Posted on the School District website 7/21/2022
Dear Londonderry School District Families,
I wanted to take this opportunity to say a quick summer hello to you and share some important updates. Over the past few weeks as I stepped into the role of Interim Superintendent and several others began their new administrative roles, I am pleased to share that the transition has been smooth. I am excited about and proud of the summer work that has been going on in our District, thanks to the collective hard work of so many.
Even though the traditional school year is done, we have had a very busy summer and that will continue into the upcoming school year. Between Summer Enrichment, Summer Math Academy, our Summer Literacy programs, Summer School, and our Extended School Year (ESY), hundreds of our students have been in and out of our buildings for the last few weeks, and all our programs look great! If these summer opportunities are not keeping our wonderful staff busy, most of them are engaging in one of the many professional development opportunities we are hosting. Of course, our Buildings and Grounds Department spends long hours preparing our buildings for the upcoming school year. You are always welcome to see the state of our schools when we host building tours on the evenings of August 24th and 25th.
Also, we have two important initiatives underway regarding communication and school safety. First, our Communications Committee is revamping our websites and reviewing and improving many of our communication practices. Please be on the lookout for these updates when they are shared at the start of the school year. Also, all of our staff have begun ALICE Training to be better prepared for a “violent critical incident” should one ever occur. Our staff will be fully ALICE trained by the end of August. Soon after the school year opens, we will host an event for all parents to learn more about these safety practices; we hope you will join us to better understand how safe and prepared our schools are.
Finally, I am reaching out to you for some help; we know we will need a lot of support in some areas with staffing to start this school year. Over the last couple of years, it has become clear that we are not able to compete in the rapidly-changing labor market when it comes to our hourly staff positions. In time, we will use the collective bargaining process with our Support Staff Union to adjust to the labor market around us, but that will not happen by the first day of school. If you are able to work in our schools, even a couple hours a week, that would be hugely beneficial to our students and our schools. If you like working with kids and want to be more involved with our schools, please reach out to Melissa Thomson – mthomson@londonderry.org to discuss the openings we have and if they fit into your schedule, skill sets, and interests. We intend to bring this “call for help” to the community at large as well so please share this need with family members and others in our community who might be interested. Working together with our families and community, we hope to bridge this gap for our schools.
Thanks again for all your support and continue to have a wonderful summer,
Dan Black
Interim Superintendent of Schools