Hello Parents and Families,
Happy New Year! I hope your Winter Break was wonderful, and that you were able to spend quality time with family and friends.
As we enter a new year, I like to reflect on what's most important and restart expectations. With that purpose in mind, I want to share with you my message to Eastside's faculty and staff. Please see below:
We believe that every child deserves a chance at a great life, and we know that a high-quality education is essential to that future. We serve students on behalf of the parents and families in our community, and we take that responsibility seriously.
Highly effective, standards-based teaching and learning is why our school exists—every classroom, every student, every day. We commit to high expectations, purposeful instruction, and continuous improvement in service of student learning and growth. At the same time, we recognize that education is a human endeavor.
Education is not just the transmission of content; it is the cultivation of human capacity. Rigor matters, but rigor without relationship often becomes compliance, anxiety, or disengagement—especially for children. Students learn best when they know they are valued, cared about, and safe. Strong relationships are not separate from academic rigor; they are foundational to it. Rigor without relationships limits learning. Relationships without rigor limit opportunity. We are committed to both. Our scholars must believe they can successfully achieve hard things, because we are there to help them reach levels they before thought to be unattainable. Why? Because we genuinely, deeply care about each of our scholars and their success.
We know that it takes all of us adding value — collaborating, connecting, and multiplying each other’s efforts—to build the culture, climate, and learning we all desire.
Kids deserve our best. We expect it of ourselves, and we expect it of our scholars. We actively and intentionally improve our practice, knowing that the key is me—my expectations, my instruction, and my relationships with students...I control my impact.
Parents and families, thank you for your continued partnership and support. We cannot be successful without you. Two years ago, Eastside was under consideration for a National Blue Ribbon. Last year, we improved achievement across the board in Math, Reading, and Science. Eastside is a high performing school because our diligent scholars, dedicated staff, and supportive families all work together. We SOAR together! It takes all of us.
GO EAGLES!
Joseff J. B. Smith
Proud Principal
Eastside Elementary School
