Superintendent’s August Newsletter
by Ed Schmidt
August 13, 2010
Superintendent’s Newsletter
August 20, 2010
As we begin this new school year, I am pleased to welcome all of our students and parents to our Putnam County Schools! It has been fantastic to see all of the students as they come back to school, refreshed from their summer break. We are excited about many new improvements to our Putnam County Schools this year!
Our teaching staff will work on curriculum mapping for our school district throughout this year. This should ensure that our curriculum continues to be aligned with standards and that there is complete articulation from grade level to grade level and from building to building. Teachers will have the opportunity to earn graduate credit as they complete this mapping process. Most importantly, our students will have the best curriculum possible.
As we examine ways to continue improving our curriculum, we plan to offer enhanced online course offerings through Illinois Virtual School. Later this Fall, students at the high school will have the opportunity to take online courses that are currently not offered in our district. This will provide an innovative way to enrich our offerings for our students, and this should lead to improved student achievement.
Our excellent staff has been very busy preparing for this school year. Many teachers have been working on interventions and new strategies to meet our students’ needs. You may hear the use of the words Response to Intervention or RtI. This is an initiative that will help us provide the most appropriate interventions for our students, and RtI will be implemented throughout our entire district. This is another way in which we strive to truly become a beacon of excellence in education.
On behalf of our school district, I apologize for some of the difficulties we have experienced during this first week with the district transportation service. Our administrative team, the bus company, and their drivers will continue to work hard to provide safe and reliable transportation to school. We have all been understandably upset about some of problems that have been experienced, but please know that student safety will always remain our primary focus. Please do not hesitate to let me know if you are still experiencing problems.
As superintendent, I look forward to seeing all of you throughout this school year at our numerous Putnam County activities. We appreciate your tremendous support of our school system, and together we can make this one of our best years ever!
Yours in Educational Service,
Jay K. McCracken, Superintendent
