Welcome to "Pathways to the Future!"

I look forward to our town hall meeting at the Avonworth Primary Center to discuss the new things to look forward to in the future at Avonworth.

Let me start with how excited I am to be discussing these things with you. I am confident that you will share this excitement when you learn all there is to know about the great things happening in the future in our schools. My end goal is to make the school experience for our children meaningful so they are engaged, happy, and, ultimately, prepared for college, career and most importantly, life.

We must provide students with the skills to be successful while simultaneously enabling them to be able to apply those skills so they gain a deeper, long-lasting understanding. We also must equip them to persevere through difficult tasks, communicate effectively and have empathy for others. Finally, it is imperative that we provide them with experiences that help them to discover their passions and talents, and to be healthy happy kids. Check out this article by Harvard Professor Tony Wagner for his thoughts on this topic: http://www.tonywagner.com/1016.

In our case, change is being driven by two factors: necessity from our changing demographics and the need to innovate. We know that increasing enrollment is driving several changes in our district, such as the movement of the sixth grade from the secondary campus to the elementary school, and the hiring of additional teachers across the school district. Additionally, there is the driver of needing to provide the best possible education to our students. We know that if businesses and industries don’t innovate, they become obsolete.

Prior to our Town Hall meeting, I will be sharing more blog posts to provide more details about the exciting opportunities and changes that lie ahead. Please join us on February 22 at 6:30 pm at the Primary Center. I look forward to sharing these new things with you, but, more importantly, I want to be able to answer your questions and hear your ideas!