LOOKING FORWARD TO ANOTHER GREAT YEAR IN HERSCHER CUSD #2
The summer months were extremely busy in all the offices in the District. Our custodial and maintenance staff were busy cleaning the schools and doing many needed projects (building dugouts and a press box at the athletic complex and other projects). In addition to this, our secretaries were busy learning the various aspects of our student database system and then implementing all the data necessary for the school year. Our administrators undertook exhaustive training on the new State-mandated teacher evaluation process. I am extremely proud to say all our administrators have passed the (5) tests/modules that they had to take this summer. Unfortunately, not all Districts can say this!
We have many challenges to overcome and prepare for this year. One of main focuses will be to continue the process of aligning our curriculum to the Common Core Standards. This would include the creation of Curriculum Binders for each course/class, common assessments and frequent analysis of student progress. In addition to this, we will be implementing our new teacher performance appraisal system. Hopefully, this new evaluation tool will help our administrators help our teachers serve our students even better. Finally, we are hoping to continue to improve our technology across the District. Currently, all buildings have wireless capabilities which will give our students many new educational opportunities.
Meanwhile, we will also be preparing for the closing of Reddick Grade School at the conclusion of this school year. We will first look at student enrollment projections to determine the number of sections in each grade. This will then allow the administration to begin the process of assigning teachers to specific grades and buildings. Then, we can start to determine how and what we are going to move. Anyway, there is a lot of work to be done, but we will be working diligently to get this information out quickly, so we can make this transition as smooth as possible.
