I am truly excited and grateful to be acting as Principal of a school which serves the students of such a great community.  Since being named Principal I have had the chance to meet and speak with many parents, staff, and community members. From these meetings, I have truly gained an understanding of the great tradition, pride, and family atmosphere that exists at Garden Springs. Beginning this year, and continuing into the future, I hope to build on that tradition.  I plan to work with our staff, families, and community to create a school that individuals not only in Fayette County, but in the state of Kentucky, look to as a model for meeting the needs of every student.  As with any transition of leadership, there will be various changes, including an updated building that work will begin on in May 2013.  I want to assure you as we go through these changes, the tradition of Garden Springs will remain valued, and together we can assure those changes are ones that move Garden Springs toward greatness.

In my role at Garden Springs, it is my primary responsibility to promote a culture that will lead to the continuous improvement necessary to become, and remain, a great place for teaching and learning.  K-12 education, as a whole, has found itself moving away from the No Child Left Behind legislation concept of “racing to proficiency.” Though educating our students to a proficient level remains a minimal requirement of any effective school, the primary mode of thinking in education has rightfully shifted to building 21^st century learners who have the ability to create, think critically, and problem solve. The common core standards in reading and math, which Kentucky adopted fully last school year, illustrate this need clearly in their language of what we should be asking students to do and learn in school.  Parents, teachers, and school leaders must all work to adjust to “the new normal” of higher level teaching and learning which is to take place at all grade levels.  Accepting that foundational skills such as basic math facts and phonemic awareness are as significant as ever, it is clear why the importance of school, home, and community teamwork is vitally important to student success. From describing the different roles of an author and illustrator in kindergarten to analyzing different literary accounts of the same historical event in fifth grade, college and career readiness is a progression of skills that begins at the elementary level. We must be ever mindful of the importance of success at each level of education. As a staff this year, we will spend time developing and refining structures that will promote growth of student achievement to a level that meets the demands of today’s educational environment.