January 9, 2017
For the past four years we at CPS have been offering dual enrollment courses. It is our belief that all students whether college bound or not can benefit from this experience. If your child is interested in finding out more about dual credit and its benefits please contact Becky Satterwhite, Kevin Sukut, or myself here at the school.
The school offers a few small scholarships each semester on a hardship basis for those students who financially cannot afford these classes.
For more information about what dual credit can mean for your child please read the article below.
December 19, 2016
School safety. I hear from community members all the time about our school safety and procedures. Some parents feel electronic doors, a buzz in system, and our new Raptor System (one time ID checks for sexual predators) are far too restrictive while other parents thank us for doing all we can to protect their children. Wherever you fall on the spectrum of safety, I hope each of you can appreciate that we as an administrative team and our school board do this in hopes of limiting any type of threat towards our students. I also hope that you can understand that no matter which precautions we take we can only limit the "possibility" of a threat. If someone wishes to do harm they usually find a way. By conducting drills and trainings for our staff and students and continuing to stay on top of best safety practices CPS will continue to do our best to keep our students as safe as possible.
Below is an article on one of the latest school shootings from around the country. It saddens me every time I hear someone say that we live in Cascade, Montana; this could never happen to us. I pray that those of you who feel this way are right. However, my job as superintendent of this district is to be proactive. In the world we live in, I see it better that we plan for the worst and hope for the best.
December 12, 2016
Our presidential race is now behind us and appointments are being made. One appointment to pay particular attention to is Betsy DeVoss who will become our Secretary of Education. She is a staunch advocate for school vouchers and school choice. This most likely means a shift in public education dollars which will affect our students here at Cascade Public Schools and quite possibly local tax payers. Below is a quick article on what Mrs. DeVoss' appointment might mean in the near future.
October 27, 2016
Across the nation class size continues to increase while the amount of qualified teachers continues to decrease. Montana is currently one of the states struggling with this epidemic. Bills will be brought before the legislature during this legislative session to try and address this issue.
Follow the url's below to read more about teacher shortages and what is happening as a result. It may be eye-opening for many of you out there who are only now hearing about a teacher shortage.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-america-teacher-shortage-20160914-story.html
http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/how-can-we-fix-americas-teacher-shortage/education
September 6, 2016
When I decided I wanted to go into the educational field, I had no idea all the roles teachers played in the lives of students. In today's public educational system there is a growing need for an awareness about mental health. I believe it is a huge plus having a mental health agency within the school district that can work with school administration and staff to best meet the needs of the students who might need mental health care. Here at Cascade Public Schools we are excited to be able to again be working with AWARE!
If you follow the url below it will give you a little insight into the crisis that is affecting millions of students across the nation.
http://www.kpbs.org/news/2016/aug/31/mental-health-in-schools-a-hidden-crisis/