Happy new year everyone! I hope the holiday break provided the rest and relaxation necessary to jump start our new semester.  It appears that Mother Nature has decided to remind us that she has a mind of her own.  The weather forecast for early January appears to be challenging to say the least.  Regardless of the circumstance, it is our job as educators and students to hit the ground running, ensuring that teaching and learning is taking place in every classroom, in every school, on our first day back.

     I am happy to report that the building projects that have been so much a part of our school routine for the past several years are winding down.  While there will always be something that needs to be addressed related to building and grounds, I am very pleased with the facilities that our students and staff have at their disposal.  Our Board members were committed to the goal of ensuring that our facilities were equal to those anywhere in the state of Kentucky, and I think that has been accomplished.

     An important change that I want to make sure everyone is aware of as we go into the New Year, is that as a school district, we no longer qualify for participation in the Snow Bound Project.  Due to the excessive number of days that we had missed in previous years, we had qualified to participate in a project where alternative educational strategies (technology, take home packets), could be used on up to ten days, replacing the required mandates of traditional school attendance.  In order to qualify for participation in this project, a district had to average missing over twenty day of school for three consecutive years. The relatively mild winter of the past few years have made us ineligible for participation this year.  We will still encourage our teachers to provide instructional opportunities for students to be engaged in when school is not in session for extended periods of time.

     In closing let me say that we appreciate all of our stakeholders, and realize that it takes everyone pulling in the same direction if we intend to continue to improve our school system.  Eastern Kentucky is in the middle of an economic situation that most of us have never seen the likes of before.  If there is anything that the school system can do to help students that are being affected by the economic circumstances of our region, do not hesitate to let us know.