Tuesday Talk with Dr. Dain

Dear Pirate Nation,

I would first like to share a belated Happy Veteran’s Day and share my sincere appreciation to our military families. Thank you for your service!!!

This week, I would like to share a heartfelt thank you for taking the time to complete our Quarter One Parent Satisfaction Survey. Your feedback is crucial in helping us understand the areas where we are excelling and where we can improve. By providing your honest insights, you enable us to tailor our efforts to meet the needs of both students and families, and we are deeply grateful for your engagement and partnership.

We are pleased to report that over 90% of families agree or strongly agree that student safety is a priority in our district, and more than 85% expressed trust in district leaders to make good decisions. Additionally, you recognized our teachers’ dedication, with a strong majority acknowledging the positive impact of their work in the classroom.

However, we also heard your concerns around class size and the desire for enhanced involvement in decision-making processes. These results provide us with clear priorities, and we are committed to taking actionable steps to address them. In the spirit of transparency, please find below comparison data from last’s years Spring Quarter 4 data (23.24 School Year) to this Fall’s Quarter 1 data (24.25 School Year). We are very proud to share that there has been improvement, per your feedback, in every single category!

Thank you again for helping us create a stronger, more responsive district. We look forward to sharing ongoing updates as we continue to work towards excellence in all areas. Together, we can ensure a safe, supportive, and high-quality educational environment for every student.

Proud to be a Pirate,

Dr. Jessica Dain

Superintendent, Piper USD 203

We’d like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Dr. Brad Eikenbary, DDS, Piper Family Dentistry, for generously offering free dental screenings to Piper students once again this year! His continued support helps ensure our students have access to essential dental care, contributing to their overall health and well-being. Thank you, Dr. Eikenbary, for making a difference in our school community! Please see schedule below, and look out for communications from your building principals regarding further details:

• November 15: Piper Creek Elementary and Piper Early Childhood Center
• November 22: Piper Middle School
• February 7: Piper High School

We are pleased to announce that our new communication service regarding student attendance is now in effect. This service will notify you when your child has an unexcused absence from school, enhancing our partnership in supporting your child’s education.

This system is essential for keeping you informed about your child’s attendance, allowing for timely follow-up on any unexplained absences. Please note that notifications will only be triggered for unexcused absences; other attendance records will not prompt a call.

We believe this enhancement will significantly improve our communication and help maintain a consistent line of support between home and school. Thank you for your continued partnership in fostering your child’s educational experience.

It is great to see the enthusiasm and excitement the Piper community has for supporting our students’ athletics and activities. Attending these events is a great way to come together to show school and community spirit. We thank you for your support of our students, coaches, and activity supervisors.

As our district has continued to grow over the past several years, so have crowds at district events. The larger crowds make supervision of unsupervised youth even more difficult. We have had a few concerning issues where student safety has been compromised.

In an effort to provide a safe, positive, and fun fan experience, parental supervision of middle school and elementary school students will be required at ALL district functions for the 2024-25 school year (unless otherwise noted by the building principal or other administrator). Middle school and elementary school students MUST attend games with a parent, guardian, or trusted adult. Unsupervised students will not be permitted to enter the events.

For football games, as per last year, the expectation is that young people sit in the stands with their parent or guardian or on the hill with staff supervision. Students will be able to access concessions and restroom facilities without supervision but will be directed back to their seats to enjoy the game.

The December Board of Education Meeting will take place on Monday, December 9, at 6 p.m., in the Board Room. Community stakeholders who wish to address the Board of Education should complete the following form (linked below) and send the completed form to the Board Clerk, Kim Buckner, at kim.buckner@piperschools.us no later than end of day on Monday, December 2.

Access Board Docs (Agendas and Corresponding Reports)

Reminder that patrons can access agendas and corresponding reports via the website prior to or after each Board of Education meeting. For access, click here, where you will find agendas and reports from previous Board meetings.

Parents as Teachers is a free and voluntary home visiting program that is evidence-based and focuses on early childhood development. Research has shown that children who have participated in Parents as Teachers score higher on kindergarten readiness tests, are better problem solvers, and are more advanced in language and social development.

Program Services

Home Visits: Parent Educators share age-appropriate child development information, address parenting concerns and engage the family in parent-child activities.

Group Connections: Group Connections provide opportunities to connect with other families in Piper.

Screenings: Annual developmental, health, vision and hearing screenings provided for early identification of delays that could interfere with learning.

Resource Network: Parent Educators help families identify and connect with needed resources and overcome barriers to accessing services.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library: All children are enrolled free of charge in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and receive an age-appropriate book mailed to their home each month.

Follow this link to enroll, or contact me for more information. https://tinyurl.com/5a4hhy9r

Nicole McDaniel

Parent Educator

816.805.2461

nicole.mcdaniel@greenbush.org

Congratulations to the November Certified Hype Squad winner, Crystal Albo, Instructional Coach for Piper Creek Elementary School. Crystal’s supervisor said, “she can be defined by many adjectives but mostly as a hard-working, dedicated, and passionate lover of learning. She has such a work ethic and doesn't stop until the tasks are accomplished. We appreciate her commitment to students and staff at Piper Creek. She is a gift!”

Another colleague said, “Crystal works harder than anyone I know. She is so invested in making sure Creek teachers have the knowledge and resources they need to help students. Crystal is one of those people who doesn’t rest unless she’s done 125%. We’re so lucky to have her in our building.”

The next colleague said, “Crystal is a fantastic Instructional coach! She does it all and never fails to amaze me! She works long hours and goes above and beyond to ensure staff and kids are growing, learning, and overall being supported. She is organized and gets things done promptly! I am so thankful for her!”

Another co-worker said, “Crystal is always helpful and develops relationships with students throughout the district! She truly loves all students!”

The next colleague said, “She is always positive and professional even when she is overwhelmed.”

The following co-worker said, “She has been kind and helpful in the first month of school as I get acquainted with the new curriculum.”

The next colleague said, “Crystal is the hardest working person I know. Since school started she has been doing five jobs at once and continues to be a great instructional coach.”

The last co-worker stated, “Crystal…

-goes above and beyond to provide detailed and organized PD for staff

-offers to come into classrooms to model best teaching practices, she is coming in my classroom to read aloud a picture book that ties in with our Future Ready “Creators” theme

-is always positive and helpful

-is passionate about her job, and how she can help teachers and students become better learners

-is detail-oriented and always prepared even if that means staying up late at night (maybe even most of the night) or getting up super early

-is an effective communicator

-advocates for teachers

-is upbeat and personable

-cares about others as both educators and individuals

-lastly, when I had an upsetting report about my mom’s health, she saw I was upset and quickly asked if she could go teach my class to help me collect and calm my emotions

I have learned so much from Crystal, she makes me want to dive deep into phonics, data, progress monitoring, and other assessments—which says a lot since I consider math my area of expertise "