ACSD Welcome Back Newsletter!

Dear Addison Central School District Community,

Welcome back! I hope your summer was filled with friends, family, and many wonderful summer experiences. I want to extend a special welcome to every family and student who will join a new ACSD school community this year. I also want to offer a note of thanks to every returning staff, student, and family. Each one of you contributes to the warmth and vibrancy of our community and I look forward to working together this year!

We have some exciting and important work ahead as a district. Our primary focus will be on building community and wellness. These three pandemic school years have challenged us in many ways. Yet, as staff returned last week, our schools are also full of new energy and excitement. We will commit to recovering and discovering opportunities to build connections. Our leaders and staff will work to welcome the community in as we support students’ needs, hopes, and dreams.

Building on the work of the Advisory Committee for Equity, we will create ACSD's Strategic Plan for Equity this year. This will provide a roadmap for our district to address the opportunity gap that has been present in our communities for decades. The ACSD Board will be setting visionary goals that will be used by action teams to determine what actions we need to take as a learning community to realize access, success, and belonging for all students. Look for opportunities to engage in this work over the next year.

Below you'll find some helpful resources for your first week, a celebration of several staff, and a welcome back video from our principals and some of our district leaders. I look forward to seeing all of our students on my annual first-day-of school bike ride this Wednesday and I look forward to working alongside all of you as we provide our students with the skills and experiences they need to thrive.

Here's to a great year!

Peter Burrows, D.Ed.
ACSD Superintendent

We were thrilled to celebrate Tara Martin, MUHS Individuals and Societies Teacher (Secondary Teacher of the Year); Melissa Flint, Mary Hogan Elementary Teacher (Primary Teachers of the Year); and Sara Stevens, MUMS Guidance Administrative Assistant (Barbara Whittemore Staff Member of the Year)! They were introduced with warm and moving speeches by their colleagues and surprised by their families as they accepted their awards at our staff welcome day last week.

All school meals will be free again for ALL students. But, it's still VERY IMPORTANT to complete the free and reduced meal application form. Our district gets $475,000+ each year based on the % of students who qualify for free/reduced meals. When you fill out the form, you help us qualify for more support for our school!

Your school will send a paper application home with your child, or you can apply now online.

We want to help families stay informed and engaged during the school year. Your schools will send weekly emails with resources for your school community and our district will send regular newsletters with celebrations and information for all ACSD families. We will use this new email template, which we hope will help you see the amazing things happening in your school and find the information you need. Please take the communication survey below to share other ideas about how we can help keep you informed:

Our schools have some amazing new and returning teachers and staff this year! We also have a few job opportunities at our schools. Click on the button above to see all open positions and see below for more about our open paraprofessional rolls. This is a key position at many schools and we hope you'll help spread the word!