School starts next week, and we’ve been working hard to be ready. We’re looking forward to a great year!

The first day of class is on Monday, but we’re going to kick off the new school year with our back-to-school parade this Saturday. I hope you’ll come out and cheer on the marching band, the sports teams, the teachers and the children who will be participating. The parade starts at 10:30 a.m. and will begin on Holiday Drive, at Magie Avenue. Then it will go down Holiday Drive and Wittenberg Drive, to Nilles Road and on to the football stadium. There we’ll have a pep rally for our fall sports teams.

I would like to extend a warm welcome to Balena Shorter, who was selected by the Board of Education to fill a vacant seat on the board. I have come to know Balena well through her work on the district’s Parent Resource Team and the Racial Equity Team. We appreciate her willingness to take on this most important role in helping to lead our school district.

At last week’s school board meeting, I advised the board that our enrollment numbers are up significantly this year. We are seeing many students coming from private schools, which is undoubtedly related to the economy as families have to make difficult budget decisions. We’re especially concerned about the numbers in first grade, and I asked the board for approval to hire two additional teachers so that we can maintain class sizes within the target range we strive to meet. That is especially important in first grade when students are learning to read.

I made the request reluctantly, because we have a hiring freeze in place for next year as part of our cost control program. But I think it’s important to note that we’ve actually eliminated three administrator positions, by rearranging job duties and by simply asking people to do even more. Those were difficult decisions when we made them, but those savings will allow us to hire the two additional teachers we need, and the board did grant its approval for those hires.

Change never stops, and that is certainly proving true this year. For the first time high school students who are in marching band, cheerleading or on a sports team can substitute that experience for their physical education requirement. “Credit flexibility,” as it’s called, will become increasingly prevalent and we may begin to see students earning credit for learning experiences that take place far from a traditional classroom. Another change we’re working on is determining how we’re going to meet the state’s requirement for all-day kindergarten next year. We can request a waiver if we don’t have the capacity to offer it, but we can do that for only one year.

We’ve hired 35 new teachers to replace those who retired or resigned. That number is down slightly from most years and I think the economy is a factor in that too, as some teachers may be delaying their retirement. Over the past week many teachers have been in school preparing their rooms and our custodians have been putting finishing touches on the buildings and grounds.

School starts Monday! The first bus rolls out before 6 a.m. Children will be lining up at bus stops throughout our community. Please drive carefully and help keep our kids safe.

Published in the Fairfield Echo, Aug. 20, 2009.