Hopefully, all our Pittsfield families have enjoyed a wonderful summer, a summer that is leaving you relaxed and recharged and ready for a great new school year. District staff has been busy preparing for the 2018-2019 school year. All that’s needed now is the positive energy and enthusiasm of our students and the collaboration and support of our students’ families.
The start of a new school year comes along with great anticipation and excitement. Whether a student is new to Pittsfield or is a returning veteran of our schools, the opening of school is a special moment for both students and families. Most of us enter the school year with an exhilarated feeling that comes along with a fresh start and a new beginning; it’s a truly energizing point in time.
I encourage families to look on the new school year with a spirit of positive anticipation. As our students enter their own school at the end of August, they will feel a strong sense of pride and passion from our faculty and staff, pride in our schools’ history and accomplishments in striving to create a truly student-centered learning environment and passion for the learning and achievement of each and every one of our students.
Our teachers and staff are committed to making an important difference in our students lives. Many of our teachers have been working this summer to support our students’ learning through extended year programs and our Summer Academies. Others have devoted a good deal of time to developing our programs, especially through our new work with Universal Design for Learning, an approach to curriculum planning and instruction that is intended to support the learning of all students, regardless of individual strengths and needs.
As always, a number of our teachers and staff members have left us and have moved on to other opportunities. We’ll be introducing our new teachers and staff member to you in the weeks ahead, so you are encouraged to keep your eye on our district website and The Sun. We’ll also be describing some key program changes in the weeks ahead, which will be of interest to our Pittsfield families.
But now, it’s time to celebrate the beginning of our new school year because this year will be packed with new learning experiences that represent another big step forward toward a wonderful future for all our students.