Superintendent's Message for September 2023

The 2023-2024 school year is off to a great start!  We are quickly getting back in the swing of school activities and schedules.  I have had a chance to visit many classrooms and filled in as a substitute para educator in our preschool classroom.  I began my career twenty-seven years ago as a para educator and it is always great to get away from my desk and work with our students.  I look forward to doing that more this year as time permits.

This month, we will celebrate our Homecoming from September 18th to 22nd.  This year’s Homecoming theme is “There’s No Place Like Home”.  This is in recognition of our home, Southwest Valley, celebrating ten years together through our whole grade sharing agreement.  For the past five years, I have been amazed at the crowds attending the pep rallies and the parade, the amount of hometown spirit from both communities, and the number of alumni that return for the weekend.  The festivities will follow the same schedule this year, with the pep rally on Thursday and the parade and game on Friday.  The Timberwolves will face the Panorama Panthers.  We hope to see you that week.  More details will follow on the time and location for all of the Homecoming activities.

The school board election will be held on November 7th.  Candidate filing began on August 28th and the deadline for filing is on September 21st at 5:00 p.m.  Any interested patron living within our school districts can file papers to run for the school board.  Corning has two vacancies and Villisca has three open spots.  Being a school board member is a huge responsibility and time-consuming, but it can be very rewarding in the long run.  The two district boards have accomplished some amazing things in the past five years and the future is bright for Southwest Valley CSD.  If you are interested in a position on one of our school boards, paperwork is available at the school or online at:  https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/candidates/index.html

The school will be using another resource to help keep our students and community safe this year.  We will use the “Safe and Sound” application as part of the Governor’s Safety Council’s campaign for safer schools.  If you are interested in the application, I encourage you to visit www.safeandsoundiowa.gov.  There is a section for parents for guidance on the application.  We encourage you to take a look at the site and if you have questions, reach out to a building principal or the superintendent for assistance.  We would be happy to help answer questions.

I also want to inform the stakeholders that many summer projects have been completed.   Enarson Elementary has new windows and siding, completing all the upgrades to that building.  The lights and scoreboard at the track/football complex were displayed at the first two home football games in Corning and are working great.  The Activity Center in Corning is getting a new boiler system, including air conditioning. This project should be completed at the end of the month.  The bond project is on schedule, and bid letting should happen at the end of November, with groundbreaking in late May 2024.

Have a great September!