August 2016

Dear BCSD Families,

Welcome to the 2016-17 school year. It is our privilege and honor to partner with you in providing your children with the best education possible. We are committed to inspiring, engaging, educating, and empowering every student. It is an honor to be entrusted with this work.  In order to achieve our mission, we must discover each student’s passions and gifts and leverage these areas for a well-rounded education for each individual student.

It is critical that our children are skilled communicators, problem solvers, and critical thinkers. It is essential that our children leave elementary school reading on or above grade level, leave middle school as skilled writers, and leave high school having tried some advanced opportunity classes, especially in math and science. If we support our children in achieving this, then upon graduation the choices available to them in life are endless. If we fail, our children’s choices are much more limited.

We are glad you are partnering with us to prepare your child for success in life. Here are some ways we can strengthen this partnership:

1. Talk to our children everyday about what they are learning in school and WHY?  Be sure it is a relevant “why” for learning.
2. Expect and support good attendance at school. Children who miss more than 10 days a year have reduced outcomes in learning. Children absent more than 15 days a year are considered chronically absent.
3. Expect and support our children in reading and writing for authentic purposes every day.
4. Expect and support our children in solving relevant problems on a regular basis.
5. Keep the communication between home and school strong and frequent. Attend school and community events so that our children see both parents and school staff supporting them.
6. Push our children to take rigorous or advanced opportunity classes (Honors, Advanced Placement, Dual Credit). A grade of C in a rigorous class leads to better outcomes than an A in an easy class.
7. Expect our students to be accountable for their actions, while providing love and support for making wise choices.

Together we can help our children achieve at the highest levels. We are so glad you are a part of the team.

With gratitude, 

GwenCarol Holmes, Ed.D.

Superintendent

118 West Bullion
Hailey, ID 83333
(208) 578-5000
gholmes@blaineschools.org

To download this and all Superintendent letters to parents go here.