In the coming weeks, we will welcome our new teachers and our returning Team members back to school. Yes, it is really is that time already. I am so elated to start the new year and I look forward to supporting and welcoming our Team back. Here are a few details that I shared with our Team earlier this week:
- Less is More - The first quarter of the school year will focus on relationships
and re-acclimating to being back in school. I have heard you.
Look for fewer district mandates, especially as it relates to learning
plans and other paperwork.
- More is Also More - This refers to more
opportunities to lead and to earn MORE money. We are excited to use
our American Rescue Funds to improve outcomes for our scholars, families
and the Selma community and to provide much needed support for every Team
member. We will offer numerous ways
to earn additional money and leadership experience.
- New Face of Teaching and Learning - I am SUPER excited to welcome
Dyphelia Thrash and William Powell to their new roles as curriculum
directors. They will bring new voices to our work as we prepare our
scholars for success!
- Talk to Me - Interested in being on my Advisory Team? We
will begin virtually and meet in-person as time moves on. The goal
is for every school/department to represented. An interest form will
be distributed next month, and I can't wait for you to talk to me!
- Safety and Wellness Matter - We are relaunching our strategic plan, A Framework
for Excellence, and it will include a 5th area, Safety and Wellness.
This means that we will prioritize physical and emotional safety and
overall health and wellness. Yoga anyone?
- Remote Learning Days - Check out our school calendar for the next two
years! You will notice that there is a monthly remote learning day.
This will give Team members an opportunity to work from home or attend PD
without disrupting our work flow. The pandemic taught us that we can
accomplish so much by using technology and we will continue to flex this
new learning!
- Celebrate Good Times - Come On! - Did anyone sing that? LOL!
(It's a Kool and the Gang song for you youngsters - CLICK HERE and enJOY). Our Aim for Excellence Awards
will be extended and enhanced this year as we strive to celebrate the
excellence that exists in all of classrooms and departments. You are
appreciated and we will make sure that you know!
This is just a snapshot of what our Team can expect. I look forward to supporting and celebrating as we open school for our scholars on Monday August 9th.
In other news, this month our Framework for Excellence project teams will continue meeting to update our strategic plan in preparation for the relaunch later this fall. We are excited to add a new area to our plan, Safety and Wellness. I will share more about this and the rest of our plan in future articles.
As
part of our efforts, we will host a strategic planning summit in September to
share our updated goals and direction publicly. This will give the entire Selma community a
chance to learn more about the plan and to provide feedback that will then
inform the completion prior to the official relaunch of our Framework for
Excellence.
Unfortunately,
we are seeing our Covid-19 numbers climb and our county is “in the RED”. We
remain optimistic about resuming a sense of normalcy during our upcoming school
year and to support this we encourage our scholars and Team members get
vaccinated. Check out our website and social media outlets for information on
vaccination clinics. We encourage you to
join us in Doing Our Part Everyday. Stay safe and be DOPE!
For
more information, email me at avis.williams@selmacityschools.org
