RSD 13 Superintendent Update

Hello Regional School District 13 Community!

I hope everyone's having a fantastic summer, and I'm thankful to all of you who've taken the time to come in, call, email, etc. Sharing your thoughts, your pride in the district, and your current concerns is what helps us all move forward. What I've heard consistently from everyone is strong desire to return our focus to kids and learning -- and that's just what we intend to do.

I'm proud to send along this first newsletter to you, and I plan to send one along each month to give you highlights of current district news. I look forward to hearing your feedback. And I promise -- they aren't all this long, but it's the first one of the year and I've got a lot of information to share....

We Always Start with Learning:

Summer Learning:

School doesn't stop in the summer! We were able to provide summer programming for 180 students in RSD 13 this year, including Kindergarten Academy, special and general instructional programs. Many thanks to our staff who work through the summer and our families who make the arrangements to schedule their summers around this additional learning time for kids.

New Calendar:

Please remember that we have a new calendar for the start of the year due to the construction schedule -- and that September 3rd and 4th are early release days. Click this link for the Regional School District 13 Calendar for all important dates.

AP Exams: We're proud to announce that 152 out of 174 (87%) taking AP exams at CRHS scored a "3" or higher. This is a passing rate to celebrate, and for many of these students, this means the potential for college credit or moving more quickly into advanced courses. Congratulations to these students and their teachers!

Curriculum Position: The community support for a curriculum director is strong, and of course that aligns with our efforts to prioritize learning. We're adjusting the way this is happening this year by using contracted services instead of a new hire in order to make sure this position is set up for long-term success. There are two main reasons for this: we can have a stronger applicant pool by hiring in the spring and since we're developing a strategic plan this year, by spring we'll know more clearly the knowledge and skills of the individual we need. It's important for everyone to know that the support in the budget for curriculum -- and the work we need to do this current year -- will still continue; it's just going to be facilitated by providers we bring in for each specific, targeted need. This is going to ensure we keep this critical work moving forward while we also set ourselves up for the best future.

Restorative Practices:

Learning happens best when students feel they belong in school, they're engaged in learning, and the climate and culture around them provides them with an environment where they can thrive. The baseline for this -- and you'll hear quite a bit about it throughout this year -- is Restorative Practices (RP). While it might sound like a new name, it's not new. Restorative Practices is simply a framework that will help the whole school community take a proactive, positive approach to school climate and culture and also provide strategies for challenging behavior when it happens. You'll get more information from your school principals and teachers when the year starts, but for now, I've added two short videos (click below) that will help you understand 1. the proactive principles of RP and 2. how RP can help with conflict.

Facilities and Finance:

Celebration of the New Track:

The new track at CRHS is complete, with several fun runs already taking place! If you haven't seen it yet, I encourage you to take a look -- or a jog -- around and see this impressive improvement to our district resources.

Swing Space:

The facilities work for swing space at Strong and Lyman has been going extremely well this summer, and we're currently on target for the opening days of school. We're grateful to our Building Committee, our contractors, Eric Proia (Facilities Director), and Kim Neubig (Business Administrator), for keeping this going like clockwork.

Memorial:

We're completing the final design phase with the architects over the summer, providing the leadership team time to take a final look for the best programming space for kids and learning. Be sure to check each month's Board meeting for regular Building Committee updates.

Federal Grants:

While you may have been reading about federal grants in the news, we're happy to say that the funds previously withdrawn have been reallocated to schools, so we expect to get the federal grant funding we anticipated when the budget was built and approved last year.

Board Updates:

Next Board Meeting: August 13, 2025 6:00 pm in the CRHS library and via zoom.

Clarification on Indemnification:

I've been getting several questions about the indemnification voted on at the last Board meeting. While I can't discuss anything specific from Executive Session, I developed a brief, 1-page overview of the basics surrounding indemnification. It's attached here below for your review.

Assistant Superintendent: Meet the Assistant Superintendent: See picture below to meet the new Assistant Superintendent, Harper, sporting her new RSD 13 bandana. She's a school therapy dog who loves reading with kids, spreading joy, and accepting treats:-) I'm sure you'll see her around!