New Year – New Semester:

     The calendar has turned over to 2019 and the schools are back up and running.   The first semester is over and no matter how a student did in the first semester – the second semester is a fresh start and everything starts over again. 

     The new year also brings about the start of a new legislative session in Topeka.  School funding is once again on the agenda as the legislature is working under a supreme court order to fix the funding package.  We will keep an eye on all of the happenings in Topeka as whatever decisions are made will have a huge impact on our local schools.

     As I have discussed on this site many times, the new state school accreditation process is known as KESA (Kansas Education Systems Accreditation).  This is a five-year process and we are currently in year two.   We will have an outside team visit in March and at that time will show the team what we have accomplished over the past year and what strategies are in place to improve in the future.   At the end of the cycle, we will have to show the state what has been done over the past five years and what are plans are in moving forward and improving.   The state will then determine if we get certification or if changes need to be made.   We feel very good about the process and the performance of our students at the current time. 

     The weather people continue to stress that this will be a wet and cold winter.   If decisions need to be made for bad weather, we will do so as quickly as possible.  However, always remember that parents have the final say on whether they send their student out to drive in bad weather.  As we all know – one mile can make a big difference when talking snow packed or passable roads.   We all want everyone to make it to school safely.