Graders know she is there for them. They understand that they are important to her. And they see empathy, kindness, and humor modeled in her classroom every day. The role of teachers in our society, like Alexis, is absolutely key to our best future as a community, a Nation, a world. And when I have the opportunity to see those shaping forces, like Alexis, in action, and hear the conviction in her voice, I have renewed hope that we are, indeed, building our best future in these classrooms. Those 4th graders at Je-Neir are in for a wonderful year with Miss Johnson, and one day, perhaps, the grown-up version of one of those young voices will appear, as a teacher, on a Podcast like this, to tell an audience how much it meant to them to be in her class all those years ago. And how her enthusiasm and transparency inspired them.