Revised (see bold text below) January 16, 2020 – Happy New Year!
Dear Toutle Lake School District Patrons:
Your school board and school staff are striving to build a culture of hope, for all of our students and staff members alike. Please remember to vote no later than February 11, 2020; as Toutle Lake School District has an important replacement measure on the ballot.
A group of us have been gleaning “nuggets of wisdom” from the work of Robert Barr and Emily Gibson in their book, Building a Culture of Hope. It is about replacing helplessness with hopefulness, and emphasizes social and emotional growth to help all of our students succeed in the classroom and ultimately find a pathway to a better life. While we face challenges, we want to approach those challenges from an optimistic, positive perspective.
Barr and Gibson share that there are four seeds of hope: a sense of Optimism; a sense of Belonging; a sense of Pride, Self-Esteem and Self-Confidence; and a sense of Purpose. On Feb. 11th, the voters within Toutle Lake School District will be asked to vote on a ballot proposition that would authorize the District to provide educational experiences that nurture the potential of every student; and that all students know that they belong and will be assisted in pursuing their dreams.
Unfortunately, Washington State does not fully fund basic education programs as they currently operate. Thus the need for school districts to ask local voters to pick up the cost of education that the State (and federal) governments do not fund. This flyer will hopefully provide the information that you will need to become an informed voter. Should you have any questions, however, feel free to give me a call, send an email or attend the school board meeting at 7pm on Monday, January 27, in the high school library. (For those who would prefer a more informal setting with me, I will be available beginning at 6:00pm on the 27th in the HS library to visit and to answer any questions that you might have.)
Thank you for all that you do for the youth of Toutle Lake School District. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 360-274-6182, or by email at bgarrett@toutlesd.org.
Sincerely,
Bob Garrett
Superintendent