1216 St. Clair Blvd. Algonac, MI 48001 (P) 810-794-9364 (F) 810-794-0040 |
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Superintendent of Schools
Dear Residents:
In the past 6-8 months, education has been a major topic of our state and federal legislatures. Our legislatures appear to recognize that educating students for this competitive 21st century global economy is the key to our future prosperity.
As many of you are aware, the way schools have operated in the past is no longer the way they operate today, nor will they in the future. Here are a few of the legislative changes that have taken place in the last few months that will cause schools to operate differently:
- School foundation funding reduced
- Teacher tenure reform
- Teacher/administrative evaluation reform
- New cut scores for MEAP and MME
- Consolidation of services requirement
- Requirement to bid privatized services
- Requirement for employees to contribute 20% toward health insurance
- New Common Core national standard
- Changes to No Child Left Behind
- Seat Time waivers for online learning
As you can see, times are changing rapidly. The Algonac Community Schools has positioned itself to be up to the challenges that lie ahead. Listed below are a few of the changes we have made recently to meet these challenges.
- Instituted the IB Curriculum
- SmartBoards, WiFi and mobile technology in all buildings
- Online learning available to all students
- Increased transparency, increased communication with parents, students and community by use of new webpage and other electronic communication.
- Instituted teacher/administrator evaluation system with student achievement and growth data as a major factor
- Consolidated services with RESA and other school districts
- Reduced financial obligations with employee health insurance changes and increased employee contributions
- Instituted a student achievement data warehouse
- Instituted Common Core standards into curriculum
- Instituted intervention strategies based on student data
The economic times in our state and country have forced schools to change, and at times this can be a bit uncomfortable. But, I hope it will bring you comfort to know that the Algonac Community School District is answering the challenge of preparing our students for this rapidly changing 21st century global economy.
Michael E. Sharrow, Superintendent of Schools