It’s all about student success.  All Oregon Trail children deserve to succeed and thrive, and it’s up to us – the educators, parents, and community members – to make sure they do.

I believe we need to create the conditions to enable all of our children to thrive. We want to be confident in stating – Children Thrive Here! What does it mean to “thrive?” To flourish; to prosper; to blossom.  We want our children to flourish, to grow up valuing education, and to continue to value education as they raise their own families. 

As a school superintendent, I ask myself every day, “To what degree am I facilitating children thriving here?”

Author and teacher Jim Collins said, “Good is the enemy of great.”  When it comes to our students, we shall never be satisfied with “good” achievement.

To move from good to great and ensure that children are thriving here, we must:

·         Create the conditions for children to thrive – a supportive environment for teaching and learning,

·         Provide the essential skills necessary for students to perform academically and compete globally,

·         Provide access to rigorous, relevant, robust and reliable educational experiences,

·         Begin earlier to provide a foundation of learning for pre-K children,

·         Provide appropriate academic interventions, and most importantly,

·         Improve the teaching and learning culture by eliminating the barriers that stifle creativity, and encouraging our educators to take risks and innovate.

Our educators are our greatest asset. They do not accept the notion that any single child may be doomed to fail. We leverage these great educators to provide a rigorous, relevant, robust and reliable education for all children. We are on the right path and serving our children and community well – but we can, and will, continue to improve.

I have spent my first six months as Oregon Trail’s superintendent learning – assessing student achievement, reviewing program offerings, and deconstructing the layers upon layers of what we do each day in our organization. On January 31^st I presented my vision for the District to our Board of Directors, and it hinges on a combination of programmatic advancement and professional development.  

What does programmatic advancement look like? Increased opportunity and choice. It could mean a full day Kindergarten program, a Spanish immersion program, a blended learning environment involving classroom and virtual learning, expanded International Baccalaureate program, comprehensive elective offerings, and more advanced placement courses.

How does professional development help our students move forward? It begins with our administrators creating a climate of collaboration among their staff; creating the conditions to provide opportunity for educators to advance from offering a good education to engaging students in a great education. When educators excel, our kids excel.

As we prepare to open a new 21^st century high school, we have a once in a lifetime opportunity to think creatively about the innovative program options and school choices we could provide our students. We need to be thoughtful and wise in designing effective, efficient, and equitable learning experiences for all of our children.