I want to extend my thanks and gratitude to the Mustang family for their support and for welcoming me into the family. I have very much enjoyed serving the students, staff, parents and patrons of Raymond Central Public Schools these past three years. My husband and I make our home in this school district and we plan to ‘be around’ and to be contributing members of the community and supporters of the school district. We are fortunate to have quality and dedicated staff members at Raymond Central Public Schools. This year we will be saying goodbye to two employees who have decided to retire at the end of the school year and have given faithfully to our students and families. Chip Lange retires after 28 years as a math teacher and Jean Danley retires after 22 years as an administrative assistant. We will be hosting a cake reception for Mr. Lange and Ms. Danley on Wednesday, May 8, 2024 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Jr/Sr High Commons Area. All are welcome to drop in and congratulate the two retirees. We wish them both all the best in this next phase of their life journey.

At this point and time we are close to being fully staffed as we look forward to the 2024-2025 school year. The openings that we still have to fill include: Jr/Sr High Cook, High School Volleyball Assistant, Cheer Coach, JH Boys Basketball and potentially elementary paraeducators. Our new hires for next year include: Bryon Hanson - Superintendent, Troy Lurz - Secondary Principal, Trace Baasch - HS PE, Ariel Broekemeier - PK4, Megan Hansen - 6th Grade, and Elayna Uhing - Elementary Paraeducator. The following persons will be serving in a different role next year: Kindra Tvrdy - Ceresco Administrative Assistant, Melanie Schmalken - Valparaiso Administrative Assistant, and Megan Kemnitz - PK3 Teacher.

This past school year we made tremendous progress on our board goals and on our respective campus academic goals. The feedback from our school accreditation visit will help us to refine our focus for the 2024-2025 school year. It is gratifying to learn that the preliminary feedback being shared affirms the primary target areas that the internal stakeholders had already identified. Armed with this insight, we are busy planning for the next school year as we recognize the importance of consistently evaluating and changing to best serve our students and their families.

Go Mustangs!

Dear Families,

May has arrived. The school year is wrapping up. The last day for seniors is next week. Graduation is on May 11. Everyone else will only have a week and a half of school left after that. Where has the time gone!?

Each school year, a lot of things happen behind the scenes that many people are not aware of. I want to take the opportunity to share just a few of those things with all of you.

This year the junior/senior high staff spent time throughout the year meeting in teacher teams. These teams took time to identify challenges they observed students experiencing– both academically and behaviorally. The overall goal in these meetings was to look for ways we could address challenges in more intentional and effective ways. Even though the year is not officially over, I can say that the overall number of major behavioral issues this year is noticeably less than last year. I believe this is a direct result of the intentional work by our teachers throughout the year. In these meetings, it was evident that our teachers want students to succeed.

Another effort underway during the year involved preparation for our 5-year accreditation visit. Many teachers and staff played a part in collecting data, preparing reports, and organizing surveys and visits from the accreditation team. Through this process, Raymond Central was able to reflect on how we serve students, and identify areas where we can continue to make forward progress.

Teachers at the junior/senior high also spent time this year working on improving the way we engage students instructionally. Each professional development day, we took some time to think about how we engage students, and learn together about how to make learning an active process for all students. As I have been in classrooms throughout the year, I have seen many teachers utilizing active engagement strategies. The goal has been to make learning less a passive process, and more of an active experience.

I have been honored to be a part of Raymond Central for the 2023-2024 school year. Please know that Raymond Central is a special place made up of great people. There are exciting days ahead!

Mark Smith