A Shot of Hope

This past Saturday was a very important day for Fairbanks Local Schools in our journey through the COVID-19 pandemic. 106 Fairbanks school employees were part of a vaccination clinic that was the largest conducted so far by the Union County Health Department. Approximately 850 Union County K-12 school employees received their first dose of the […]

Need Counselors? Yes, please!

Good afternoon! This week we are celebrating and honoring our school counselors (and licensed social worker) for everything they do for our schools. This is a reboot from last year’s post. Enjoy!! Schools are living and breathing organizations. They are made up of many different human beings that bring a unique perspective to every aspect […]

Mission, Vision, and Portrait of a Panther

In June of 2019, the Fairbanks Board of Education, Treasurer Aaron Johnson, and I met. This was early in our relationship together. At this meeting, the board set strategic priorities for our district, with the first being developing a unifying mission, vision, and strategic plan for Fairbanks Local Schools. Being new to the district allowed […]

What a Wild Ride

Happy New Year’s Eve! Many of us are ready to turn the page on 2020. It has been a year that has seen political, social, and economic shifts that some people do not experience in their entire lifetime. We managed to cram that all together during a global pandemic. It has been a wild ride! […]

Silver Linings

Each year communities welcome the holiday season. The time from Thanksgiving through the New Year allows for people to appreciate all that has happened over the last twelve months. They bring traditions and connections for families, schools, and friends. This year is obviously different. We have been saying that for nine months. Last week, I […]

Congratulations Carol!

The year 2020 has been a year to remember. For most people, it will be a year they would like to forget. However, in Fairbanks Local Schools one person that will be especially happy to see January 1st is Carol Stillings. Carol will be retiring on December 31, 2020. That will be her last official […]

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 […]