March 26, 2021

Dear Plain Local Community,

Thankful. One simple word but it means so much after the year that we have had together. The weather is warming and the sunshine feels good! The sunshine makes me think about moving forward and how thankful I am to lead this school district and live in Plain Township. I appreciate our community, staff, and students and cannot imagine this past year without your support and constant encouragement. This past year has tested all of us and I am confident we are stronger and more united as one community. Great things are happening in Plain Local and the future is bright because of you!

The March issue of the Plain Paper is full of wonderful stories and examples of the excellence in Plain Local Schools. I hope you will enjoy and realize the amazing work being done at every level. We have great kids and they have shown immeasurable perseverance this entire school year. The district has been open every day since August and a completely new online school began last fall and is still going strong. Teachers have adapted to many changes and continued to focus on building relationships with students and families. I believe we are better because we had to adapt and change due to the pandemic. The district learned many new strategies and approaches that will continue into the future. The entire staff made a commitment to improving during a very difficult time and I could not be happier and proud of their work and dedication. We have one last nine weeks to continue our growth and become better as a school district.

There may be more obstacles in our future, but we have the knowledge and commitment to move forward together. My goal is to ensure a great ending for all of our students including those attending face-to-face and those enrolled in Eagle Online. Each child is precious, and I realize their experience has been different this year.

In closing, words cannot express my gratitude for this community. When we work together, we are stronger than any other community. We will take this momentum and begin planning for next year. There are still questions about next year, but I will continue to communicate updates on our planning as we end this year and throughout the summer.