Tremendous Amount of Pirate Pride!

It is usually not a very good thing when the superintendent of an opponent from the previous nights game reaches out following an event. I know, I've made that call a time or two. But to be completely honest, when I receive those phone calls it is often to comment on how well our students represented their school. Seriously. In the past I have had phone calls from managers at a McDonald's, a grandmother who attended an event, or even an anonymous letter here or there. All saying how polite, thoughtful, and respectful our students are. So it wasn't too surprising when I received the following message from the superintendent at Dike-New Hartford a week ago:

Dr. Voss.  I wanted to pass along a note of thanks and appreciation for what your girls basketball team did tonight.  In the locker room they used they left behind a note of thanks for our janitor and a small gift for him to use.  It meant a lot to him, and also me. 

In a world that seems to be focused more and more on one's self and few others it's refreshing to see acts of good will such as this being carried forth.  My best to the girls and the coaching staff the rest of the season.  #rollblue #piraterising

Best, 

Justin

Admittedly I wasn't sure what he was talking about but assumed naturally that our girls exhibited good sportsmanship and left the locker room in tip top shape, which is our expectation. Then this text message arrived on my phone:

I shook my head and thought, 'of course they did that'. There was no prompting or bad behavior that needed to be atoned for or anything that needed to be smoother over. This was exactly what it looked like: a random act of kindness and appreciation for an opponent. It was setting an example of what it means to be a Hudson Pirate.

Now, if I can put a bit of context to the story from personal experience it makes this gesture a little more meaningful. Each Monday morning, I complete an inspection of the facilities with our Director of Building and Grounds. This is where a bit of my military background comes out: in my search for 'gear adrift'. While this is an opportunity for Bryant to share and show projects that are underway, it is also time for me to point out areas that need to be dusted, mopped, etc. (I'm sure he hates it!) One of our stops is always the locker rooms, and inevitably we get to them before they have been cleaned from the previous nights game. They are usually a mess. I have also come to realize that some of our opponents (not naming names here so don't ask) aren't very respectful. Oh, we've had messages written on our whiteboards as well, but they are typically the antithesis of the message left by our girls at DNH. We've also had fixtures broken, locker doors ripped off, and toilets stuffed with all manner of items. It angers me greatly when I see this kind of behavior.

Sometimes my administrators take grief for a perception that they won't allow our students to cheer at games. Quite the contrary. We want them to cheer and cheer loudly. We encourage them to cheer for their classmates. What we are opposed to is cheering against the other team or heckling the referees and opposing teams student section. It is no secret that we have very high expectations for our students, not just in the classroom but in the way they conduct themselves. We remind all our students that anytime they are out in public wearing our logo, and our color of blue they represent the school district and whole community. We preach to them, 'Live Above the Line'. They get that, and for the most part they take that responsibility very seriously. 

It fills me with tremendous pride whenever I get a note like the one above, or someone's grandmother calls to tell me about the nice young man who held the door for her and called her 'ma'am'. I sometimes get a lump in my throat and remember that we have a great school here filled with outstanding people. 

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas. 

Great News for Hudson Schools on Iowa Report Card

In most schools, headlines are made by how well the basketball team competes on Friday night, the number of students selected for All-State music festivals, or how well students performed in the latest drama production. For certain, all of these activities and events are critically important to the school community. They are part of our culture, instill a sense of school pride, and provide an important outlet for our students. Yet, the most important component(s) of school typically doesn't grab headlines. And that is the hard work that is happening in our classrooms every single day. The sweat equity and daily grind that goes into the planning of instruction from our teaching corps. The delivery of that instruction, the reteaching of important skills when students need supplemental lessons, and the constant retooling and recalibrating of instructional strategies. Our stated mission, prime directive, or core purpose: "To Create Effective Learning Environments That Result is Success for ALL students" is the nexus of our existence. In essence, the most important thing that goes on in our schools is the instruction that occurs in classrooms and the progress students make academically: the learning that takes place. Today is cause for celebration of this most important aspect of our work! Today we acknowledge the academic excellence that is the mainstay and expectation in our school district.

Last year, the Iowa School Report card was frozen in place from the prior year due to the closedown from COVID and the huge disruption in learning. It is being released today, and we are getting our first glimpse into how well schools performed during the COVID year. For Hudson Schools, the news is very good. Once again, Hudson Schools has not just earned high marks, they have earned marks among the highest in the state for academic achievement. Schools receive ratings based on their overall score in numerous categories including assessment participation (IASAP), conditions for learning, graduation rate, academic growth and proficiency, post secondary readiness, and progress toward ELP composite. Those metrics are then tabulated into a rating that is described by the table to the right. 

Look, academic excellence is an expectation in our school district. We have come to expect high academic performance from our students and high quality instruction from our teachers. Our district has made a commitment to create effective learning environments. We have a robust professional development program with an attention to instruction that leads to student success. That proof is evident in today's release of this report card. 

I am very proud of the fact that our elementary school has earned an Exceptional rating on the Iowa School Performance Profile. In the entire state of Iowa, only 19 schools have earned this designation, which represents only 1.48% of schools. Not to be outdone, our high school has consistently been recognized in the top 10% of high schools in Iowa by the U.S. News and World Report. Consistency might be one of the best words to describe the academic performance at the high school, as they have once again earned a High Performing rating on the report card. 

What is most impressive for me in these ratings are the obstacles we had to overcome last year. Frankly, when we were preparing for the statewide assessment last spring we had no idea what to expect and entered the assessment window with a bit of trepidation. After all, we were less than a year removed from a school shutdown that saw a full quarter of the school year cancelled. While we were fortunate to keep our doors open all year last year, we battled illness and large quantities of students in quarantine for weeks at a time throughout the school year. Granted, signs began to emerge the news would be positive when we first started to see the assessment results come in, but there were still numerous missing pieces to this puzzle. Now the picture is complete and I couldn't be happier with the outcome.

While today we can celebrate, we also recognize our work isn't done by a longshot. We still have gaps to close and students who need our full attention. We'll spend some time examining this data carefully, looking at it in detail and even at the student level. This will help us uncover areas where we can improve and we'll work to do so. The process begins anew. Our expectation is that next year's report card will be equally impressive.

Oh, and if you have the chance, please thank your child's teacher and principal. They truly are the engine that makes our school go. 

Labor and the Supply Chain

Are we experiencing a shortage of the supply of labor or do we have a shortage of supplies? Well, actually we have both. Frankly I am not sure how quickly either one will rectify itself. Let's start with the supply chain since it has garnered so much media attention lately. First off, a large part of the supply chain issue is correlated directly to the shortage of labor. There are not a enough dock workers to unload the cargo ships in the ports. Once they get the ships unloaded, there aren't enough truck drivers to get them to where they need to go. That isn't my labor problem (I'll get to that in a few minutes), but it does partially explain the supply chain issue we are dealing with.

Granted, we have been able to get by but there are good and services that we are simply still waiting on. For example, some computer hardware that was ordered last April has yet to arrive. Obviously it is on back order, but we keep getting information that we are next on the list. As of right now, we anticipate delivery in January. At the beginning of the school year we decided that we needed to order another school van. When I placed the order in September, it was a 30 week lead time. This means it is entirely likely our new van won't arrive before the end of the school year (or at least very close to it). If there is good news, then we'll have the new van in time for the start of the new school year! Our new school bus that was ordered last spring was delayed as well, thankfully it arrived in just the last few weeks. We desperately needed it as well! (We are also having a terrible time getting bus parts to keep all our buses on the road.) Here we are, into the second week of December and still have summertime orders trickling in!

Right before the start of the school year (and I mean right before the start of the school year), our food distributor decided to drop all their Iowa customers. That left us scrambling, and fortunately we were able to find a new distributor--but it is still common for our cooks to have to make a trip to the grocery store. A few weeks back I was on my way to scold someone for parking in a 'no parking zone' outside the kitchen dock only to realize it was one of our cooks unloading a trunkful of groceries. To this day we still do not have a bread distributor and we frequently have to recalibrate menus based on what was delivered that particular week. 

As far as labor goes, we are currently short two full time paraprofessional positions in the district. Truth be told, I consider myself lucky when it comes to that. I have colleagues who have teaching positions that have been open all year and bus driving positions that are unfilled right now. The consequence of this is extended routes with more passengers and large classroom sizes. Probably neither of which are real great combinations in the (hopefully) twilight of COVID! Another notable shortage area in Hudson right now is our substitute teaching pool. Hopefully a raise in pay that kicks in for those folks on January 1st will help mitigate some of that.

So what's the answer? Seriously, I'm asking you, what is the answer!?

When it comes to our challenges with the supply chain, I think the best approach right now is to exercise patience. Admittedly it is difficult for me at times and I want to take those frustrations out on the person on the other end of the phone. I do believe if they could fix it, they would. In terms of labor, I think first and foremost it is important to be able to compete in this labor market. Filling a position is one thing. Filling a position with a quality person that is going to be able to maintain our very high educational standards is another. Then once we get that employee on our payroll we need to make sure they have a good experience, feel support, and that they are a part of the team so we can keep them!

Did I mention that I am short two paras and am always looks for subs? Please reach out if you are interested!

The Next Big Thing

When first hired as superintendent in Hudson back in 2010, the Board's number one priority as far as capital improvement projects was to pave the high school parking lot. The building was a bit more than 10 years old, and the parking lot was one of those items that was never completed during construction. At that time, the operating philosophy was 'pay as you go', so after a couple of short years that project was finally checked off our 'to do' list. That task was followed quickly by reconstruction of the middle school parking lot and for a while, I was convinced my time in Hudson would be remembered as the 'guy who paved everything'.

Our 'pay as we go' strategy served us well up to about the point when Phase III of the elementary renovation project came along. It became evident that, to pay as we go would require waiting several years to accumulate the needed capital. Further, our forecast models proved that rising construction costs would outpace interest rates associated with a revenue bond sale. It also became readily apparent this strategy would not prove workable in the long term since there would be no end in sight. Many of the projects that needed attention would not be scheduled for completion until long after my retirement. Deferred maintenance at some point would catch up and need to be addressed, which ultimately would delay other capital improvements even further.

The master facility plan always assumed the high school would be next in line for renovation and updates. The strategic decision was made to tackle the elementary building first because it is an older building, then move on to the high school. In case you are curious, the high school building is is 24 years old this year. Initially, planning for this work was to begin last year, but COVID disrupted those plans and our focus last year was to, well quite frankly keep our schools open. We are now in a position to begin planning for that work. 

So, what's to be included in this project? Well, a lot of that is dependent on your input. There are deferred maintenance items that need to be addressed: HVAC, windows, ceilings, and lights. A lot of what you saw in the elementary renovation will likely be part of this next project. An expansion/conversion of the gym into a competition arena has been discussed along with a secured entrance and the possible addition of an academic wing. In reality the scope of project is really yet to be determined, and we are really going to need your help in defining that work.

Truth be told though, this is not a pay as you go project. While the Board of Directors have not yet set a budget for these improvements I am confident this is going to take a financial commitment from our community. This is why your input is going to be critical as we move forward. What type of investment are we willing to make? Indeed I am as curious as anyone to discover the answer to that question.

This final month of the calendar year we are assembling our team. Beginning in January, we will be looking to all of you for your advice, counsel, and ideas as we move forward with this next big thing. The process will march forward with a timeline designed to vet all ideas and address all concerns. I look forward to the conversation!