From the Superintendent…

Mercer County Schools experienced many accomplishments during the 2018-2019 school year. We began our math4life campaign and will continue the program this year with many math related activities, events, and professional learning opportunities. Looking toward 2019-2020, we expect another successful year.

As superintendent, I firmly believe we have to prepare our students for the world today and tomorrow. We know children learn in many different ways. Consequently, employees are working hard to prepare for a great year. Many attended summer professional development classes and sessions. Prior to students returning to the classroom on August 8th, all professional and service employees will spend time reviewing student needs, learning new ideas, planning together, and preparing their classrooms for the upcoming year.

Last year, we organized our county-level math leadership team consisting of educators from every school in the county. This year, team members will focus on developing ways for students to problem-solve, enhance critical and creative thinking skills, improve student learning and performance in mathematics, and help educators increase their understanding of the different ways students learn math.

We also strive to promote a school culture which helps support the mental, social and emotional health of our students. To help meet the needs of our students, we increased the number of social workers in our schools. Because security is always of absolute importance to us, we now have shared police officers at Princeton High and Princeton Middle and have shared former police officers at Bluefield High, Bluefield Middle, PikeView High, PikeView Middle and Montcalm High. As the year progresses, we will continue to search for ways to improve and augment our current security services.

To meet the needs of our students, our classrooms will continue to be “student centered” to ensure students develop and master skills necessary for success in our changing world. Teaching communication and problem solving skills, using various technology devices, and exploring career opportunities will once again be emphasized.

We are extremely excited to have two new schools currently under construction. While we do not have a definite completion date yet, Mountain Valley Elementary School (Pre-K – 5) will be finished sometime this Fall. Our enthusiasm continues to grow as we watch this state-of-the-art new school come to life. Numerous educational opportunities for students will be available at MVES through the use of a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) room, a media room, a stand-alone cafeteria, and a full size gymnasium with bleachers. Our second building project, Bluefield Primary School (Pre-K – 2), broke ground in May. The new school is located beside Bluefield High School and is slated to open in the Fall of 2020. As the year progresses, we will introduce some of the exceptional educational opportunities we will offer students at Bluefield Primary School.

With the second year of our state assessment behind us, we will continue to review and look for ways students can improve their test performance. We want you to know and follow your child’s progress. Therefore, Live Grades will be updated weekly.

In Mercer County, school is a place where we can come together as a community to work and learn together. As partners, we will be better equipped to prepare your child, our students, for the ever-changing world.

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