David L. Peterson, Superintendent, North Mason School District

Superintendent Remarks

The North Mason School District’s motto is “To Educate, Empower, and Inspire All Students.” The motto comes from our district’s strategic plan, developed with the participation of over one hundred community members and many staff. While the motto is simple to remember, it is an enormously difficult task.

In response to our community’s vision, we are working to improve student performance in core subjects while protecting our liberal arts values of educating “the whole child.” We are finding ways to increase services to students and families while being conservative stewards of taxpayer money. Staff members are helping students master a much stronger set of basic skills as well as becoming independent, complex thinkers able to keep up with a dynamic world. In North Mason, we have many positive efforts already in place or underway. More improvement is necessary. This will not be easy. No single individual or group can do this alone. We must work together in honest, open, meaningful and respectful ways.

The North Mason School District is committed to high levels of success for ALL students. With community support, we have time each Monday for teachers to collaborate on planning and implementing important improvement efforts. Each school has a focused, detailed School Improvement Plan to improve student learning and family engagement. By the end of this school year, nearly every teacher will have learned how to improve student learning through the Powerful Teaching and Learning process. Many teachers and principals are participating in the Transition Math Project, the North Cascades Olympics Science Project, and other professional improvement programs.

Our students, parents, and community need to understand the goals and are invited to hold us, and me, accountable for results. Students, parents and the community must also know their responsibilities in our mission and how they contribute to the results.

For significant improvement to happen, we must be a well connected system where each of us understands our individual and collective contribution to the success of our students. With our community, we are working to make sure our facilities are good places to learn. With families, we watch over student health and nutrition and make sure students arrive at school ready to learn and deliver them safely home. With the community supported local school levy, we offer enriched education for our highest performers, our struggling students, our athletes, our artists, and our performers. For any of us to succeed, all of us must be successful.

The results of our work are starting to show, including in our WashingtonAssessment of Student Learning (WASL) result for 2006-2007. Because of some changes at the state and federal level, it has become much harder to hit the achievement targets set for “Adequate Yearly Progress.” Belfair Elementary & North Mason High School made ALL AYP targets for 2007. Our third and fourth-grade reading scores continue to improve and out-rank the State. Third-grade math scores continue to improve and to out-rank the State. High school reading, writing and science each improved, with North Mason High School outperforming the State in all academic areas! Over 89% of North Mason High School 10th graders met the state standard in writing on their first attempt.

Together, we can create a world class school system for our students and for ourselves. I am excited to walk beside you as we become THE place to live, learn, and work.