Superintendent Jeff Simons
The following letter was sent to PK-12 parents on Thursday, September 6, 2023 via ParentSquare. (Parents with the Digest setting in ParentSquare will receive the letter at approximately 6:00 p.m.)
Dear Students and Families:
We are very excited and eager to welcome your children back to school tomorrow for what I believe will be a terrific school year. Full engagement of our students in the learning process and connecting with our families is a theme that we have been emphasizing as we welcomed our faculty and staff back to school last week. Each child and each family contributes in ways that make our schools stronger and builds upon the community pride which has always characterized the East Greenbush Central School District.
As we begin the school year and throughout the coming year, we want all students and all families to be active participants in our educational mission and feel like they contribute to the greater good of our learning community. There are many different ways students and families can contribute:
- Take steps to ensure academic, attendance and behavioral expectations are understood, supported and reinforced.
- Discuss any questions or concerns you may have regarding expectations with the appropriate school personnel. The most effective communication is established directly with your students’ teachers, counselors or coaches. Contact your child’s school Principal if problems cannot be resolved at this level.
- Make time to discuss with your students information sent home from the school. You will receive information from school both in paper form and electronic form through our district’s platform ParentSquare.
- Empower your child to be as independent and as resourceful as possible. While expectations vary by level, all students benefit from learning skills such as self-advocacy, communication and problem solving. Coach your child at home as to how to approach school staff with a problem or a question they may need to ask regarding such topics as assignments, homework, athletic playing time, etc.
- Some problems can be solved by the students, while others require greater parental involvement.
Seek out school staff to help resolve problems as early as possible to prevent small problems from becoming larger concerns. - Attend school events whenever possible including school open house, social events and important parent/caregiver/teacher conferences. Printed school calendars will be distributed to students at school tomorrow. Information regarding events is also posted on the district’s website.
- Serve on school level or district level advisory committees.
As we welcome your children back to school, we want to foster true partnerships with our students and families to ensure success for each child. I look forward to the new school year and interacting with all of you to ensure the success and welfare of the children.
Sincerely,
Jeff Simons
Superintendent of Schools