Superintendent

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October 17, 2025

GLPS Families,

I hope that you had another great week here at GLPS. As I make my way around the district, it is fun to see staff and students engaged in teaching and learning, and I appreciate all of our educators and support staff and the roles they play every day in ensuring that students have the tools they need to be successful.

As a public school, we are built to serve students, families, and the community, and in order to do that effectively, we need opportunities for two way communication and authentic feedback. To those ends, I am pleased to share that this year, I will continue to hold Caregiver School Improvement Team (CSIT) meetings. For those who do not know, or who need a reminder, CSIT is a group of parents and caregivers that meets periodically throughout the year to discuss our goals and our strategic plan and provide me with feedback. Everyone is welcome, and you certainly do not have to commit to attending all of the meetings. In fact, each year I have some parents who are just interested in getting the CSIT emails, but can’t attend any meetings. This year, the meeting dates are November 20th, January 29th, and March 19th. All are from 6:00-8:00, and all are at Sawdon. If you are interested in attending, or simply receiving emails about the group, please use this form to sign up. Again, no commitment is necessary, but all further CSIT emails will only go to the group who fills out the form.

In addition to our CSIT meetings this year, we are adding another opportunity for families to have meaningful conversations with me to provide input and feedback on how things are going within GLPS. Modeled after our student school improvement meetings which happen throughout the year, we will be adding family school improvement conversations this year as well. In January, February, and April, we will randomly select 20 families to invite to a conversation about their experience at GLPS. Selected families will have the opportunity to come to a meeting, schedule a phone call, or have me meet with them in a convenient place in the community. We will discuss their school experiences, what is working well, and ways in which we can improve. This will help to expand avenues to provide meaningful information to help us meet your needs, and we are looking forward to this new structure.

Finally, we have another new opportunity for family input this year, as we will be developing a wellness committee, as required by board policy 8510. Per the policy, the committee is responsible for making recommendations about a number of things, including the implementation of the policy, which includes guidance on meals, opportunities for physical activity during the school day, and supports for students. So, stay tuned if you are interested in providing input in these areas as well!

In my family update next week, I will share information with you about how we gather student voice and input throughout the district. In the meantime, I invite you to continue to communicate with us. Although we have the formal methods for communication that I have shared here today, we always welcome input and engagement from our families on a daily basis. In fact, we have a board policy that spells out our commitment to family engagement. Please remember that communication always works best when it starts at the level where the concern or input occurs; start with the teacher or coach, for example, as most issues can be solved at that level. If you continue to have concerns, then move up to the supervisor. Here is our board policy that outlines these procedures and guidance on how to resolve issues within the district.

Your engagement and feedback are important to us, and we truly appreciate the partnership that we have with all of our families and with our community. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to work with you and your children every day, and thank you for all you do to support the missions and vision of Grand Ledge Public Schools. As it says in our strategic plan, We believe in partnerships between the family, community, and education stakeholders for the success of GLPS, and we take that belief very seriously. Have a wonderful weekend, and as always, I am #proudtobeacomet!

Dr. Bill Barnes
Superintendent of Schools