From Dr. Hagerman:

Welcome back for the 2012-2013 school year!

Although it is hard to see summer end, the start of a new school year is always exciting time. There is nothing that I enjoy more than seeing our five school buildings filled with students and teachers actively engaged in teaching and learning. As I embark on my second year in the District, I am looking forward to being back in the buildings weekly, and working with the Board, administrative team, parents, and staff to make sure that every student is being challenged and instructed appropriately.

I continue to be impressed with the dedication and energy of our staff. Although you might expect the District to be quiet during the summer, it is actually quite active. Carleton Washburne School and Hubbard Woods School were home to more than 550 students who participated in the District’s summer program, Adventures in Learning. In addition to working at summer school, teachers attended the Summer Institute, and were a part of a host of curriculum planning activities.

The summer months were busy ones for maintenance and tech teams as they prepared for the return of students and staff. The District Office staff introduced an online student registration and fee payment system, and the Human Resources team completed a myriad of projects including revising the District’s evaluation tools. It is thanks to their collective hard work that we are prepared for another great year.

Strategic Planning work also continued through the summer. The Board and administrative team analyzed the survey results and continued to identify areas of concern as well as opportunities for improvement. This work, the values that staff generated during the Summer Institute, and ongoing curriculum and operations projects will be distilled into goals that will be presented this fall.

The District continues to be committed to communication and fiscal transparency. Our highest priority is, of course, Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment. Key initiatives for the 2012-2013 school year include:

• Completing Strategic Planning
• Consistency
• Communication
• Implementing the STAR computer based assessment
• Implementing the revised world language curriculum
• Aligning the language arts curriculum to the Common Core
• Selecting materials for the revised math curriculum
• Continuing differentiation with an emphasis on math

You will be hearing more about each of these throughout the year. Making sure that every student achieves his/her full potential is a priority for all of us, and I look forward to working with you to achieve that goal.

In service,

Dr. Thomas Hagerman