A Uniontown Thanksgiving

There is an old coal mining town southeast of Pittsburgh and north of Morgantown, West Virginia called Uniontown, PA. This town was founded on July 4, 1776. It grew during the heights of the coal and steel industry in western Pennsylvania. Route 40, the first national road, runs through the heart of this town. This […]

Learning Level 2

On Friday, November 20, 2020, the Fairbanks Local Board of Education voted to transition to Learning Level 2 following Thanksgiving Break. Each member of our school community wants students in school as much as possible. The current COVID-19 conditions in our community make 100% of students in the building terribly challenging. Potential transmission, quarantines, and […]

One Year Later

Do you remember what you were doing on November 14, 2019? I remember that day differently than many other days in my life. That morning I woke up and went to work. I was sitting in a morning meeting when my mother called to tell me that my father passed away overnight. The call came […]

Doubt

Last week our students began returning to school full-time. This is the first week since mid-March that our school district had every K-12 student on campus at the same time. We have been on a roller coaster since the spring and it will likely continue to be for the near future. Personally, I am a […]

Responsibility -vs- Authority

On Friday, October 2 I took a personal day off. My nephew and godson was being confirmed that evening. I spent the day with my family and had some time to myself. The time to myself was primarily doing chores. During my time in the yard, I listened to a great podcast on “Responsibility versus Authority”. […]

Community Connect

Last year, our board president and I had a conversation about goal setting for my first year at Fairbanks. I established three key goals: Improve academic performance Be fiscally responsible Earn the trust and credibility of school district stakeholders Over the summer, while planning for the school year, my board president asked what my personal […]

First Day of School Eve

Good Afternoon Fairbanks Families, Tomorrow, my three daughters will begin their school year. Our oldest daughter is entering 8th grade, our middle daughter is entering 4th grade, and our youngest is entering 3rd grade. Our school year is typically packed with academic studies, extra-curricular, and family events. This year my children are starting their school […]

Hope Happens Here

Convocation is a day that our staff gathers to celebrate the start of a new year serving together in Fairbanks! I am thankful, honored, and privileged that I get to share this day with 150 colleagues that care deeply about our students, families, and school community. Below is the text of a message I shared […]

Fairbanks Safe Start – July 22 Update

Since March, our school community has navigated a significant challenge together. Our summer has consisted of meetings, both virtual and face-to-face, to find a balanced approach to restarting school. This planning process has produced the work you will see below. I am proud of and grateful for the contributions our parents, teachers, support staff, coaches, […]

Ending the Fiscal Year

Like many organizations, both public and private, June 30th marks the end of the current fiscal year. We want to regularly share with our stakeholders the financial picture of the school district. Our school district’s priorities are student experiences and growth within a positive school-community. We are unable to achieve positive outcomes in these areas […]