Welcome to the 2022-23 school year! It is wonderful to see the students for in-class learning again and we all look forward to another year of learning, growth, inspiration and success!
I cannot begin to describe how excited I am for this year. I am humbled and gratified by the incredible work that our educators, administrators, staff, and board members have already put in to make this an amazing school year for our students. As promised, in August we announced our 5-year Strategic Plan, and our pre-start rollout meetings showed me that we are all truly aligned and deeply committed to the success of this plan.
But what does a strategic plan really mean? How does a district school strategic plan affect your day-to-day life? And more importantly, what does our Strategic Plan mean for a child coming home from school on another Tuesday in the middle of January?
Strategic plans are so much more than financial bottom-line driven goals. And while financial planning is one pillar of our plan, I am so proud that we are committed to an ambitious 4-pillar holistic plan driven by our school district’s stated mission and vision: that we inspire every student every day with quality instruction that promotes creativity, growth, character, individual strengths and a lifelong love of learning so that every child in Anacortes can rise to their fullest potential, embrace the future, and make a difference.
The four pillars of our Strategic Plan are:
Quality Instruction and Curriculum
It goes without saying that the largest impact on student learning is quality teaching, both in the school and in the home.
Partnerships
Strong connections between schools and families lead to increased student learning. We celebrate family and community engagement as an essential component of our mission of success for all students. We are committed to accountability to the community for its support of local schools.
Social-Emotional Learning
Effective education goes beyond academic skills. The five components of social-emotional are all critical life skills: self-management, self-awareness, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making.
Stewardship
It is incumbent upon us to take care of our facilities and equipment for our student’s safety, health, and quality of learning. Planning for the future and remaining accountable to the public help us fulfill our mission of providing a first-rate education to our students and families.
However, much like setting personal goals, a strategic plan is only as powerful as our commitment to it. When I say ‘our,’ I include you. Throughout the year, I’ll be talking more about each pillar, our progress, and how you can help. Forgive the oft-quoted phrase, but it really does take a village - an entire community - to guide, support and teach a child to be the best possible adult they can be. Those of us who have dedicated our lives to education have been given a gift of a lot of time with students, and during their time with us, we want them to be safe, supported, happy and have the best learning environment and teaching we can give them. As a community, we should all want that. And we are counting on all of you to be pillars - advocates - with us.
So back to the bottom-line questions from earlier: what does a strategic plan really mean to you? How does a school district strategic plan affect your day-to-day life? And what does the success of our strategic plan mean for your child coming home from school on another Tuesday in the middle of January?
Prior to the start of this term, I asked this question of our educators, administrators, and staff and here is what they said: Happy. Engaged. Inspired. Challenged.
Opportunities to engage with district budget process
The Anacortes School District is engaged in a proactive budget planning process to develop its 2023-24 budget and beyond. The district’s current $45 million budget utilizes nearly $2 million in district reserves, due to declining enrollment, increased costs across all departments, and loss of one-time federal COVID funding. The district is working proactively to identify cost savings to balance the district’s budget, and will also have some difficult decisions to make this year. The shortfall currently represents about 6 percent of the district’s budget.
Staff, families, and community members will have multiple opportunities to be involved in the process, provide feedback, and ask questions.
The district will hold multiple budget community forums throughout the year. The district is also putting together a Budget Advisory Council to inform the district’s decision-making process to balance the budget.
Budget Advisory Council
We are seeking members to serve on a 15-person advisory council. The council will be made up of current staff, students, families, and community members. If you are interested in applying, please fill out an application by Monday, September 19. Bargaining unit members should reach out to your union lead if you are interested in serving.
Budget Advisory Council Application
The Budget Advisory Council meetings will also be open to the public to view the process. The first meeting will be held on September 29, 5:15-6:45 p.m. All subsequent meetings will be held on Thursday evenings throughout the school year.
Public Forums
The district will also hold community forum meetings on the budget throughout the year. These will be advertised through the district’s website, Facebook page, and Education Insider newsletters. Stay tuned!
Questions? Mike Sullivan, Executive Director of Finance & Operations, (360) 503-1213 or masullivan@asd103.org
Secondary Scheduling Study
This year the district will be studying the secondary schedules (i.e., number of periods in the day, etc.). This does not include start and end times.
Why? AMS and AHS share students and staff. We need to study the secondary schedules to create coherence and fiscally responsive decisions resulting in better student experiences.
There will be an Internal Committee comprised of staff and an Advisory Council comprised of families and community members. The Advisory Council and Internal Committee will provide feedback on the district scheduling study to support student-centered decision-making around staffing and budget.
Please submit your interest by September 23, 2023.
- If you are a family or community member interested in participating in the Advisory Council, submit your interest via the Advisory Council Interest Survey.
- If you are a staff member interested in participating in the Internal Committee, submit your interest via the lnternal Secondary Scheduling Committee Interest Survey.
Meetings will be hosted from October through January. Dates will be provided when selection decisions are made by the first week in October.
