This is the time of year that we have the opportunity to reflect on everything for which we are truly thankful. My list is long, and family is first, but the opportunity to work in a district with caring people who go the extra mile to ensure that our students receive a quality education ranks close to the top. Although the next two weeks will be hectic, we will finish the first semester before the Christmas holidays, starting the second semester in 2017.

The Career and Technology Education (CTE) expansion at Goose Creek Memorial High School, which houses the Global Business Academy, will be completed over the Christmas break, allowing our teachers and students to move into the much-needed space. Included in the expansion is a full ROTC complex, with an indoor firing range for soft pellets, and two classrooms. Welding, industrial and commercial photography labs will be utilized as well as a flex room for business accounting. Counselors will move into the new office complex. The nine classrooms upstairs include two science labs that meet standards for Lee College, an engineering lab and a classroom for Principles of Human Services.

You might have noticed the steel in the air at the intersection of Archer Road and Sjolander Road. This is the site of our new Transportation Center, which is scheduled for completion April 2017. We are excited about this new facility, which will provide adequate parking for the nearly 300 buses in our district as well as for employees and visitors. Bays for maintenance, fuel and washing stations, a training room for employees and a CTE student classroom are also features of the facility. Safety is important to us, and it will help to have all Transportation staff and buses housed in one area.

With the upcoming legislative session a few weeks away, I want to encourage our faculty and staff to join me in keeping our eyes on the prize. We are blessed to have the opportunity to positively alter the pathway for so many lives as we work together to educate our students by engaging, inspiring and empowering them to become more than they ever dreamed. As we continue to improve in all that we do, we will focus our efforts on being the best educational option for our families and community regardless of the radical verbiage coming out of Austin. Continue to invite and welcome families and visitors onto our campuses so that they may see for themselves the amazing job you do each and every day!

As we wind down the first semester, I ask parents and teachers to remind your students about the importance of attending every class every day to ensure that they do not miss valuable instruction and that they meet attendance requirements. They will all have a well-deserved break soon, so it is important for them to stay focused until December 16, when we are dismissed for the holidays. By working together, we can all help our students succeed.