Onward to Thanksgiving

This year, the manner in which we celebrate Thanksgiving may be different but the tradition of giving thanks remains in our hearts and minds. As the Superintendent, I am thankful to all the various members that make up the professional learning community of Lawrence. The mission of Lawrence is to ensure all learners reach their potential and together our community is moving onward, watching learners progress academically in the midst of the most challenging time. That is certainly a reason to be thankful.

I wish you and your family a healthy Thanksgiving.

Dr.Pedersen

Each building recently held or will be holding Parent Teacher Conferences. This year they are held virtually and the participation rate in all the buildings to date has been about 90%. If you were unable to connect with your chid(ren)'s teachers they will reach out to arrange another time or you can email the mail offices. The connection at parent teacher conferences can develop an increased understanding of the goals set for children to achieve grade level standards and high school credits.

In addition to conferences, we thank our families who have attended the tech talks trainings and the wellness workshops. Additional trainings are offered monthly so please check your school’s website. If there’s any additional training topics you would like, please email me your ideas!

The importance of strong education is well researched. Researchers attempt to document and develop best practices to improve educational outcomes. In the rapid changes of 2020 it is clear that the leaders in education are found on the "front lines", modifying, adjusting, and addressing the needs of the learners. Lawrence leads in the quantity and quality of both full remote and concurrent ( live students and remote students together) teaching. This is evidenced in the attendance and attentiveness of our students. The switch from traditional pre-COVID methods of teaching has been an enormous weight on families, students, teachers, leaders, and staff; all of whom have carried on beautifully on behalf of fulfilling the Lawrence mission and supporting success.

Nobody wants to do ‘this’. We all miss pre COVID day and students certainly miss the "favorite' parts of a typical school day. Gathering before and after class, lunchrooms, gymnasium PE, band, and sports are among students’ favorites and also among the things on hold. We see our learners dedication to their studies but acknowledge the challenges of changed protocols, cohorts, log ins, and learning under stress. We are so thankful to our learners for rising up to these challenges.

Operating the school system during the health crisis is focused on health and safety for everyone while maintaining access to achieve academic goals. The challenges are felt by the entire Lawrence community. We know that bus delays, bus stop change requests, temporary bus parking, and traffic congestion are areas that we have yet to reach the success that is our goal. The patience all community members are displaying does not go unnoticed. We work daily to improve these areas for our community. We are so very thankful to our community and committed to improvement and solutions in these areas.

With gratitude ,

Dr. Pedersen