Superintendent shares Praise, Perception, and Promise
Graduations, recognition ceremonies, goodbyes, and great expectations filled the final week of Prince William County Public Schools' 2005-06 school year. More than 68,000 students headed off to summer vacation with a year of learning and growth behind them and the promise of another exciting school year just ahead.
Superintendent Steven Walts took in much of the excitement in final-week visits to schools and ceremonies. Along the way, he congratulated students for their many accomplishments, thanking teachers and staff for helping to make it all possible.
“I’ve learned a lot of things in my first year on this job,” Walts noted, “but most important is that this great School Division is fueled by the combination of wonderful students, outstanding teachers and staff, and the support of a committed School Board and community.”
Walts’ last-day-of-school travels brought him back to Westridge Elementary School where, in September, he began his tenure by launching an effort to visit all 82 Prince William County Public Schools in the first 82 days of the school year. After completing one whirlwind tour, Walts began again, making multiple visits to all schools and many Division departments, finishing up right back at Westridge.
“I wish I could have been at every school this week to tell every student and every staff member how proud they make us,” said Walts. The Superintendent’s pride was expressed in a letter to all staff members, praising them for their commitment to the continuous improvement of all schools and for justifying the confidence that “an already-great School Division will get even better.”
With vacation underway for some, plans for the next school term are in full swing. Among the highlights: expanded full-day kindergarten, new emphasis on improving SAT scores, an innovative program for teaching the youngest students math, more physical education time in elementary grades, and the opening of three new schools. (Buckland Mills Elementary, Rosa Parks Elementary, and Potomac Middle School)
6/16/06
