It is hard to believe another school year has come and gone. The 2024-2025 school year posed some challenges for us at Pioneer, especially in the area of budget impacts. However, I can tell you that our staff did an outstanding job of working with our students and never once used a reduction in personnel and funding as an excuse. Staff pulled together and made the school year successful because of their commitment to the students at Pioneer. We all should be proud of our staff!

     As we close out this year, and our staff and students leave for the summer recess, I want to reflect on some of the great things our staff focused on and the positive outcomes that occurred.

This year, we focused on student attendance and made significant strides in lowering our absenteeism rate. If students are not in school on a consistent basis, it is hard for them to learn. The number of “chronic absences” decreased this year due to the efforts of our administration, staff, parents, and county truancy liaisons. We still have a long way to go and will continue to make attendance a priority.  Our music programs continue to grow and thrive in both buildings. We are seeing an increase in the participation of students who want to sing or play instruments.  Our STEM programs continue to grow, with innovative topics and lessons that spark interests in our students and that focus on project-based learning. Our schools continue to partner with outside organizations that help to fund these programs or offer opportunities for student growth by providing learning opportunities outside of the classroom. The partnerships with these groups will continue and only improve during the coming years.

     Looking ahead, we are excited for the 2025-2026 school year. Even though we continue to see school funding at the state and federal levels reduced, our staff will come back in August with all positions intact and ready to work with each and every student to provide a quality, yet challenging education. We will continue to find ways to reach every child in our classrooms so that they can see continuous improvement in reading, math, writing, science, and all other academic content areas. We will provide opportunities in music, STEM, athletics and activities, as well as other programs that interest them.  One of the pillars in our Strategic Plan is Whole Child education. By providing multiple educational opportunities for our children, we can really focus on whole child learning, which also includes the social-emotional learning necessary for students to grow as individuals. We will continue to not only focus on academic growth and achievement, but to see growth in our student’s ability to make friends, be a friend, solve conflicts, self-manage, self-advocate, self-respect and self-responsibility. All of these, combined with solid academic learning will help achieve the goals of educating each and every student at Pioneer.

     Have a great summer, be safe, and we will see you all on September 3rd when school begins.