From the Superintendent's Desk - September 14, 2012
Last Friday, we kicked off our Trident United Way (TUW) campaign and we closed the week -- as hundreds of volunteers filled our schools -- participating in TUW’s Day of Caring. I have seen some of the pictures and talked with many of the principals who had volunteers at their schools. The impact is amazing and I am thankful to all the companies and individuals who gave so generously of their time to help make our schools better environments for students. Our continued work with TUW is a prime example of why partnerships and collaboration are critical to the success of Vision 2016. We have posted a short video highlighting some of the remarkable work that was accomplished by the volunteers at Lambs Elementary School last Friday. Please check it out here.
In other good news this week, Baptist Hill High School was highlighted in the Post and Courier for their Breakfast in the Classroom program, a national initiative that aims to decrease childhood hunger and help students perform better in school. CCSD is one of 15 districts in the nation chosen to participate in this program. Baptist Hill, you did a superb job representing the district!
On Tuesday, September 11, 2012, the anniversary of 9-11, schools across our district observed the day in a variety of ways. America will never forget the innocent lives that were lost that day. We honor the memory of those who were lost as well as those individuals who protect our country in the armed forces where they continue to fight for our freedoms and liberties.
On Thursday, we held our first countywide principals’ meeting. These monthly meetings are opportunities for principals to participate in professional development workshops and for the second year, our principals led these sessions. I truly enjoy hearing from our school leaders about the good things happening at their schools. The year-long focus of these workshops will be our transition to the Common Core Standards and Literacy Based Learning. The single most important factor for school improvement is school leadership. When a school leader embraces school literacy as the top priority and provides support to the staff -- substantial improvements can be made, and will be made.
On the horizon for this weekend is the first Parent University event of the school year, which will take place on Saturday morning at Stall High School. Sign-in begins at 8:30 a.m. and all parents are welcome. Visit our Parent University information page for more information. On Saturday, I will be speaking with parents about Charleston Achieving Excellence: Vision 2016. This is a great opportunity for me to meet with engaged parents and share the strategies we are using to achieve the goals set out in our strategic plan.
Lastly, on Monday of next week, we will kick-off our monthly Superintendent’s Breakfast. CCSD employees are nominated by their peers for going “above and beyond” the call of duty. I look forward to sharing the highlights of this breakfast in next week’s desk letter.
Have a relaxing weekend,
Thank you,
-Dr. Nancy J. McGinley
