A sincere thank you . . .

Today is the first day without students and far fewer cars in all parking lots. Driving through the community to visit principals provided another indicator for school being out; kids on the sidewalks, waiting at stop lights, riding bikes and carrying skate boards.


For some of us it is the time of year for supervisory conversations, completing evaluations and transitioning to preparation for next year. For example, this Friday we have a meeting with our administrative team to review Classroom 10 progress and continue planning for our August learning opportunities and the return of teachers. We made gains this year on our Classroom 10 journey by focusing on Key Content and identifying best practices for implementing this characteristic.   Our plans for next year are to continue this effort and to hold ourselves accountable for supporting teachers in implementing these best practices.

Today, however, I need to not share the future, but instead reflect on the year and thank the hundreds of adults on our staff committed to the success of the young people that walk through our doors. At last week’s bond committee meeting when people introduced themselves almost every one of the 18 parents in the room said that they had moved here because of the quality of the schools. We should take pride in this and the work that we do. We need to also thank our school board members, our PTAs, our parents, and the community members who support us in this work. It truly does take a community effort to ensure quality learning every day, in every classroom, for every child.

We have much to learn and much room for improvement, a challenge that we understand and accept. But for today, accept my sincere thanks for being a part of our team and the role that you play in our continued success. I thank you for the opportunity to influence our work and to be part of this important journey whose goal is to prepare our young people for success in post high school learning and work.