As we look ahead to 2026, I want to pause and speak honestly to our community.

This past year has been hard.

For many of us, the work of supporting multilingual learners and immigrant communities has felt heavier than ever. We have taught students who are navigating fear, uncertainty, family separation, housing instability, legal precarity, and deep exhaustion, students that deserved to be able to learn, grow, and belong in classrooms that do not always feel built for them. Many of us have carried those stories home at night. Many of us have felt the emotional weight of advocating in systems that move too slowly, or not at all.

And still you all showed up.

Kept teaching.
Kept advocating.
Kept believing in our students and in one another.

That matters.

As educators, we know that language is never just about grammar or vocabulary. It is about voice, safety dignity and language. In moments like these, our work is not only important, it is essential. And yet, none of us are meant to do this work alone, but we so often have to.

This is why professional organizations like ours matter so deeply.

NNETESOL is not just a professional organization. It is a reminder that we are part of a collective of educators across Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont who understand the complexity of this work, who share strategies and resources, who listen without needing everything explained, and who remind one another that care for ourselves and each other is part of care for our students.

In 2026, I hope we continue to choose connection, collaboration and hope, because we have each other. I hope we keep creating spaces where educators can breathe, learn, question, grow, and be affirmed in the work they do every day. I hope we keep centering the humanity of our students and ourselves, even when the world around us makes that feel difficult.

Thank goodness for all of our board members and all of our members.

Thank goodness for colleagues who show up with compassion and courage.

Thank goodness for shared learning and shared purpose.

Thank goodness for a community that understands both the weight of this moment and the power we hold together.

As we move into 2026, may we hold onto hope, not as a vague optimism, but as a practice. A practice rooted in solidarity, in action, and in the belief that language education can be a force for justice, belonging, and change.

I am deeply grateful to walk into this year with you.

With appreciation and resolve,

Kelly Cray

President, NNETESOL