A Busy Start to a Big Year

Wow – the first four weeks of school have been incredibly busy!  Thank you for making sure that your child was not only there on the first day of school but every day!  I’ve been out almost every evening in different board member districts around the city, getting to know parents and students while hearing about the district’s achievements and areas in need of improvement.  

BEthere_COMM2014-021Since my last post, two weeks ago, I’ve spent time working with our school community to better refine our strategic direction by learning and listening. I also participated in a retreat with the Board of Education where we began revising the mission and vision for the district. BTW, there have been a lot of other things in between—from putting out fires, recruiting new talent—to vetting operating models and flexibility options…whew!

Anywho, here’s what the Board and I have created thus far, a draft mission and vision statement, based on what they’ve learned by representing the community and what I’ve learned coming in as the new superintendent:

MISSION:
Through a caring culture of trust and collaboration, every APS student will be ready for college and career.

VISION:
A high-performing school district where students love to learn, educators work to inspire, parents are engaged, and the community has trust in the district.

Visit  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/draftvisionmission to share your thoughts on the draft mission and vision.

MBDimas2Thank you for your candid feedback at the town halls and neighborhood meetings.  I appreciate your attendance and more importantly, your voice.  Our office is gearing up for several big events, including my first State of the Schools event September 9.  

Now that our first month is coming to a close, our goal is to stabilize and work on fleshing out the strategic direction and clarifying with staff the expectations for the year. You’ll see posts about student achievements, district initiatives and events both large and small featuring our students and employees. 

Thanks again for all you have done ATL and APS to welcome me and make me feel at home in Atlanta! I’m feeling so inspired by your energy and support!

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