Greetings Cle Elum-Roslyn School Community,
What an amazing school start we have had. So much energy, excitement, and enthusiasm to start a terrific year. As a staff, we have commited to reinforcing our strong sense of community. Even though it was a really short summer after a challenging and divisive year, our staff has wiped the slate clean of all of our frustrations over the last several years. Staff have openly and warmly embraced new administrators in each of our schools, a new Superintendent, new Board members and a willingness to "go big" this year. It's clear this community is devoted to our youth, and we know this unites us. As a staff, we set a goal this year to reunify this community. I have heard from so many of you, "it feels very different this year". That isn't by luck! Our staff has been very intentional about how we approach this year to reunify .
Our “Week of Welcome” was to reinforce excitement and joy with the new year beginning. We set out to bring a strong sense of belonging, fun, and a smooth transition into school. We wanted to reduce anxiety for our students and recalibrate what a "normal" school year looks and feels like. We spent the summer rethinking how we can meet the unique needs of all students we serve, and close the gap on any learning lost because of the pandemic.
I ask you, as a family, and as a community member to embrace our Week of Welcome as a theme for the year. We have numerous opportunities for you to re-engage in schools and in helping us meet the unique needs of our students. We need volunteers for Watch D.O.G.S., Parent Advisory Committees (PAC), Boosters, Coaches, club advisors and volunteers. We also don't just need substitutes, we are desperate for substitutes. We need drivers, guest teachers, kitchen and custodial staff, secretaries, and paraprofessionals. You can access our requirements to be a substitute here and you can seek other meaningful opportunities to serve by reaching out to each building. As you know there is a lack of employees in all industries, we are no different and we need your help. Besides, there is no better place than to be in schools supporting your children.
We have also listened to our community as we prepared for the year and we are acting on your voice! We reviewed student well-being data, reviewed our community survey input and made some immediate improvements. The Week of Welcome was added and more robust Social and Emotional curriculum has been implemented to help students develop tools to get through these uneasy times. The new Website and a District App have been re-designed which will help you better access information. Communication has increased as a District to help you stay abreast of what we are up to, and all the amazing things that are going on in our schools. Our School Board of Directors has increased access to our Board work and decisions to decrease concerns of lack of transparency. We increased access to our decision making by putting out more communications, and have sought out your input in our decision making. We also decided to continue to offer remote access to our meetings to ensure you may access and participate in our work at your convenience. Lastly, we spent our summer meeting with community members, parents, and students. You shared your dreams and desires for what we seek in our schools. You voiced your concerns about safety and we have revamped our emergency preparations and trained our staff at the end of year in active shooter drills exercises. In addition, we have invested in and posted a Campus Safety and Security Coordinator position (which is still posted) to improve our safety and security campus wide.
All summer I worked hard at being visible and accessible to you and members of the community. Throughout that time, I had some challenges in my back. Unfortunately, right before school started this year, it got progressively worse and has impacted me to the point that I cannot stand, sit or walk. The timing has been terrible but I wanted you to know why you haven't seen me at school events or welcoming students to school. Please know that I am making progress and hope to be back sooner than later. My greatest joy in this work is building community, working with staff and students and meeting parents. It has been nothing short of devastating not to be onsite and attending meetings via Zoom.
During this time, I have hired Tim Berndt who has been a substitute Administrator for us. Tim has worked in our district before (supporting Administrators and staff through the first year of the pandemic) and last year was the Superintendent for Easton. Tim lives in this community and brings energy, excitement and experience to this work. I will continue to serve as Superintendent and continue to guide this District forward and Tim will assist with "boots on the ground" support, supervision needs, immediate decision making in an emergency, and being a resource to our administrative team and staff.
Lastly, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you. My family is grateful for your warm and supportive welcome. While we have been involved in this community since we purchased our home in Ronald in 2018, the welcome we have had by all of you since joining the district has been inspiring, and has reinforced our decision in making this our full time community. We are so thrilled to be here and so inspired by the work of so many in this community. This is going to be a great year, because we as a community have the ability to do great things. Our goal is to make this District the best out there, period. To do that, we need you. Please get involved, be at the table and engage. If you see issues that need to be improved, I encourage you to approach it like we are neighbors and community members first. That we all seek to strengthen this community and we need approaches that unite us not divide us.
Please do not hesitate to get a hold of me if I can help you in any way. I am glad to meet with you virtually, by phone, or engage in email. Looking forward to the amazing things ahead in this District. Thank you for entrusting me as your Superintendent. I take that responsibility seriously and look forward to amazing things to come for our youth.