My View
FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT'S DESK
By Dr. Robert Pellicone
The district is gearing up for a great school year. I am very pleased to highlight for you some of the items we are currently working on to achieve excellence in the Nantucket school system.

Over the summer

months the school committee and I identified initiatives we wish to examine this school year. Each initiative is designed to enhance school performance for our children. Most, if not all, of these initiatives were prompted by the Strategic Plan in 2004, and the EQA report received in 2006.

Behavior management, building schedules, class size and differentiated instruction will be examined this school year by ad hoc committees comprised of staff, community members and students. If you are interested in being on a committee, you can access the information on our Web site (www.npsk.org), or call the superintendent's office (228- 7285, ext. 1150) to make application.

Last year when we opened the school year, several staff members didn't have current certification to teach. I am pleased to tell you when we open this school year almost 97 percent of our staff will have appropriate certification to teach our children. I commend the staff on their tenacity in taking care of this state requirement. All of this goes a long way to ensure that we have more highly qualified staff teaching your children.

You might have read some information in the newspapers about the school facilities. Yes, we are running out of space. A facilities advisory committee completed an exhaustive facilities study and we are doing our due diligence to spearhead long-term facility plans for our district. This study calls for expanding the use of the facility without building a new school. The school committee and the board of selectmen both unanimously voted to send a letter of intent to the state for possible partial funding for the facilities project.

I believe the district must do a better job to provide community outreach to each of our stakeholders and communicate what we are doing to enhance school performance for our children.

This year more information will be forthcoming by publishing a district newsletter four times a year. A new feature on the Web site will be a link where you can ask us about any rumors and we will respond with accurate and factual information. I believe that the better you are informed, the more you will support the district.

Education is a partnership between the community and the district. We must be visionary as we plan and implement programs that will result in a better school system. By working together we can achieve

this goal. I