August is an incredibly busy, but also incredibly fun month as we welcome students, teachers and staff members back from summer.

I hope you and your children have had a great summer break. I know I enjoyed getting to spend more time with my kids this summer. And while it's never easy to say goodbye to long summer days and snow cone season, we really are excited to start another great school year.

Last year, our elementary students made remarkable gains in their reading achievement with more than 8 out of 10 students reading grade-level text, a 16% gain since the COVID school shut down and an historic high-point for D93. We believe that with the funding from the state to support early reading, we will continue to see those results climb each year.

And, 9 out of 10 graduating students earned either college credit or a technical certification while in high school. More than half of our graduates earned 9 more college credits. We believe that nothing shows our graduates are ready for college and the workplace more than taking college level classes and earning professional certifications while in high school. Several of our students who earned industry credentials were featured in news stories this summer.

This growth in student achievement is the purpose of our annual improvement plan. We presented an update version of the plan to the Board that includes growing teacher efficacy and effectiveness as a key strategy as well as identifying the important learning outcomes to build student confidence and responsibility.

You can use the button below to provide feedback to us on the proposed improvement plan.

As we approach the beginning of the new school year, the D93 administration team and school principals met together to discuss and plan new goals for the school year. The group used this opportunity to emphasize the importance of collaboration and teamwork in ensuring D93's success.

Goal-setting is a crucial aspect of the District's development and growth. By defining clear and achievable objectives, we can align our efforts and work towards a unified purpose.

• In July, Richard Hess was appoint to the Zone 3 seat. Dr. Hess officially took office in the August meeting. A native of Ashton, Idaho, Dr. Hess is how director of program development for the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Energy & Environment Science & Technology (EEST) Directorate. He is also the father of a multi-racial adopted family, and is passionate about diversity.​​ (Biographical Information Source: bios.inl.gov/Lists/Researcher/DisplayOverrideForm.aspx?ID=72

• Paul Jenkins was also nominated to serve as the new Board Chair following the resignation of Chad Dance who moved out of Zone 3. We are grateful for the service of both trustees in this sometimes challenging position.
• The Board also approved a resolution to continue to develop and implement mastery-based learning in District 93. Idaho Education news provided an in depth article summarizing our discussion about this resolution.

• The Board also approved a number of policies for 30-day comment and review by the public. Most of these policies have been updated to reflect recent changes in state laws that took effect on July 1st.
• 4240 Parental Rights
  
• 3050 Attendance
  
• 4165 Parent Involvement
• 2140 Student and Family Privacy Rights
• 2340 Controversial Issues and Academic Freedom

Email: news@d93schools.org
Website: www.d93schools.org
Location: 3497 North Ammon Road, Idaho Falls, ID, USA
Facebook: facebook.com/bjsd93
Twitter: @bjsd93

Thank you to our community partners at EIRMC for supporting our D93 Family Update.