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Dear Parents and Community Members,

Our students are now home for a well-deserved break from the rigors of the daily grind of school; hopefully, all are getting some much needed rest and are experiencing some activities they don’t get to do during the school year.

Congratulations to our three high school classes who graduated a day later than scheduled due to the severe weather we experienced on May 31.  Thanks to the efforts of many fine FHSD people and the extreme generosity of Lindenwood University, approximately 1,350 students walked across the stage and were presented with their diplomas. Congratulations, too, to our students who successfully completed their graduation requirements at Francis Howell Union High School. All celebrations were beautiful and memorable, and the post-grad celebration events hosted by the parents were great as well. Many many thanks to our parent organizers and community supporters for the providing a safe and fun place for our students to celebrate. Your work is incredibly important and greatly appreciated by the staff, Board, students, and parents.

Though not paramount for many families at this time due to the recent weather event, some highlights of the 2012-2013 school year are captured below:  

·        Independence Elementary earned National School of Character and MO School of Character

·        Seven schools achieved state recognition for PBS work (positive behavior support)

·        Great-by-8 Reading Support Program implemented at three elementary schools

·        Three high schools earned top 25 in state by US World and News Report Best High Schools  Edition (top 5% in state and top 10% in country)

·        21^st Century Learning DRAFT Plan completed

·        STEM (science/technology/engineering/math) summer camp enrollment more than doubled

·        Drop-out rate for 2013 0.9 (49 students); in five years dropout has been reduced by over 50%

·        Daily attendance rate 96%

·        District created School Safety Task Force which completed recommendations

·        Bandwidth increased across the district

·        Electronic devices for students increased by more than 2000

·        Electronic time and attendance system implemented

·        District earned the Sunny Award for government website transparency

·        District earned meritorious budget award for 7^th year

·        Two-year calendar completed

In addition to the district accomplishments, each building had many student and staff celebrations, too.  We all take great pride and satisfaction in their 12-13 work; they have done so much. Our student learning performance indicators get better each year, and we are very proud of our improvements and steady progress. We know that we could not provide such a high quality educational experience for our students without the support of our community.  We are thankful that we live in a community that places a great deal of value on a good public education.

On behalf of the FHSD staff and the Board of Education, we wish you and your family a safe and enjoyable summer. While we are glad to have the brief respite from the daily work as well, we all look forward to August when the students return. 

Finally, we have many families who are under stress right now due to the recent extreme weather event.  We will continue to provide supports and help families get in touch with support organizations.  A few of our schools sustained minor damage; Bryan Middle School sustained more serious damage.  While we still do not know the full extent of the damage at Bryan, students at Bryan, and at all schools, will start school on time in August.  Many thanks to all of our families who have reached out with offers of support. We are very appreciative of your generosity.

As always, thank you for your continued support of the District and the work of your children and our staff.

Sincerely,
Dr. Pam Sloan
Superintendent of Schools