With the days growing shorter and the evenings a little cooler, this means only one thing—the start of another new school year is upon us. I wish to welcome everyone back for what I anticipate is going to be a great school year.
In Island Trees, we are fortunate to have all of the ingredients necessary for the pursuit of excellence and high achievement in our district. The school community is blessed with supportive families, enthusiastic students, and an outstanding professional teaching staff. We will continue our work to ensure all students meet the high expectations and standards set by the New York State Board of Regents.
This summer has been extremely busy for our employees. The Facilities Department has been busy preparing our buildings for opening day on Wednesday, Sept. 9. In fact, we have completed many construction projects from our $7.3 million EXCEL capital improvement plan. These initiatives have already enhanced our buildings and grounds, and have provided new technological improvements for our students and staff; in particular, 64 Promethean Interactive Electronic Whiteboards have been installed. Indeed, these projects will improve the working environment for all.
Even during the summer months, our teaching staff continues to work on new initiatives and attend numerous workshops to hone their instructional strategies. We had over 45 staff members writing new curriculum to support our district-wide initiatives, and many participated in our curriculum mapping workshops so that our curriculum is aligned with the rigorous New York State standards. From this, we hope our student scores will continue to soar and place our children in an advantageous position for future success. Moreover, our dedicated and skilled secretaries and administrators have worked all summer so that the 2009/10 school year will be one to be remembered by all.
On a personal note, words cannot express the feeling I had a few weeks ago when I was introduced as the new Superintendent of Schools. I am honored to serve as Superintendent and will not take this tremendous responsibility lightly. I hope to build upon the outstanding successes and achievements in Island Trees. Our district has a storied history, and I am looking forward to collaborating with our professional team.
In closing, to quote a Latin proverb, “Believe that you have it, and you have it.” I believe Island Trees has “it”—an outstanding group of professionals, a dedicated cadre of administrators, and a wonderful school community who are all looking forward to the first day of school.
