Raider Nation Staff Newsletter
Week of June 3, 2019
The Homestretch...
Hello Raider Nation --
Well…better late than never. Once again, I apologize for the lateness of this week’s newsletter. Although I am not 100%, I am slowly approaching full recovery. Words cannot express how much I appreciate the empathy and words of encouragement from everyone. THANK YOU! Moreover, I didn’t know how many of you suffer or have suffered from a similar ailment. Back sufferers UNITE!
On a very serious note, I hope you had the chance to read my email regarding the recent outcomes of the Board of Education budget work session. I have provided the synopsis below. First of all, there will be NO class size increase. Therefore, the doomsday scenario where we had to cut 4.8 from our staffing no longer applies. The individuals from the SECOND round of cuts are no longer being surplussed! Second, we at the high school level are very fortunate that the decisions made by the BOE did not impact us greatly. If you have colleagues at the elementary and middle levels, please offer them support as those levels (particularly elementary) were hit very hard. So what does all of this mean for you? Basically, staffing-wise, we are good! However, there will be significant cuts in funding – MOI monies, general fund monies (support for field trips, student activities), and athletics funding. When you hear that there is no money to continue a long-standing program or funds to assist other initiatives, there really will be no money. Nevertheless, we will persevere and continue to provide the best education for our students possible.
As this year comes to an end and we begin to look to next year, there will be a change taking place in Student Services. This year, we moved to a 9th grade administrator (Nasir) and next year, student services will adopt a similar model with a 9th grade counselor (Richardson). All of this with the goal of making our 9th Grade Team a strong force to assist in the ever-important transition to high school. This move to a 9th grade counselor will require a shift in student assignments for the entire department. The tentative breakdown is as follows:
A-E – COHEN
F-Kj -- MELEDICK
Kk-P -- CLEARFIELD
Q-Z – ROGERS
Please see either Adrienne or Dana if you have any questions.
Lastly, you may or may not know that HCPSS will be reviewing school boundaries this coming year. You should have received an email from Dr. Martirano. The district has set up a Canvas Page for the boundary review process – please keep it handy. Additionally, there is a website for the public that contains similar information. There will be a meeting held at Atholton on Tuesday, July 16. This meeting is for families currently zoned for Atholton HS, Hammond HS, Long Reach HS, Wilde Lake HS. I am not sure what this will mean for Atholton but stay tuned, stay informed, and remember – our job is to teach the kids that come to us!
Thank you to everyone who participated in our 8th Grade visit today. I asked a few to remove hats and hoods (out of habit) but I guess next year…☹
Have a fantastic remainder of the week!
Robert
THIS WEEK
Meetings
Mark Your Calendar
June 19 -- PTSA Luncheon
June 20 -- Social Committee Luncheon
June 19 - 21 --School Closes 3 hrs Early (Last Days of School)
Staff Newsletter
Email: rmotley@hcpss.org
Website: ahs.hcpss.org
Location: Atholton High School, Freetown Road, Columbia, MD, USA
Phone: (410) 313-7065