Final Mile Project
Triad Wireless has begun building internet towers on each of our schools. They are advertising internet plans as follows: 10 MBPS for $30 a month; 50 MBPS for $50 a month; 200 MBPS for $90 a month; and for students who qualify, they have a package for 100 MBPS for $10 a month. We are working with the state to potentially have them provide the 100 MBPS for $10 to any household that has a student who qualifies for free and reduced lunch (about 50% of our students). We are really excited at the prospect of high-speed internet in the community.
St. Johns Middle School Gets an ‘A’ Rating
St. Johns Middle School was one of only a few middle schools/junior highs in the White Mountains and the surrounding area (Holbrook, Winslow, Sanders, Joseph City, etc.) who earned the 'A' distinction, and it has been 5 years since SJMS was rated as an ‘A’ school. This distinction is a reflection of countless hours made by Jim Anway and his staff to help students be successful. SJMS' "Growth" indicator which measures how much each student progresses academically from one year to the next was particularly high. We are very proud of SJMS’ students and staff.
Truancy
To this point, the district has not had a set procedure for dealing with students who are truant. Working with SJPD and the administrators at each school, we have detailed a very specific set of policies and procedures that aims to help students prioritize being in school. We sent a notice out to all parents this past month explaining our procedures and our hopes of having each student in class each day. We believe that the steps that we have taken with truancy will help fight some of the chronic absenteeism that affects some of our students.
Other Happenings
Here are a few other things to be aware of.
· Our HS volleyball team is the 2A runner-up, beating the #2, #3, and #7 seed in the process. We are so proud of these girls and all that they accomplished.
· The cafeteria floor in the high school is scheduled to be replaced on December 12th.
· We will begin replacing 30 water fountains throughout the school district in the coming months. These fountains include bottle-filling stations.
It has been a great month!
Respectfully,
Kyle Patterson
Superintendent
SJUSD