From the Superintendent's Desk

The Week of August 14, 2009

A CCSD student prepares for the first day of school at the Hootie Homegrown event held Wednesday, August 12.This week, our schools were abuzz with final preparations for a successful first day of school on Tuesday, August 18.  Teachers returned on Wednesday, and classified staff returned today (welcome back, everyone!).  Classrooms are being arranged; SmartBoards put in place; media centers stocked with new books; and bus routes, open houses, and registrations finalized and communicated to parents.   

Back-to-School Hotline On that note, parents, please visit our Back to School page for important information to help you prepare for next week.  You can also call our new Help Line from 7:00 a.m.—5:00 p.m. today, Monday and Tuesday if you need any assistance during this critical time.  We want to make sure that we work with parents to ensure that all students are ready for success on day one. 

 

At the Board meeting on Monday, August 10, Jacquie Kennedy from the City of Charleston presents a t-shirt with a picture with this year's This message was central to our work this week.  At Monday’s Board Meeting, we talked about back-to-school preparations and key priorities as we transition into the school year.  Later in the week, we updated parents and the public on how to prevent the flu, and gathered with families at school supply distributions, like Hootie and the Blowfish’s awesome “Roundup” at Burns Elementary on Wednesday.

The Office of Exceptional Children and Voyager welcomed three nationally renowned speakers this week who shared their expertise on literacy. Also this week, I had a great conversation on public education at the Rotary Luncheon.  I joined community leaders in discussing the ways in which we’ll improve literacy, promote teacher quality, and extend learning time for students this year.  I also had the pleasure of meeting with the esteemed local artist Jonathan Green at a joint faculty meeting between Sanders-Clyde and Ashley River elementary schools.  You could feel the creative energy, enthusiasm and momentum in this room filled with people who truly care about every child—and have innovative ideas about how to engage students and keep them motivated toward success.

I hope to see you this weekend, whether at the “It’s Cool to be in School” event in North Charleston on Saturday, or Charleston’s “First Day Festival” at Liberty Square on Sunday.  I want to welcome our staff back again, and thank everyone who is working this week to prepare students for a better-than-ever first day of school!