Dear Spartans,
I greatly appreciate the warm welcome I have received from the Bixby community since starting my tenure as Superintendent of Schools in June. As a new district leader, I have spent my first few months in Bixby learning about our school district, our community, our traditions, our successes, our challenges, and our shared aspirations. This process has given me the opportunity to meet with hundreds of people from all stakeholder groups as I sought to see the district from each of their perspectives. While I have gained a great deal of insight into our school community during this time, I am also well aware that there is still much for me to learn.
The design of this entry plan provided me with the opportunity to gather and analyze data from a wide variety of sources. The plan consisted of discussions with key community leaders, school administrators, teachers, parents and students; classroom observations along with observations of other school activities including grade level meetings, faculty meetings, and professional development programs; and a review of relevant district and school reports, including but not limited to, student performance data, teacher and administrator evaluation reports, school and district improvement plans, and district budget documents. Each of these sources of information provided me with a deeper and more complete understanding of the Bixby School District, as they highlighted those characteristics of the district of which we are proudest, while also providing some insight into those areas where further work would be beneficial.
On the whole, my findings are overwhelmingly positive. Parents, students, teachers, administrators and community leaders give the district high marks relative to student learning, education experiences, athletics, extracurricular programs, positive culture, and caring community. While interviews and observations did identify areas for further inquiry and work, the level of satisfaction and pride in the district was very evident.
I would like to share my complete summary report (HERE) for your review.
I am honored to serve the community of Bixby as school superintendent. If you ever have concerns, comments, or suggestions, feel free to share via email to rmiller@bixbyps.org or by phone at 918.366.2200. It's always a great day to be a Spartan!
Thank you!
