Dear Students, Staff and Families:

This has been a busy year in the Colchester Public Schools, and I would like to thank you for making it all happen. We are fortunate to have a hard-working Board of Education, dedicated administrators, committed faculty and staff, supportive families, and a wonderful student body here in Colchester. As a result, the district has been able to advance several initiatives, while also seeing gains in several academic areas.

One area of focus this year was wellness, which is an all-encompassing term for all aspects of our lives – academic, social-emotional, environmental, etc. As a district, we strive to educate the whole-child, and care about the experience of all members of our school community. With that in mind, I would like to recognize a few specific initiatives that were undertaken this year.

• Worked with the community to develop a Vision for Student Wellness
• Selected Second Step as a K-5 SEL curriculum (planning for implementation in 23/24)
• Started the 6-12 review of the school counseling curriculum (including SEL)
• Piloted the DESSA Screener with plans to fully implement in 23/24
• Completed the first year of the Bobcat Block at Bacon Academy
• Hosted school-wide training in SEL/CASEL at WJJMS
• Hosted the first WJJMS Wellness Day and third BA Wellness Day
• Trained a first cohort of WJ student leaders via BRIDGES and a second cohort at BA
• Assembled a district chronic absenteeism committee
• Submitted for the School Mental Health Grant
• Utilized ESSER/ARPA funds to hire BCBA/RBT services for the BASES programs
• Consolidated a District and school-based Student Wellness Committees
• Implemented the RAPTOR safety system
• Hosted Stop the Bleed training district-wide
• Developed and trained a Threat Assessment sub-committee

As the school year draws to a close, I encourage all of you to pause and reflect. What was your greatest accomplishment this year? What is the thing that seemed overwhelming or impossible, that you overcame? What will you do differently because of your experiences this year? This type of reflection is important because it’s easy to forget how much actually happened since late August. Even if the year didn’t go as planned, you likely did a lot more than you give yourself credit for. While this paragraph may sound like it’s geared towards students, it’s truly for everyone. While only the students advance to the next grade, the education of children is a team effort, and everyone encounters challenges across the school year!

Best wishes for a wonderful summer. Please stay healthy and safe.

Daniel Sullivan