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Hello Regent Family!

I hope this message finds you well and you’re enjoying the last weeks and days of summer! This is the time of year when I get that small pit in my stomach. That pit indicates increased levels of anxiousness, but also excitement for the start of school. In a few short weeks, scholars will be back and school will be in session, I can’t wait…

Building Update
In preparation for scholars and staff, we’re working tirelessly to ready the building. The construction we’re undergoing includes the creation of new classrooms, collaboration and meeting spaces. When it’s all said and done (Two more summers until fully complete), the building is going to be an amazing learning environment. (See more on construction progress below). In the meantime, staff and scholars alike will have to navigate finding new classrooms, teaching and learning, and maneuvering through a building that continues to be under construction. Please know, maintaining a keen focus on teaching and learning at all times will be priority number one. Through all the phases of construction, we also want to maintain timely information for staff, scholars and our entire West community.

West School Improvement Plan 22-23
As we begin the year our collective tagline will need to be: through grace, patience and kindness we can overcome anything. This obviously includes construction headaches, but also the challenge of overcoming the historical pitfalls of racism that have plagued our schools and resulted in unequal outcomes for scholars.

As such, the West school improvement plan follows this path: The district and school goal of ensuring all scholars are college, career and community ready will be front and center. To get there, our staff will be engaged in professional development that ensures scholars rigorous, robust content and curriculum. Acutely, our focus will include exposing scholars' to literacy strategies that bolster their critical thinking and writing skills. Additionally, to ensure all scholars find success, staff will be examining teaching lessons and practices and adjusting to allow our most struggling learners to achieve, whilst also pushing others to gain even greater heights of academic achievement.

As we move through the year, we will continue to examine all our policies and practices through the lens of restorative justice. This collective process will make our school better by highlighting and allowing us to minimize those historical harms that have plagued scholars, particularly scholars of color. One benefit to this includes finding opportunities through things like clubs and celebrations for scholars to develop a stronger, more positive sense of self. Regardless of race, identity, or other, we want all of our scholars to find academic, social and emotional success…All within our Madison West community.

Lastly, another school-wide goal is to build stronger connections with our families and community partners. Through our Family and Community Engagement initiatives, we want more families and community partners to know and understand better how they can help us support scholars. We also want them to feel positively about their own experiences within our West community. By taking steps to provide more opportunities to meet and build connections, we feel this can absolutely be achieved.

I look forward to engaging in this work for you and with you! Go Regents!

Best regards,

Daniel Kigeya
Principal
The Madison West