Welcome back, Avonworth

Avonworth School Community, Welcome back for the 2019-2020 school year! The first day of school in the Avonworth School District is Thursday, August 22, 2019. Kindergarten welcome days are August 23-28, 2019 with the first full day of kindergarten on August 29, 2019. It is going to be a fabulous year full of exciting opportunities for students to learn and grow. It is a great time to be a member of the Avonworth School Community. Our academic, arts, and athletic programs are thriving. The District is also continuing to grow in its student enrollment, which presents challenges, but also wonderful opportunities. Due to the increasing enrollment, the School District has added three and a half new teaching positions. Increasing enrollment also results in increasing needs to keep our students safe. Therefore, a second full-time school-resource officer has been added to ensure that there is a security presence on our elementary and secondary campuses. Due to retirements, the District will also have new secretaries in our elementary and high schools. This school year, a number of new initiatives will be incorporated into our school programming. The District will be launching a new literacy series in grades K-5 called Wit & Wisdom. This highly rated series is rooted in research-based approaches to teaching children how to read. At the heart of Wit & Wisdom is the use of rich, diverse, authentic text that builds students' fluency, comprehension, and love of reading. In grades 6-8, the District has adopted Carnegie Learning Math for its new math series. Carnegie Learning Math is a rigorous, standards-aligned math series that was developed by cognitive learning scientists along with math teachers. Carnegie Learning uses a problem-based approach to build a real-world understanding of mathematics, while also encouraging creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking. Avonworth High School will be instituting nine new college in the high school courses this school year. These courses enable students to satisfy their high school graduation requirements while at the same time gaining college credit at a greatly reduced cost. The addition of these new courses brings the total number of college in the high school courses at Avonworth to 17. In order to help support our students socially, the District will be providing a program called Life Skills to our 6th graders. This research-proven program from the University of Colorado equips students with the knowledge and skills to avoid destructive decisions regarding substance abuse and violence by promoting healthy attitudes and behaviors. After this initial kick-off year, the Life Skills program will extend to 7th and 8th grade. Students in the High School will have the opportunity to participate in the PartnerUp Program. This innovative program sponsored by PNC, Matthews International, People's Gas, and Comcast, provides opportunities to not only gain insights into the many nuances of job and career preparation, but also the chance to gain employment in an entry level position in any of the sponsoring companies. The District continues to expand opportunities for students to engage in learning with technology. This school year, the District will be expanding courses for computer science and robotics. In addition, we will be participating in a unique program that partners industry computer science professionals with our teachers and students. These professionals will enhance students' understanding of computer science and how it applies to the world. Finally, the School District has created a Hall of Distinction to honor past graduates, staff, and community members who have made outstanding achievements in his/her career or in the service of the Avonworth School Community, and, through their accomplishments, have brought distinction, honor, and excellence to the Avonworth School District Community. The inaugural class will be inducted in late August. I certainly appreciate your continued support and encourage you to reach out to me with ideas and feedback regarding our school district. As the school year approaches, I would also like to remind you to keep a watchful eye out for our little ones at bus stops. Please be mindful and remind others to keep our children safe on the way to and from school. Best wishes for a fantastic school year!