[Apswel] Welcome Back to School Ltr from Dr. Claudia Bach [Scanned]

[West Elementary School Mailing List]

Good afternoon,

 

Hope you are all enjoying your summer vacation.  When you get a chance,
please read the following letter from Dr. Bach.  Thank you!

 

Alison Phelan

Exec. Asst. to the Superintendent of Schools

Andover Public Schools

978.623.8501 

 

The hardest part of raising a child is teaching them to ride bicycles.
A shaky child on a bicycle for the first time needs both support and
freedom.  The realization that this is what the child will always need
can hit hard.  

~Sloan Wilson

 

August 20, 2008

 

Dear Parents,

 

Ten years ago I sent out my first back-to-school parent letter. As I
frequently do when I get set to write this letter, I go back to read
letters I've written in the past.  My first letter to parents is
interesting, because to some degree I could have written it today.  In
it I say that when I first heard that Andover was looking for a new
superintendent, I knew I wanted to be here, because Andover was such an
exceptional community with an outstanding school system.  I wrote about
the remarkable parent involvement.  I also noted that we had problems to
tackle, the central one was overcrowding (and that led to the
construction of High Plain and Wood Hill).  I concluded by stating that
the School Committee and I had an over-arching goal: to make our schools
exemplary in every way.

 

All of this is true today.  Daily, I feel honored and privileged to work
on behalf of children in this community.  Your countless contributions
are a major reason for the excellence of our school system.  You give so
much - your time, your energy, your talents and skills, and your
financial support.  Like 10 years ago, we have problems to tackle, and a
major one - once again - is space needs.  Most urgent is Bancroft
School, where this year the Massachusetts School Building Authority
(MSBA) will work with the newly appointed School Building Committee to
conduct a feasibility study to determine whether we need to renovate or
replace the school.  We are most grateful to Town Meeting for providing
the funding to undertake this study.  Our enrollment has increased too
(in a state where many communities are losing students) which means some
of our schools are becoming overcrowded.  A problem we didn't talk about
10 years ago was global competition and the need to prepare our students
for a future greatly different from the world in which we now live.  Our
budget challenges continue, as you well know, because you pay the fees
and do so much fundraising.  As the School Committee and I have said
many times, there is a financial structural problem that is fairly
simple, but daunting - the Town spends more money for its programs and
services (both school and town) than it takes in, and each year that gap
gets larger. So, we face a dilemma: in a time of greater challenges for
our students, which increase the cost of our programs and services, we
face a real and significant financial crunch.

 

For this reason the School Committee and I believe that once again the
time has come to ask you to help us set priorities and do some strategic
planning.  We need to hear from you about the direction our schools
should be going over the next 3 to 5 years.  In the coming weeks the
School Committee and I will lay out the process for these discussions.
We will find ways for you to have maximum input.  I hope all of you will
be willing to join in this discourse.

 

In the meantime, the start of the new school year is just around the
corner.  We have a number of new administrators and nearly 50 new
teachers.  I can't introduce them all to you in this letter, so I am
including here just the names of our new principals:  Ms. Francine
Goldstein - Bancroft, Dr. Colleen McBride - South, Ms. Liz Roos - West
Elementary, Ms Theresa McGuinness - Doherty, and Mr. Steve Murray, who
became principal of West Middle mid-year.  I personally am so excited to
have these talented and experienced administrators joining this
district.  The fact that they elected to come here says much about the
fine reputation our schools and town enjoy throughout Massachusetts and
beyond. 

 

First day of school is Thursday, September 4.  For us who work in
schools, the start of school is a joyful time.  It is when we return to
the work we love.  We are now preparing to greet your children.  And I
pledge to you, as I did 10 years ago, that I will work hard every day to
make our schools exemplary in every way.  I look forward this year to
working with you to that end.   

 

Sincerely,

 

Claudia L. Bach

 

P.S. In order to save some money in these times of scarce resources and
to be more environmentally responsive, I am sending this letter by
surface mail to our Pre-School and Kindergarten parents only.  All other
parents are receiving this letter via our Listservs. If parents tell you
they didn't receive the letter because they aren't on a listserv, please
tell them that it is also on our Website, and encourage them to contact
their schools and/or PTOs and PACs to request joining a Listserv.

 

 

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