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Author Archives: Steve Atwater
Defining success
Last week I jumped on the media fed bandwagon and cheered for Mo’ne Davis. The 13-year old little league baseball player from Philadelphia captured the country’s attention because she is a girl succeeding in a boy dominated sport. It was great to see her inspire so many and to do so with such poise. Although […]
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Constant change
Last week’s 50 year celebration of KPB, KPC and KPBSD was a great chance to reflect back on the district’s past, and to look forward to what will be. My review of our early days uncovered dozens of neat tidbits of a district in its infancy and a borough with much less infrastructure than it […]
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Supporting our students in need
Each morning I scan the headlines of the world news but rarely have time to read the stories. This morning I had a chance to learn more about the horrors in the Middle East, Ukraine and Africa and came away thinking that in recent memory, this summer has to be its most depressing stretch of time […]
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Learning Character
I am working on my opening presentation to the staff that is a state of the district type of address. I will share various data and then explore and encourage ways for us to improve. While our overall strong performance should make us feel good, we do have some students who are not having the […]
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Grant to increase digital learning
This week’s announcement that KPBSD is one of four districts to receive state grant money for digital learning is good news. We worked hard on the grant application and are pleased that the award will allow us to grow our digital infrastructure and train our teachers in how to better use this medium of instruction. The […]
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Pressure to improve
At the end of each school year our principals produce two annual reports. One is to highlight all the good things that happened at their school and the other is to summarize their site council activity for this period. Without dwelling on the specifics of what is in the reports, I want to note that […]
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Teen social tension
I took time yesterday to drive to Homer to see Project Grad’s Summer College Institute’s closing ceremony. This culminating event showcased the institute’s activities by having the students take turns sharing their work. The presentations ranging from a Lego robot walking a dog to poetry on threatened species, not only provided a glimpse into what […]
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Change to improve
Last week, the Assembly voted to increase our funding for next year by $500,000. The vote to do so, while close, illustrates a general confidence in the district to use our funds wisely. I am appreciative of Mayor Navarre’s lead on this increase and to the Assembly for their support. Prior to the vote I […]
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Free Car
Two or three times each year, I receive letters from students that were written for a class assignment. This past week, three such letters arrived. Two of them asked me to think about the need for the district to provide incentives to help motivate students to attend school. With the increased focus on a school’s […]
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Strengths of our schools