“There will come a time when you believe everything is finished;
that will be the beginning.” Louis L’Amour
September 11, 2022
Welcome back! There is nothing like the hustle and bustle of preparing for and looking forward to the first day of school. This year marked the 23rd first day of school for me and the excitement continues with the anticipation of each day.
Our teachers welcomed our students back to our classrooms with open arms and I am proud of the efforts and dedication of our staff who contributed to the important events leading up to the start of the new year.
Convocation & Service Awards – Thursday, September 1st was our Annual Convocation and Service Awards Ceremony where we convened our entire staff. We kicked off the school year with our students’ performances reminding us of our purpose in the work we do each day. Convocation was a positive and uplifting opportunity to celebrate the achievements of our faculty and staff.
New Staff Orientation – On August 30th & 31st we coordinated our annual new staff orientation to support the onboarding and transition of our new faculty members with members of our administration, supervisory team, and teacher teams who collaboratively turnkeyed important information. New staff orientation was a huge success.
Professional Development – This past summer was reserved for the continued growth and learning of our faculty. Our staff participated in group and individual learning sessions via our professional learning department. Our leadership retreat enabled our district to assemble our supervisory, leadership, and administrative support staff at the end of August for team building and collaboration activities to further strengthen our team and renew our focus.
Strategic Plan Steering Committee – The steering committee met this past summer and our commitment to strategic planning will continue over the next several months. A new strategic plan will empower the team to identify our priorities and develop a structure and cadence to help us accomplish our goals.
Curriculum Revision & Development – The administrative and supervisory team recently presented the curriculum revision updates at the August 30th Board of Education meeting. Our team provided important insight into the areas of the curriculum revision which was approved by our Board of Education that evening.
Our District approach to the curriculum development process had two phases: Spring Curriculum & Summer Curriculum. The first phase of the Spring Curriculum work was completed by June 30th, emailed and posted on the District website for Board and public review in mid-July, with an opportunity to collect public feedback on the curriculum. The second phase of the Summer Curriculum work was completed by August 1st and similarly emailed and posted on the District website in early August, with review and public feedback collection. It is also worth noting that the District solicited feedback from the community prior to curriculum work being conducted for Social Studies and Comprehensive Health and Physical Education which occurred in the Spring.
Our leadership team provided an overview of the new course curriculum and curricular revisions and updates. The presentation provided an overview of department program goals and outcomes, curricular revision highlights, any new courses in specific departments, and the points of pride we celebrate in our curriculum. The curriculum should be a living document that evolves over time. Curriculum revision should be an ongoing, iterative process where we continuously plan and design, implement, analyze, assess, and evaluate based on teacher and supervisor feedback, student and community input, state standards, and legislated requirements.
I would like to thank our dedicated teachers, supervisors, and administrators who played a significant role in the development and revision of our curriculum. The total number of hours for Spring Curriculum work was 699 and the Summer Curriculum work was 740. That amounts to 1,439 total hours devoted to curriculum development, enhancement, and revision where the expertise of our educators translates into the teaching and learning that we have come to expect and appreciate for our students. Thank you to our teachers and supervisors for their incredible efforts.
There is renewed energy and momentum as we begin the new year and I am looking forward to the progress that is yet to come. Wishing you a wonderful start to the new year.
All my best,
Dr. Rui Dionisio
Superintendent of Schools
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