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March 20, 2026

GLPS Families,

Spring is in full swing, as the weather seems to be getting nicer, March Madness is off and running (and regardless of your affiliation, both the Spartans and the Wolverines took care of business yesterday), and spring break starts next Friday. Spring is also the time that we are busy providing high-quality instruction for our students, now while looking ahead to next year’s budgets and programming. As a part of that process, we also look at our communication and feedback plans to ensure that we are using available data to meet the needs of our students, families, staff, and community. 

Keeping these ideas in mind, and continuing my theme of highlighting school improvement goals this week, today I want to focus on our communication focus area. According to our strategic plan, GLPS will provide concise, regular, and proactive communication to all stakeholders and will foster meaningful community engagement. We work hard to ensure transparency and to make sure that we keep everyone informed of what is happening in the district, and we also strive to build systems that create coherence and consistency in our communication. Therefore, our goals under this focus area for this year are:

Goal 1 centers around creating a recognizable brand, so that when anyone sees our logo, mascot, and colors, they know that it represents GLPS. Our community takes great pride in our schools, and whether it is the block GL, Winkie the Comet, or the Grand Ledge Public Schools logo, we see the pride displayed on clothes, flags, stickers, and school buildings. Consistency amplifies the message that we are proud to be Comets, and builds connection and trust in the GLPS brand.  You can see our Visual Identity & Branding Essentials webpage at GLcomets.net/VIBE.

Goal 2 focuses on how we seek feedback and what we do with it. Throughout the year, we send surveys, create opportunities for verbal feedback, and invite students, families, and the community to let us know how we are doing. This spring, I will be sending out a strategic plan survey again, and it will ask you how well we are doing in each area. Our buildings send surveys as well, and we seek input from our students in a variety of ways. Each opportunity allows us to get a sense of how folks are feeling about the work we are doing and how we are communicating, and that creates opportunities for us to improve. As we send and receive those surveys, we will share the results with you as we always do, so you have a sense of the feedback we are getting. 

As I wrap up today, I want to take this opportunity, as always do, to thank you for giving us the opportunity to work with you and your students every day. We are proud that we get to serve all of Comet Country, from Delta Township to Sunfield, and from north of Wacousta to Potterville, and everywhere in between. Grand Ledge Public Schools is a wonderful place to learn and grow, and as always, I am #proudtobeacomet!

Dr. Bill Barnes
Superintendent of Schools