Superintendent's Update

In the weeks ahead, there will be more opportunities to connect with Centennial, including our upcoming Long-Range Facilities Planning Community Forum. The forum will be an opportunity to learn more about the work underway and share your perspective as we plan for the future of our schools. You'll find more information about the forum in this month's newsletter. I hope you will join us.

October is National Principals Month, an opportunity to recognize the principals who lead each of our Centennial schools. Our principals play an important role in supporting students and staff, strengthening school communities, and leading the day-to-day work of our schools. This month, please join us in thanking them for their leadership and service to Centennial.

In recognition of the National School Lunch Program, which serves lunch to nearly 30 million children each day, all Centennial schools will celebrate National School Lunch Week October 12-16, 2026.

This year's theme, "Cafeteria Circus," is a fun celebration of the 80th anniversary of the National School Lunch Act, which established the school lunch programs that provide healthy, delicious meals to our students. School lunches offer students fruits and vegetables, whole grains and milk, and meet federal nutrition standards limiting fat, calories and sodium in all meals.

Additionally, all Centennial School District students are eligible to eat both breakfast and lunch at school, free of charge! Thank you to our Dining Services staff for their hard work in providing these important meals every day.

Held during the third full week of October each year, National School Bus Safety Week is a public education program to bring awareness about the importance of school bus safety. School districts throughout the country observe School Bus Safety Week each year. This year's event will be October 18-24, 2026. We appreciate our Centennial Transportation staff and the important role they play each day in helping students travel safely to and from school.

Centennial School District is continuing its long-range facilities planning work this year. The purpose of the long-range facilities planning process is to align future facilities work with the Roadmap '27 strategic plan and long-term District goals, while ensuring our facilities are equitable, sustainable, and meet future educational needs. The current process is intended to identify priorities that will build upon previous work completed through the 2020 Bond.

As part of our planning process, we will be hosting a Community Forum on Wednesday, October 21, 6:00-7:15pm at the Centennial Middle School Library. Forum attendees will receive updates on the overall long-range facilities planning process and the ongoing work of our Facilities Advisory Committee, as well as have an opportunity to provide feedback on the District's long-range facilities needs and priorities. We hope you can join us for this important next step in our long-range facilities planning process.

If you plan to attend, please complete the brief form below to help us plan for attendance and participant needs. Childcare and interpretation services will be available upon request through the interest form.

INTEREST FORM: English Spanish Russian Vietnamese Chinese

The Centennial School District is looking to fill four vacancies on its Budget Committee. The Committee is composed of 14 members: seven School Board members and seven District community members appointed by the Board. Their responsibility is to review financial information at Budget Committee meetings beginning in January 2027. Community members appointed to the Budget Committee will serve in this role through May 2029. Committee members may also be invited to attend additional Board Work Sessions that include relevant budget information. Residents within the District may apply for these vacancies.

The Board of Directors is asking interested applicants to complete the application and return it to the office of Business Services by Wednesday, October 21, 2026. You can find the application and more information at www.csd28j.org/budgetcommittee.