2017 Five Star Journal Winter Issue

By Chris Gdowski, Superintendent
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This strength has come up multiple times in conversations with students, parents and staff:
1. Teams of teachers working collaboratively across schools to ensure an elementary student
transitioning to middle school received the appropriate support through the student’s
Individualized Education Program (IEP).
2. Cross-functional teams of office staff, para educators, teachers and school administration
working together to make sure students’ individual needs are met.
3. Teachers from various grade levels rallied around a family with four students, one of whom
was experiencing complications in the hospital. They ensured the family had groceries,
clean laundry and the support needed until the family was back on its feet.
The entire Early Childhood Education staff
providing feedback on our new five-year
strategic plan.
Parents and community members participate
in the ELEVATE process at one of the four
community nights.
Sesión de ELEVATE para la comunidad en español
The past few months of listening and learning from these stories has been inspiring,
motivating and maybe most importantly, humbling. Webster’s dictionary defines “humility”
as freedom from pride or arrogance. That is what these stories exemplify for me. Collectively,
as a school community, we all work together to see our students succeed and thrive without
concern for who gets credit. We also know not to let up with each success story, but to use that
as motivation to multiply that success story two, three, five times over.
That is what excites me about ELEVATE. It’s bringing our community together to build
upon our strengths and set the stage for even greater success in the future. I encourage
you to stay engaged in the process as we move into 2018. You can learn more at
www.adams12.org/ELEVATE. •
Five Star Journal, Winter 2017 | 5