December 20, 2022
Dear Parents and Community Members,
As school closes for Winter Break, I want to thank all of you for the terrific support of our students and schools. It has been a successful Fall season and when we return after winter break, it will be time to re-engage in quality learning opportunities with every student, every day. I am hopeful that over the next couple of weeks, each of you can spend time with your children and loved ones in ways that are meaningful to you and your family. In addition, I want to take a moment to update you on a few items of particular interest:
Preschool
Beginning in the 2022-2023 school year, the Sultan School District intends to offer a tuition-based preschool at both Sultan Elementary School and Gold Bar Elementary School. We are looking to serve a total of 30 students at Sultan Elementary School and 15 students at Gold Bar Elementary in 3-hour sessions. It is not our intent to compete with current preschool providers. It has become more evident than ever before that people are looking for and desire their children to have early childhood learning opportunities. There currently aren’t enough preschool programs in Snohomish County, let alone the eastern portion of the Sky Valley that makes up the service area of the Sultan Schools. Make no mistake about it, early learning and appropriate play opportunities make a difference in students' overall K-12 experience and their readiness to learn. More information will be forthcoming in early January and if you have an interest in having your child attend don’t hesitate to reach out to the District Office, Sultan Elementary School, or Gold Bar Elementary School.
School Board Meetings
Meetings are scheduled for the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month. The 2nd Monday meeting is supposed to be a study session where Board members study an issue in-depth so that a comprehensive understanding of the issue can be achieved by all. Many different things can be looked at during a study session that includes student learning, budget, safety, and facilities to name a few. The 4th Monday of the month is when the business meeting occurs and a vote is taken to pay our bills, take action on agenda items and consider and adopt policies. Both meetings each month have become business meetings and study sessions are not happening in the way that we would like them to. As a result of this, at a recent Board retreat, it was decided that we will move back to our original format of one study session and one business meeting per month.
School Board Retreat
The School Board recently held a retreat where numerous important topics were discussed. A summary of what was discussed includes the school district budget, district facilities, school safety, student learning goals, and potential adjustments to our four strategic plan goals that were established in 2019. Here is a deeper look at just a couple of the items mentioned above. First, the School Board has opted to keep the four goals listed in our strategic plan. This is primarily because the onset of Covid occurred within weeks of these goals being established. The four goals within our strategic plan can be found HERE. In addition, we also discussed and are committed to adherence to the anchor standards in all subject areas including assessment of students' progress to achieving proficiency with grade-level standards. An additional item that the School Board wants to pursue is increasing our Career and Technical Education offerings.
Citizen Facility Advisory Committee
The Sultan School District is looking to update our group of participants on our Citizen Facility Advisory Committee. Since the committee start a few years ago, several original committee members have either moved or their life circumstances have changed in ways that don’t allow them time to participate. Very soon, there will be an application packet posted in various places including our district website that explains the School Board's charge to the committee and the goals of the committee that include facility maintenance, history, and planning. We are hoping to engage with interested people in our community that want to be part of the next phase of Sultan School District’s facility planning.
School Safety
As you have likely noticed, we have recently installed new fencing at both Sultan Elementary School and Sultan High School. These additional safety measures are components of our overall school district and individual school safety planning. We are striving to provide a rich learning experience in an environment that feels safe for everyone. Our goal for the future is to continue improving safety where we can while ensuring facilities that are welcoming to all.
College and Career Day at SHS
On December 16, 2022, the last day before winter break started, Sultan High School hosted a College and Career Day for students. There were trade schools, local companies, various military agencies, colleges, and various unions in attendance. It was a great day for high school students. One of the big takeaways for staff, as reported by students, was their desire to have more opportunities to explore the trades and trade schools. This theme came up repeatedly in different sessions and we are looking at sponsoring an opportunity in partnership with local agencies in Snohomish County called Trade-Up. There will be more to come regarding this enrichment.
In conclusion, I want to once again, thank you for your continued care of our students and schools. We must work together as a community and school district to make our schools and the outcome of students learning what we all want, whether a student is bound for the world of work, the trades, or college. Everyone is important! This update was only designed to touch on some of the important things that are happening in the Sultan School District. If you would like to know more about any of the items mentioned or another topic don’t hesitate to give me a call at the district office at (360) 793-9801 or you can send me an email at dan.chaplik@sultan.k12.wa.us.
Sincerely,
Dan Chaplik, Superintendent