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.