ADM Parents –
It is hard to believe that the end of the school year is this Friday! I know a school year can be demanding on a family in many ways and it is my hope that you and your family have time to rest and relax at least to some degree over the summer!
Some Recent Highlights:
Graduation 2017
This past Sunday we graduated 115 students in the Class of 2017. It was a great day, and I am so thankful for all of their contributions to our school district. I spent some time with them in the library as they gathered prior to the ceremony. What a great group of young men and women! I will miss them all tremendously.
Summer Use of Track
We have developed a plan to allow access to the track for students, staff and community members over the summer. The track will be open as follows:
Starting Monday, June 5-July 28.
Open Monday–Friday 6:30 am – 8:00 pm (track will be locked overnight)
Access to the track during these hours is at the temporary entrance on the north side over by the discuss pad.
Closed on weekends due to on-going construction and staff not available to open/close on weekends.
Please note the restrictions on what is allowed on the track, like no pets, strollers, etc. This is to protect the surface of the track and lengthen the lifespan. Also, this access is for the track, not the stadium field. Thank you.
We will be working on access in August and beyond as we finalize the building project and have access to the new gate access system being installed.
Thank you for your patience.
Adel City Council – Public Hearing on Tax Abatement on June 13
I will be attending, along with Board members, the June 13 Adel City Council Public Hearing on the tax abatement program. In advance of that meeting, the Board and I will be sending a letter to the City Council expressing our hopes to partner with the City to work on plans and policies regarding growth that serve both the District and the City. Our growth projections over the next 3-5 years are much more aggressive than the projections done in 2013 and our concerns are directly focused on being able to preserve class sizes while we wait for the ability to finance a new school building. Growth to-date has been a positive thing for our district in a variety of ways, especially when we are faced with very small budget increases from the state of Iowa. We are looking forward to these continued conversations about growth planning and the impact on our district.
District School Improvement Advisory Committee Meeting
A group of fourteen members of our SIAC met on Monday night. Agenda included an update on our Technology-Rich Classrooms Learning Initiative. A planning update was provided regarding our efforts to launch a 1:1 device ratio in grades 3-12 and a 2:1 ratio in PS-2 starting in the fall of 2018, including the professional development in place for next year.
We also discussed some of the major characteristics of Professional Learning Communities, including a focus on learning, collaborative teams, and use of results to guide our work. A discussion also centered around our mission of ensuring ALL students learn at high levels.
These two efforts – PLCs and Technology – are the two major areas of focus for our district next year and beyond. We need to have the strength to stay focused on a small number of priorities so we can maximize our efforts and not become fragmented in our work. Exciting times for us at ADM and I believe that in 3-5 years we will be THE model school district in Iowa in both of these areas!
Have a great finish to the week, and a great Memorial Day Weekend! Get some rest soon, enjoy family, get your kids (no matter their age) to the library or bookstore and load up on good stuff to read over the summer! Thanks for trusting us with your children.
Sincerely,
Greg