Welcome to the 2023-2024 school year. As we finish our first full week of school, it has been enjoyable to see students back in school, learning and building community in our classrooms. Over the first few days of school, I have had the opportunity to tour each school in Centennial. A common theme I heard from staff and students was the excitement of being back in the school routine. I could see the intentional focus of relationship building and community development in classrooms.

Students and staff returning to buildings are witnessing all of the amazing work that has taken place over the summer, thanks to voters’ support of the 2020 Bond. One particular highlight this past week was witnessing a 4th grade class at Parklane Elementary School tour their new gymnasium for the first time and hearing a student shout in excitement, ‘This is a real gym!’ Reactions like this are heartening as our community continues to make progress in creating high-quality learning spaces for our students.

This fall, we kick off our four-year strategic plan, Roadmap ‘27. The point of our strategic plan is to align the District on a shared vision, common goals, and unified direction for our District’s educational efforts for the next four years. To that end, I want to share the following resources to build your familiarity with our plan:

• Roadmap ‘27 Introduction Video: CMS Student, Jackson, provides an introduction to the Roadmap ‘27 Graduate Profile and Goals for Student Success

• Roadmap ‘27 Four-Pager: This document provides an introduction to the Roadmap ‘27 Graduate Profile, Goal for Student Success, and Pillars

You'll see how we're aligning our efforts to these categories in this and future Superintendent's Update Newsletters.

There’s much happening in our District and we continue to keep our community updated about our District’s progress in our Superintendent’s Update Newsletter, website, and social media.

I look forward to the year ahead as we work together to support Centennial students. Let’s embrace this new year with open hearts and a steadfast commitment to excellence. Thank you for being an integral part of our educational family. Here is to a remarkable year ahead filled with growth, success, and opportunities.

Centennial School District is proud of the voices and visibility of all students and is delighted to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.

The celebration recognizes the cultural experiences and contributions of Hispanic and Latinx people who represent over 600 languages and dialects.

Centennial School District has nearly 30% of students who identify as Hispanic. Schools across the district will celebrate in various ways through displays, art and classroom activities.

Did you know that National Custodian Day is celebrated every October 2?

Centennial School District is thankful and excited to celebrate our District’s Custodial Team during National Custodian Day. They worked diligently throughout the summer to prepare our schools and buildings to welcome our students, families and employees. Their continued work is a pivotal contribution to our Centennial family.

National Custodian Day recognizes the hard work it takes to keep our schools and buildings clean and safe for all.

Our custodians are our first line of defense on germs for the safety of our students, employees and visitors. We currently employ over 20 custodians across 12 buildings and offices. They care for our schools, classrooms, office buildings and grounds. They cover over 517,000 square feet! I wonder how many miles they walk daily.

Please take a moment to show your appreciation to our custodians who clean our office buildings and schools across our District.

If you know someone who would like to learn more about available custodial opportunities and becoming a part of this great team, visit our Centennial School District Careers Page here.

Centennial School District is honored and humbled to partake in the celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day. This day is observed on the second Monday of October to honor the cultures and histories of the Native American people. Centered around reflecting on their tribal roots and the tragic stories that hurt but strengthened their communities, Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a reminder of how Centennial School District is a diverse community of learners.

A primary focus of our schools, particularly during the first few weeks, is Social-Emotional Learning. Responsive Classroom is a framework Centennial uses to support students' development of social and emotional, as well as academic competencies. It focuses on foundational practices to help build a classroom and school culture of belonging and inclusion. Practices include morning meeting/advisory, interactive modeling, classroom and school-wide expectations, teacher talk, and student engagement.

During staff pre-service week, on Thursday, August 31, 2023, all instructional staff in Grades K-8 participated in day-long Responsive Classroom training. This is our second year of providing full staff training K-8, which included the majority of our staff participating in Advanced sessions, some staff participating in the Advanced Plus session, and new staff participating in the Initial Core Training. Staff will participate in three more day-long sessions in the Fall.

On Wednesday, August 30, 2023, Centennial held its first in-person convocation in four years at the Centennial High School Auditorium. The Welcome Back Convocation is an opportunity for Centennial staff to reconnect with colleagues and help build and strengthen relationships.

Each school and department added energy with a special cheer they developed as a staff. Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Katsuda, provided a welcome to new staff along with highlights of work accomplished by Centennial staff over the summer, and I had the opportunity to introduce our new four-year Strategic Plan, Roadmap ‘27.

I welcome you to watch this brief video recapping our Welcome Back Convocation.

This week, Centennial administrators participated in the first round of Implementation Walkthroughs. This is a newly established routine coordinated in which administrators work in teams of two or three, observing classroom instruction throughout the District.

These walkthroughs are not intended to be evaluative for the individual teacher, and instead, are meant to give a programmatic snapshot of implementation of teaching practices related to culturally responsive and rigorous instruction Roadmap ‘27 calls for in each of our District’s learning spaces.

During this first round of Implementation Walkthroughs, 134 classrooms were observed across each school in the District, followed by administrators discussing themes based upon what they saw and considering next steps to take with their respective staffs based upon what was learned.

Implementation Walkthroughs are intended to continue on a monthly basis throughout the year and throughout Roadmap ‘27.

Four Centennial elementary schools start the school year with brand new gyms for the 2023-2024 school year. Meadows Elementary, Powell Butte Elementary, Parklane Elementary and Patrick Lynch Elementary welcomed students with quite a surprise as they were all introduced to their school's gymnasiums on the first day of school. Students have watched construction for almost two years now and were eager to see their new buildings completed and ready to use.

Students and staff at all four schools have been excited for the updates since learning in 2020 that their schools would receive a new fully-functioning gym equipped with restrooms, water fountains, basketball courts and wood flooring.

The new multipurpose facilities will host all school sporting events and special assemblies. Official ribbon cutting ceremonies will take place later this school year across each school. Additional details will be shared when the plans are finalized.