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GLPS Families,
I have a few updates for you today, but first, as Veteran’s Day is tomorrow, I want to take this opportunity to thank all of the veterans in our community and in our GLPS family. Your service and sacrifice makes it possible for us to live, learn, and grow in our wonderful community and country. THANK YOU!
Next, as we wrap up our BK-8 conference week and look ahead to next week and Thanksgiving Break the week after, here are a few items to keep in mind:
- As I am sure you are aware by now, voters in the Eaton Regional Education Service Agency districts (Grand Ledge, Charlotte, Eaton Rapids, Maple Valley, and Potterville) supported the Eaton RESA special education millage on Tuesday, which will benefit all students in all of those school districts. The millage will generate $3 million of dedicated special education funds each year over the next ten years to improve services, increase programs, bolster staffing, purchase equipment, and provide services to students throughout the Eaton RESA service area. The portion of that funding allocated specifically for GLPS is approximately $1.2 million, annually. With the increase in special education funding, more general education funds will be available to us and other Eaton RESA districts to provide programs for all of our students. We are thankful for the leadership and support of Eaton RESA and their superintendent, Dr. Sean Williams, and we appreciate the ongoing support from our community, and the communities across Eaton RESA’s service area. The outcome of this election not only shows Eaton RESA’s commitment to supporting their local districts, but also all of our communities’ commitment to supporting quality education and programming for GLPS and our neighbors.
- Speaking of partnerships within our region and with our neighboring districts, I want to again remind you that when threats are made, whether directed at individual students or a school in our district, we follow a county-wide threat assessment protocol that was developed in conjunction with our first responder partners. In addition, Prosecutor Doug Lloyd has provided all districts with this updated letter to share with families, outlining the seriousness with which we take threats of any kind. While not all of our families live or go to school in Eaton County, we apply this same threat assessment protocol in all of our school buildings.
- At our Caregiver School Improvement Team (CSIT) meeting a couple of weeks ago, one of the items we discussed was the way in which we provide information about our NWEA assessments to families. The consensus feedback was that families wanted to see that information more regularly. As a result of that conversation, one of our wonderful team members sent me this screenshot, which shows how to easily access NWEA scores in PowerSchool, for those who are interested:
I encourage you to log in and take a look to view your child’s scores. If you have questions about them, feel free to reach out to your child’s school.
That is it for this week. Remember, next Friday is a half day, too, and then the week after next students are off for Thanksgiving break. As always, we appreciate your support and the opportunity to work with your kids every day.
Have a wonderful weekend. I am #proudtobeacomet!
Dr. Bill Barnes
Superintendent of Schools
