Welcome Back Letter

August 24, 2026

This is my fourth Welcome Back letter, which is a bit hard to believe! We have much to celebrate as we launch the 2027 school year. To start, our student achievement data is moving in the right direction, and we’ve seen only a small dip in student enrollment (partly due to an uptick in students choosing to attend GPS through school choice). We retained 93% of our teaching staff, and all professional positions are filled. Most of our curriculum materials will feel less new to everyone, which should reduce the learning curve. Our Wi-Fi speed is much faster thanks to the new access points our tech team launched this summer, and the cell phone repeaters are fully activated at Penn Brook, improving cell phone connectivity. We are poised to have a productive year of learning for our students!

I am often asked if I work in the summer, to which I chuckle and respond that summer is the time that I am able to slow down, catch my breath, allowing me to think, reflect, and analyze how the district is moving forward. This summer I worked closely with district and school administration to do just that. We spent countless hours looking at data from all levels, including district, school, grade level/content area, and classroom. We fine-tuned our data literacy skills by taking a holistic approach to student growth. We explored student data through the lens of multiple domains, including academic, behavioral, social-emotional, health, and family. When we do this, we are able to learn about the whole child and identify areas of growth and acceleration beyond academics. We are very lucky to have great dashboards that compile data that is accessible and helps tell a story.

We are beginning to see the needle move for our students who receive special education services. To build on this momentum, we have spent the summer fortifying our specialized programs. When students walk into their classrooms next week, their programs will look and feel familiar but with new classroom furniture, daily structures and routines, and learning to take ownership of their Individualized Learning Plans in a deeper way than before.

I am excited to see your children in the halls, classrooms, and playgrounds for the 2027 School Year. We are going to continue our focus on student attendance, because as we know, if students are not in front of our teachers, they are not learning! We made huge strides last year; let's do even better this year. Don’t forget school starts on September 2, 2026. GMHS starts at 7:30, and if you have a student at Penn Brook, the start and end times have shifted by 15 minutes (8:55 - 3:00). Enjoy your last few days of summer!

Fondly,

Margo Ferrick