As 2024 comes to an end, I’m struck by the good things that have taken place in Ellis Public Schools in the last 12 months. Our teachers and staff, students and families continue their inspired work to create bright futures for every child. Our community, region and state will grow ever stronger as we partner to teach, share, learn and grow.
Here are just a few of the great things happening in our schools...
• Ellis High School had a career fair for students from sixth grade through senior year. Thanks to the support of business and industry leaders and great volunteers, students had the chance to explore careers in engineering, computer science, wildlife and parks, agronomy, orthopedic medicine, banking and cybersecurity.
• A new outdoor classroom at WGS is complete, thanks to a Wiesner grant. This flexible space has benches and a whiteboard for learning, and it’s available to WGS classes all year long.
• The EHS National Honor Society inducted 25 new members. To qualify, students must have a minimum 3.5 GPA, participate in several activities and complete 40 hours of community service.
• Our KAY Club collected donations for the Ellis Food Pantry to help feed local families for Thanksgiving.
• The EHS and WGS musicians sounded wonderful at their recent concerts. Following the EHS concert, a new Electives Showcase to help families and students learn more about all of the great things happening in our career and technical education classes.
Over the past year, we have also made progress on exciting projects. Last month, I shared about the store our students and teachers have opened to meet local printing needs. It’s been such a joy seeing this project go from idea to reality, thanks to the creativity and true dedication of everyone involved.
Another project, the purchase of accessible playground equipment for WGS, is a success. Thanks to the extraordinary generosity around our community, every student will be able to enjoy recess even more after installation is complete in the spring.
As for our daycare center plan, I’m excited to share that we are getting close to the $486,000 required to begin construction. It’s taken a lot of commitment from across the community to get to this point — and the work isn’t done yet. I’m proud to reflect on the past year and all the opportunities I had to listen to local childcare providers and families with infants and young children. Together, we found consensus that there are more families looking for childcare than we have spots in Ellis.
Today, we are less than $60,000 away from the goal that will allow us to begin building. I am continuing to look and apply for grants, and I invite anyone who might be interested in donating any amount, large or small, to contact me. [This project is also ameaningful way to reduce 2024 tax liability with a charitable donation that will make a big and lasting difference to Ellis families.] The sooner we have the dollars, the sooner we can begin construction — and the sooner we can provide Ellis families more child care.
After 25 years of dedicated service to the district, Mr. John Befort is retiring. His contributions will be greatly missed! As we prepare to hire a new principal in January, we value your input on the qualities and characteristics you believe are essential in this leadership role. Please share your thoughts by completing the survey at https://forms.office.com/r/uGuGnyLNcv. This survey will close on December 21st at 1 pm.
Finally, the work to create a new strategic plan for our school district is officially underway. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to our committee, as well as the nearly 200 people who completed our survey. The results of the survey that will guide the committee’s work over the next few months can be viewed at usd388.com under District>Strategic Plan Survey 2024-25.
As we approach a new year in 2025, I hope you’ll join me in reflecting on how much has been accomplished and how much more we can do together. Thank you for being part of a bright future for our students and community