From the Desk of the Superintendent…Karen McGraw

People make New Year’s resolutions as a way to clarify their personal goals for the upcoming year.  This is also a good time for me to share with you the goals that I am working on for New Lebanon Central School District. 

I resolve to be financially accountable.  Although the District is financially stable, we know since the economy is weak that we need to continually work on this goal.  One step that our School Board is taking is to enter into a feasibility study with Chatham to determine if consolidating our districts make financial and programmatic sense.  By looking into this idea now, both our communities will have the information they need to make good decisions in the future.  The only reason to merge with another district is if our students benefit from improved opportunities and our tax payers benefit from economic efficiencies.

I resolve to improve our students’ academic achievement.  Our students do well but this is an area where we can always improve.  Our programs need to challenge students at every level so that they can reach their fullest potential.  We do this through differentiating our instruction, using technology, and maintaining small class sizes.  Our teachers are working to update our curriculum goals to meet the new state standards.  We are using assessment information to track student progress and provide individualized information on strengths and weaknesses.

I resolve to keep our students safe.  We do this through regularly scheduled drills that provide practice for students and staff to respond to emergency situations.  We also work together as a team.  We make sure that teachers, parents, and principals communicate frequently so together we help our students learn to make good choices.  

I resolve to maintain a school that welcomes parents and the community.  We do this through periodic newsletters, the district website which we just updated to make it easier to use, and offering Continuing Education classes for community members.  We also encourage community members to attend our concerts and sporting events.   The best tonic for the winter blues is to watch our kids in action.

We can be proud of New Lebanon’s educational program.  Achieving these goals will only make our district better.

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