Greetings Meridian Students and Families,

This morning a message was sent out describing a shift we needed to make due to a shortage of drivers. Unfortunately, we are not different from many places in the country that are challenged with both staffing shortages and shipping delays. We are short on the number of bus drivers we have – as well as substitute drivers. We are also experiencing shipping issues where some menu items may be changed because certain foods that were planned for our school lunches may not arrive in time – or at all. Our food service team is being creative and substituting food items by seeking out other options to ensure our school meals are complete.

We are also short on substitutes and student monitors. In fact, we have some open positions that have been posted since late Spring – but have not had any applicants or few viable candidates. For instance, we have two mental health counselor positions and technology support positions we are eager to fill. I share this for a couple of reasons. First, we may have to share more changes out to everyone about transportation challenges if things continue as they are now. Second, you may be aware of someone who has been thinking of a change – and Meridian School District may be a great fit! And finally, to say we have amazing people doing a tremendous amount to keep our systems operating so we may continue serving your children – and we are in need of additional support. Please spread the word. We would love to hire outstanding people to join our teams and serve our great students and this community! (https://www.meridian.wednet.edu/employment/)

Professional Learning Communities at Work!
Each Friday morning our teachers engage in collaborative teams either by content or grade teams. It has been a pleasure visiting each building the last two weeks and seeing all of our teachers engaged in the PLC process with their collaborative teams. The scope of work ranged from teams sharing past processes, progress, and orienteering new staff members to calibrating student writing, reviewing assessments, and dividing a team into specific skill areas to share students among their team who need specific skills reinforced. This work is foundational to helping our students increase their understanding of the content and ensure our curriculum is aligned and targeted to meet student needs! I want to thank our teachers for their focus on learning and collaborating with each other to support our students. At the same time, our support staff is integral to this work being implemented. They provide the structures and make it so everyone is able to serve our students effectively. Please join me in thanking all of our teachers and support staff for their professionalism and support of the learning process!

I hope you have a fantastic weekend,

James