BOE Recognition

It's the final week of National School Board Recognition Month so want to take a moment to publically thank the Grand Island Public School Board Members for their "Grand" commitment to our students.  Our school board members take the responsibility and public trust very seriously, dedicating an enormous number of hours to their work both in and outside of board meetings. Attending school functions, preparing for board meetings, reading financial reports, agendas and proposals, and making a host of difficult and challenging decisions are just a few of the regular activities board members participate in through their service all while balancing a job, personal and family responsibilities.  If you are not familiar with our Board of Education members, see the list and the ward they represent below. 
Ward

Bonnie Hinkle   B

Terry Brown   A

Lisa Albers   B

Carlos Barcenas   C

Dr. Dan Brosz   A

Kelly Enck   A

Roger Harms   C

Heidi Schutz   B

Erika Wolfe   C

I have had the pleasure of getting to know our BOE members through our district retreats, small group committee meetings and attending events. I continue to be impressed with their cohesiveness, professionalism and focus on what is in the best interest of our students. They sincerely care about the GIPS staff, value the insight and expertise of all educators and the community, and fully support the work identified within the district strategic plan. When they read our mission and vision statements out loud, you can tell they believe in it!

Don't hesitate to invite BOE members to your school events, they love to see the impact of their support and the great happenings on our campuses. Be sure to thank them for their service leadership and ensuring that Every Student, Every Day, a Success!

Positive, supportive, caring Thank you, school board members!

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” —Nelson Mandela

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed individuals can change the world; indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.” —Margaret Meade 

5 year Accreditation Visit

Last Thursday, a team of 12 educators from around the state, along with 4 of our own internal administrators conducted a required 5-year external accreditation evaluation of the district.

This visit required all schools to collect and organize evidence around the seven standards identified in the Nebraska Continuous Improvement Frameworks.  You can review the rubric starting on page 32 of this document.  Although a time-consuming process, reviewing evidence connected to the rubric did allow for important and relevant reflection on growth and improvement within the past five years as well as areas for continued focus.

The event started on Wednesday evening with a district overview and work time for the team.  Thursday, participants were divided into teams of 2-3 and visited Starr, Newell, Dodge, Shoemaker, Gates, Knickrehm, GISH, and Barr.  During the visit, they heard an overview of each campus, conducted tours, classroom walkthroughs, and interviews of the students, parents, and teachers.  Obviously, this took a great deal of planning and preparation on the part of our campus administrators and school improvement teams as they not only represented their campus but also the district. And they did so with great pride and leadership!  Although the visiting teams loved the classroom visits and noticed the transformation to student-centered instruction and decisions, they truly enjoyed visiting with the students.  In every building, students commented on how they love their school and feel welcomed and safe.  I was blessed to visit with a few students that day as well as you can see in my picture above.

I would like to personally thank our administrators and staff for welcoming the teams into your buildings and classrooms!  It was truly a "Grand" experience for each an every one of them.  During the debrief the team shared how impressed they were with GIPS and the focus on student-centered instruction and empowering staff to be instructional leaders.  It was evident we are working as a system towards the goals we set in the strategic plan.  Of course the commendations are wonderful, however, we also want to hear and look for ways to continue to improve as a district so we look forward to the full report within the next couple of weeks.  More details to come!

Thank you to Dr. Dexter for organizing the teams and the schedule and to all of you...as your actions impact and contribute to the success of our students every day so they can be prepared to Thrive in An Ever Changing World! 

I think it's fitting to conclude my blog with this quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.