August 12, 2025 at 7:15 PM - Sutherland Public School District 55

Elementary Principal’s Report
August 2025

• Steering Committee & School Improvement Focus:
  The steering committee met and developed an action plan in preparation for our school improvement visit scheduled for January. As a team, we also identified our key areas of focus for the 2025-26 school year:
  
  Focus Areas for 2025-26:
   

  • Writing:
    We are identifying best practices to raise writing performance across all grade levels. Training has already begun, and we are working on implementation strategies schoolwide.
     

  • Instructional Practice Guide (IPG):
    We are emphasizing instructional strategies across all content areas. This includes:
     

    • Direct professional development on the IPG
       

    • Increased accountability through administrator walk-throughs
       

    • A plan to incorporate peer observations
       

    • Continued focus on standards-aligned instruction
       

  • Climate & Culture:
    At the elementary level, we utilize PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) and Restorative Practices to proactively address behavior.
    We are also implementing Character Strong, a social-emotional learning curriculum, at our next in-service to help students develop skills in empathy, responsibility, and decision-making.
     

• Administrator Days:
  I attended Administrator Days in July and had the opportunity to connect with principals from across the state. I participated in sessions focused on changes to special education laws, best practices for instructional leaders, and effective strategies for building leadership.
   

• Professional Development:
  Teachers and paraprofessionals attended workshops over the past week. Paras had the opportunity to network with others from the region and gained practical strategies to support both students and teachers in the classroom.
   

• Reading Celebration:
  We held our first Reading Celebration Party last Wednesday. A total of 33 elementary students qualified for this reward based on their summer reading efforts. A big thank-you to Jen Sandberg for organizing and setting everything up. The event was well-planned, and the kids had a great time celebrating their hard work.