State of the schools: La Conner board back to school message

The La Conner School Board is feeling energized with a positive outlook as we start a new school year. Over the summer, we worked with interim Superintendent Dave Cram and Director of Teaching and Learning Beth Clothier, to align our strategic direction and decisions to support our staff and students. Open and trusting communication is key as we collaborate on new programs and district improvements to bring fresh ideas to the La Conner School District.

Our financial position is on track to meet the Office of Superintendent for Public Instruction state requirements and school board policy with a positive reserve for emergencies. Our administration staff is now aligned with our school size, reducing staff from six to two-and-a-half administrators. This focuses our funding on teachers, programs and support staff to ensure our students are successful in the classroom. This year is the four-year cycle for a replacement school education, program and operational levy, which we intend to put forward for our community support in February.

You may think with a transition year, the administration team would shy away from tough, big decisions. Instead, they are making strategic decisions to improve the academic performance and social emotional learning of our students. This includes implementing a cell phone-free policy during school hours, offering alternative learning experiences and focusing on special services for students. Our enrollment continues to be impacted by lower incoming kindergarten students compared to outgoing graduating seniors. However, we are seeing improvements as we have two kindergarten classrooms this year.

As a board, we meet weekly with the superintendent, hold monthly board meetings and study sessions and have quarterly listening sessions with our staff, as well as two listening sessions with secondary students. Additionally, we are working to strengthen our relationship with the Swinomish Tribal leadership team and provide opportunities for community leaders to engage with our school district. We were excited to be on campus to welcome students back to school, with Swinomish Senate Chair Edwards joining us. We will be organizing some informal community meetings and you are always welcome to attend a board meeting.

Be Brave, Be Kind,

Susie Deyo, Kim Pedroza, Alana Quintasket, John Agen, JJ Wilbur

La Conner School Board