Superintendent Arthur O. Jarvis, Ed.D.

We look forward to partnering with you on another successful school year in 2011-2012.

 

As many of you know by now, this school year will be my last with Tacoma Public Schools. I have had the great pleasure of serving you and your children for the last four years. During that time, our organization has emerged from a tumultuous period and settled into refocusing on the important mission of improving education for “every student, every day” as our district’s new tagline states. During this past school year, the school board adopted a district strategic plan, which provides focus and guidance for the future of the district. With that plan comes a revised mission and vision.

 

Mission
In partnership with parents and community, we will provide a comprehensive educational experience that is rigorous, individualized and enables students to contribute to a changing and diverse world.

 

 

I hope you can picture your son or daughter as part of that last statement.

As we look ahead to 2011-2012, I can’t help but look back a bit. We came through a challenging school year as the State of Washington cut roughly $2 billion from K-12 education statewide. Combined with declining enrollment and the end of federal economic stimulus funding, our district faced the unpleasant task of making about $13 million in cuts to our budget while trying to maintain as many programs and services as possible.

 

We have dealt with the closures of both Wainwright and McKinley elementary schools and helped parents and students with reassignments to surrounding schools or other schools of their choice. We have eliminated more than 60 positions, primarily in administrative, contracted positions and instructional coaches. But we figured out a way to avoid the disruptive process of layoffs – or reduction in force – by placing staff members displaced by position cuts into new roles.

 

Unfortunately, our district will face more choices as we grapple with additional budget cuts in 2011-2012 and beyond.

 

But the news is far from bleak. You may remember that our district adopted a refreshing new math curriculum at the beginning of last school year. Our teachers and our Curriculum & Instruction Department focused on an aggressive roll-out and a lot of staff training. Traditionally, the introduction of any new curriculum means a one-year drop in test scores as both teachers and students adapt to new methods. In our case, however, all the hard work by many people has paid off in a remarkable way. The preliminary results from last spring’s state math test scores showed improvement at every grade level.

 

Looking ahead, our district will begin Year 2 of a major transformation of three middle schools – Giaudrone, Stewart and Jason Lee – as part of a federally-funded overhaul. All three schools have demonstrated a remarkable turnaround under new leadership and each with a new academic focus.

 

Those schools represent one of the characteristics of Tacoma Public Schools of which I am most proud – the innovative options we offer your students. Think about it: School of the Arts (SOTA), Science & Math Institute, Lincoln Center, Tacoma Business Academy, Hilltop Artists (glassblowing program), Bryant and Geiger Montessori schools, International Baccalaureate program at Foss High School, extended learning days at multiple schools, Oakland Middle and High School. And this fall we start the second year of the ever-expanding Tacoma Virtual Learning, our online school for students in grades 9-12 who – for one reason or another – need or prefer to take their classes online. In Tacoma, your students have more innovative options than anywhere else in the state to find their best learning environment. I credit our forward-thinking school board members, our creative administrators and our dedicated teaching force for making it happen.

 

I hope you will continue to stay connected throughout the year to what is happening at Tacoma Public Schools by visiting our Web site at tacomaschools.org. On that site you can check the calendar of events, follow school board actions and stay on top of district news.

 

In addition, I encourage you to follow the district on both Facebook at facebook.com/tacomaschools and on Twitter with the hash tag #tacomaschools. We know many of you actively use social media, so we have invested a robust communication system of district updates via Facebook and Twitter.

 

As always, thank you for your support of your students, our teachers and our district. I have appreciated working with you and your students over the last four years, and our district will continue to succeed because of your continued support.