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We are incredibly excited to have all of our students and our staff back for the 2022-2023 school year! 

In the days leading up to the first day of school on August 16, we were thrilled to welcome our amazing staff and have everyone back together to kick off the new year. This year, we have more than 40 new teachers joining our team. While the majority of them were hired for existing open positions, four were hired for new positions, with Board of Education approval, due to enrollment growth at the elementary level. 

Enrollment growth presents an exciting challenge for our schools and our community. As of the start of the school year, our enrollment has risen to approximately 6,300 students and will likely continue to grow throughout the year. We’ll be providing updates on staffing and enrollment to the Board of Education this fall.  

Strategic plan update

This year, we will also be continuing our work to implement our strategic plan, which focuses on building our strengths as a district in two areas — whole learning, which is our core business of academics, and well-being. These priorities are rooted in our vision of uniquely accomplished students prepared to serve, lead and succeed and our mission — to challenge and support every student, every step of the way. 

An important part of this work will be the continued implementation of a totally personalized student support system known as the multi-tiered system of support — or MTSS.  More simply put — this is how we meet every student where they are so they can achieve at the highest possible academic levels. We started this work at the elementary level last year and will be strengthening the processes at the secondary level this year so that we offer a strong continuum of support for all students.

Listen Learn Lead update

In the spring, the Board of Education committed to a community engagement process — Listen Learn Lead — to bring us all together to make our schools be the best they can be. We recently presented the Board with a list of recommended next steps based on your feedback. We have already begun to take some initial steps to improve our communication with all of our stakeholders. 

You’ll see evidence of that on our district website — where we’ve expanded the information available about our academic program, our curriculum and other important resources for parents and guardians as they navigate their students’ school career. 

We also want all of our stakeholders to be informed about the district’s use of taxpayer dollars, so we will be building awareness about the financial reports and documents available on our Treasurer’s Office website, www.uaschools.org/Treasurer.aspx. 

We have also added more opportunities for community members to learn about what’s happening in our schools —including a school events calendar and a community sign-up for our monthly district e-newsletter. Visit www.uaschools.org/Community.aspx to learn more.

We are incredibly lucky to live in a community that cares so deeply in supporting the success of our schools and students. As the Board of Education has shared, these are just a few steps in an ongoing commitment to engage our community so that our schools can be the best they can be.

You can learn more about the recommendations at www.uaschools.org/ListenLearnLead.aspx.