As I enter the fourth year as your Superintendent, I believe we will have our most successful year yet. The district is continuously improving as we strive to provide the best experience and opportunities for our students and employees.

New to the district this year are heating and cooling systems in Hawthorne and Brookside.  We have completed year one of a three -year project to upgrade our six oldest buildings.  The climate control provided by these systems will significantly improve the learning environment for our staff and students.

The district continues to invest in technology as we solidify our network for future growth.  This summer we completed a virtualization project that significantly reduced the number of servers needed throughout the district.  Our buildings are now all connected through fiber optic cable, and as a result, our internet speeds should increase by a magnitude of 10X.  We also have purchased approximately 60 more iPads for secondary students and 240 iPod Touch’s for K-1 students.

Academically, we have expanded our Gifted and Talented program to the middle school level, and we are exploring different ways to meet the needs of all of our high school students.  We have increased our early childhood programming significantly, offering a site-based program at Halverson Elementary.  Throughout the district, teachers are focused on determining essential outcomes for our students and collaboratively developing common assessments to ensure success.

2012-13 will be a great school year.  I encourage members of the public to come out and see the exceptional things happening with our students in school, in the performance arts, and on our athletic fields.

Mike Funk

Superintendent of Schools