I wanted to take a quick moment today to thank all of you again for a wonderful school year. While we have had to endure some major changes, we have done so with pride, determination, and trust. When I look back, aside from the budget challenges that we have had, we also have created a new anti-bullying program, written a new performance evaluation system for teachers and administrators, implemented the new "Common Core Learning Standards" for math and English, worked through an energy performance plan that has saved the district thousands in utility costs, negotiated nearly thirteen contracts, and sold property to make budget pressures less severe.
Redistricting Plan - The District also studied redistricting as well as full day Kindergarten. At the Board of Education meeting last evening, the "Option B" redistricting plan and full day Kindergarten was approved for implementation beginning in September of 2013. Both of these initiatives have importance. For redistricting, "Option B" will impact those who live in the areas outlined on slides 29-33 on the redistricting presentation that can be found
here. Now that the Board has made the decision to redistrict, the responsibility falls on me to implement the plan.
The parameters we are looking to consider outside of the recommendations of our consultants are:
- those students who will be in 5th and 8th grades in 2013.
- those students that live on either side of non-main roads that are located on the outer perimeter of the the impacted areas.
- the discussion of the transition plan between buildings and school communities in general.
- to organize an implementation team comprised of staff, Board of Education members, and community members (both from impacted and non-impacted areas) to help get us to where we need to be by September of 2013.
As with anything that we do at West Genesee, extreme care will be used to make sure that all students being transitioned are comfortable with their new surroundings. Please stay tuned.
Full Day Kindergarten - For full day Kindergarten, we will be working with our elementary principals and teachers to revamp curriculum to meet all of the new requirements related to the Common Core Learning Standards. We will then work to inform the public, both inside and outside of West Genesee, that we have full day Kindergarten available for September of 2013. Full day Kindergarten is a first for West Genesee and I am looking forward to the increased achievement and socialization that a full day experience will bring our children.
The future continues to be bright for West Genesee, and I appreciate your support. Although I am working most every day throughout the summer, I am going to take about two weeks off from the blog so you will see another post right after July 4 unless there is breaking news that needs to be shared sooner.
Thanks and have a great summer.
Chris
