The start of school is always a busy time under normal circumstances with setting up school, hosting Open Houses, getting to know the new families, and helping the new teachers get settled.  This year, there were some major issues, which made it even more hectic than normal.

Responding to concerns about Ebola, planning for increased enrollment, and managing the budget with more students and expenses has taken a significant amount of time.   In addition, the board of directors has been active and in one month we have had two board meetings, four committee meetings, and a weekend retreat.  The Core Planning Team for Strategic Planning has been working on developing plans to make ISD one of the best schools in the world!

The favorite part of my day is being with the students.  I try to go to the middle and high school lunches as well as the elementary recesses as often as possible.  It is a great way to get to know the students.  My goal is to spend 45 minutes to an hour each day visiting the classrooms.  I am learning more about the teachers, seeing the curriculum in action, listening to the students read, and helping them with math.

I made a promise to the ISD community was that I would listen, learn, and build relationships this year.  In the past month, I have been listening and learning a great deal.  I have enjoyed getting to know the students, parents, and teachers.  Moving forward, I will start with my formal evaluations of all the teachers and continue to learn from the community what they value about ISD and where they would like to see us improve. 

To help me accomplish this, I invite all parents to schedule a 20 minute meeting to meet with me individually, so I can learn more about your child(ren), what you like about ISD and what you may want to see changed.  To arrange a time for us to meet, contact Suzanne Wardini (suzanne@isd.sn) or stop by the office.  If you are more comfortable speaking in French at our meeting, I will make sure I have someone to help us translate.  I look forward to meeting as many parents as possible.

Dr. Alan Knobloch

Director