Welcome to the 2008-2009 school year! I don’t know about you, but I had a hard time falling asleep last night because I was so excited about the first day of school. A new year brings new opportunities for our kids, and I am confident that across our district, we will serve students at the highest levels ever as we “Go for the gold” together.

By now, all of our employees should have received a little welcome-back package with a notepad, a magnetic calendar, a gold medal and a card from me sharing our theme for the year. I encourage you to give that medal to a student who excels under your leadership. It is amazing how powerful a small token can be – no matter the student’s age.

Like many of you, I have been captivated by coverage of the Olympic Games in Beijing. Watching world-class athletes from around the globe compete at such high levels is not only awe-inspiring, but also motivating. When we talk about preparing our kids to compete internationally, we have to realize that the challenges they will face are comparable to those before our Olympic champions.

Helping every student succeed will require each of us to set high standards as their leaders and coaches. To get where they are today, the athletes and their coaches have analyzed every facet of their performance and made needed adjustments to get better and better. Likewise, I urge each of you to study the data of the kids in your classrooms to see how you can best serve them and coach them to excellence.

Today is our opening ceremony. While we don’t have 2008 drummers counting down in synchronization, I hope you see yourselves carrying the torch for our kids as you walk into the building. Just as the opening ceremonies in Beijing set the tone for the games, the experiences our kids have on this first day of school will set the tone for their entire year. Just as China has gone out of its way to welcome the world, attending to every detail, we need to be mindful of the feeling our students and their families receive when they walk through our doors, and we should go out of our way to embrace them. Just as the Olympic opening ceremonies filled your heart in anticipation of what’s to come, we need to send our kids home today excited about the rest of their year and anxious to return tomorrow.

As we strive forward, I want to share a little of our recent gold-medal news. Our ACT scores are the highest in the history of our school district, and our 2008 graduates received $17.6 million in scholarships from some of the top colleges in the country. This past senior class also had members accepted to every Ivy League school as well as other top universities around the world.

In addition, we are excited about several new initiatives in our district this fall:

• Three new elementary schools -- Liberty, Sandersville and William Wells Brown – are open. These beautiful buildings are outfitted with the latest technology and state-of-the-art equipment.
• Thanks to community support, we are kicking off major renovation projects at five schools – Arlington Elementary, Bryan Station Middle, Cassidy Elementary, Leestown Middle and Russell Cave Elementary.
• We have committed slightly more than $1.2 million in a “turnaround challenge” to two downtown elementary schools: Harrison and William Wells Brown. The money will pay for smaller class sizes and chess, piano, violin, art and foreign language classes in an intensive effort to raise student achievement levels.
• We are expanding our Spanish Immersion program in two additional elementary schools – Liberty and Russell Cave – and we hope to continue to provide increased access to this opportunity.
• We will jump-start an agriscience program with an equine component at Eastside Technical Center. We also have applied for federal surplus property where we hope to build a barn and expand the program to include a pre-veterinary segment.

As you can see, we have much to be thankful for and much to celebrate across Fayette County Public Schools. Let’s have a great year!