Glenwood School District

From the desk of

Dr. Shane Couch, Superintendent

It is hard for me to believe that I am beginning my fifth year as your Superintendent/Principal. As each new school year approaches, the excitement that begins early in the summer mounts in anticipation of the wonderful things that will take place over the course of the upcoming year. Your school staff and I take your children’s education as a very serious responsibility, and it is exciting to think about how we will help your children expand their minds, give them opportunities to be involved in new experiences, and support them in their next steps to becoming our future. As I was reflecting on what has been accomplished over the past five years within the Glenwood Schools, I began creating a list of things that help us meet our lofty goals.

We won a multiple year Gear Up grant that creates programming for middle school students to begin to think about their plans after high school. On our own, we are expanding this program to include students in the elementary grades. Students have had the opportunity to visit multiple college and university campuses as well as technical and trade schools to help them begin to formulate their goals for after high school. Students have also attended summer camps at Washington State University and were offered a multitude of experiences that let them explore career opportunities and the educational path one must take to qualify for a chosen career.

Glenwood has also been a multiple year recipient of a Navigation 101 grant. The funds have been used to plan and implement our Navigation 101 program which is designed to help students think about and set goals for their future. This program works nicely with Gear Up and starts with a time after high school in mind and then helps students develop a plan to get there.

Our reading program is second to none. We are proud to report that when students leave our preschool they are readers. I remember a time as a public educator that we were proud to send preschool students to kindergarten with the ability to color within the lines. We have come a long way. Reading is one of the fundamental building blocks for future success in education and in life; therefore, the work we are doing with the preschoolers translates to the elementary grades and beyond. Students who struggle are given the additional help needed to reach grade level. Those on grade level are encouraged to reach the top of their ability levels.

The implementation of a five-day week for preschool has been instrumental to our success in helping our incoming kindergarten students possess the skills to read. This, coupled with our all-day kindergarten, is helping our students become more successful at a younger age. The research shows that early support is a key element to determining a student’s future success in school and life.

This past year we went through the process of selecting a top notch mathematics curriculum and will be implementing it throughout the 2009-20010 school year.

Over the past few years we have made many improvements to our building and campus. We have redone the lighting and HVAC systems, updated paint, finished murals, painted the doors a uniform color, added signage, recoated the roof, and refurbished the gym floor. Using grant money we have replaced the playground, are adding a greenhouse, and are on the way to establishing a top notch workout facility. The track was resurfaced and is now, once again, acknowledged as the best small school track in our athletic district. As a result, other schools host meets on our track. Student art work and an annual “all-school art project” are proudly displayed throughout our hallways. We also commissioned a logo to be used for the district. Glenwood has always been the Eagles, but we had never used a consistent graphic to illustrate our mascot. We now have an instantly recognizable, unique logo that belongs only to the Glenwood School District.

Glenwood has a long history of excellence in both academics and athletics. On the academic side, our tenth grade students consistently earn top scores on the WASL. Graduates have received numerous scholarships and awards and have gone on to success in college, trade and technical schools, and other endeavors. In athletics, we have worked hard to create an equitable partnership with our neighboring school district to create a successful combined athletic program. Our sports combine has achieved much success over the past five years. We have seen basketball teams reach the playoff level and our girls’ track team has won the 1B state championship for the last three years. For those sports not offered at Glenwood, we have made opportunities for students to join with teams from other neighboring schools.

At our school we take pride in honoring our students’ successes. Unique tee shirts are awarded to our honor roll students in the hope that community members will recognize and congratulate students on the honor roll. We display photos of students from each grade band who have been honored as Student of the Month. Our trophy cases have been overhauled to better exhibit the awards received by our students.

We try to strike a balance between academic and extracurricular activities in the hope that our students are learning skills and developing interests that will help them become well-rounded citizens in the future. Opportunities are created to help students discover new talents and interests. We work with the Missoula Children’s Theater to offer interested students the opportunity to participate in dramatic productions. In addition, our own locally produced all-school musical was presented this past year for the same reason. Glenwood’s Got Talent was a talent show that created a forum for students and community members to share their talents with the whole community. This event was very well received and we anticipate it will be an annual event. All of these elements blend together within the educational process to create an environment that helps students grow and learn.

We are devoted to making our communication stronger and more consistent. As part of this effort, we have established a website and have kept it current. Over time we have added items to strengthen communication. One of the newest elements is our Family Access link. With this program parents can communicate with teachers and check their students’ attendance, grades, and homework. This provides another tool we can use to make sure that communication is always current between the school and the home and community.

Your School Board and I have worked together to establish annual goals for the district. We use these goals to ensure that the district remains proactive and continues to push for higher levels of achievement and success in all areas of our educational system.

We will continue to add to this list over time as we maintain our commitment to your children, and we encourage parents and community members to contact us with ideas or issues.