It might be difficult to think ahead to the 2003-2004 school year right now in the middle of March, but that is exactly what staff throughout the district is doing. The school improvement cycle actually begins in February as staff works to understand students’ needs and to set performance goals for next year. In this newsletter you will find an article about Kendall Elementary School’s improvement efforts. Each of our five schools is deeply involved in reviewing student performance data and is developing its school improvement plan for next year.

The District’s Educational Leadership Team (ELT) has also begun the process of planning for next year. The ELT is reviewing each school’s goals and is working to establish its goals for next year. The School Board will use the Schools’ improvement plans, the ELT’s goals, district-wide student performance data, budget information, and will update the District’s Strategic Plan.

Also in process is the development of next year’s budget. Over the course of the next three months I will be working with staff and the Board to develop the 2003-2004 budget. Please see the Board Briefs article in this newsletter for information about the funding of public schools that will influence the budgeting process. I will keep you updated about our budget as information becomes available.