We value these late-start Wednesdays and thank you for allowing us the opportunity to improve as a system. During this time, we are working on four areas of focus - Universal Design for Learning, Professional Learning Communities, Social and Emotional Learning, and Equity. These frameworks, protocols, and strategies serve to enable teachers to provide learning environments that are just right for each and every student.

In addition to these four focus areas, we have adopted a new math curriculum for all levels K-12. At the elementary level, we have adopted K-5 Bridges Math; at the middle school level, we have adopted 6-8 i-Ready Math; and at the high school level, we have adopted 9-10 Reveal Math. Adopting a new math curriculum is a heavy lift, yet our teachers have met the challenge head-on and are teaching the curriculum with fidelity. Already, our students are having robust math discussions that center on understanding the process rather than simply getting the right answer. We are grateful to have a School Board that believes that our students deserve the best math curriculum out there, and offer thanks to the math team that researched, piloted, and made recommendations we do have the best math curriculum available. I’m excited to see our students grow in the area of math over the next few years.

While we are focusing on learning, we are also engaging with our schools and communities. On September 30, we are once again remembering the victims and survivors of Residential Boarding Schools, where our Native children were taken from their families and forced to attend boarding schools alone and away from their families. There were many traumas that children and families experienced during this period of time. If you are able, come and be a part of the ceremony beginning at 10:40 am at Whittaker Field on September 30.

Our district office administrators have set up monthly meetings at various places in the community. We encourage you to join us at any of these meetings and look forward to the opportunity to share with you the exciting things we have going on. We also have many volunteer opportunities for you all and would love to have you join our students in our schools. You can sign-up for volunteering at these monthly meetings, or by calling the office at any one of our schools, or by calling the Braves’ Club.

There is so much more to share, but I don’t want to make this email into a book.

Thank you again for trusting us with your most precious gifts: your children and family members.

Here’s to looking forward to a beautiful fall!

In kindness,
Will Nelson