August, 2010

As always, the summer has passed by in a blur and August 25 approaches very quickly.  It has been a different summer at WAHS as we have worked to develop a new schedule for the upcoming year.

The hybrid 8 schedule is essentially two schedules within one with some classes on a semester basis and others on an alternating day format.  In addition to this change we have had to learn a new scheduling program that all three county high schools have used to develop master schedules.  However, I am confidant that things are coming together and we will be ready to meet the needs of our students as a new school year is launched.  I will post on this website the text of an electronic message sent to WAHS families to provide a scheduling update, just in case you didn’t see it.

As of this week staffing is complete and we will have several excellent new teachers join our faculty.  While our total FTE was reduced, we have worked to address issues of class size and balance classes as much as possible.  This becomes a greater task with fewer teachers, but most class sizes are reasonable and we are still working to balance others before school begins.  As I mention in the other message there will be some schedules that are not complete – many of these involve a conflict with electives.  Counselors are working hard to resolve all of these as soon as possible.

Our school is committed to the school division vision, mission, and goals, and will continue the work to meet the needs of each and every student.  We embrace the mission “to establish a community of learners and learning, through rigor, relevance, and relationships, one student at a time.”  The revised and updated school improvement plan will be posted on the website soon for your review, and we continue to welcome all of your feedback on our total school program as we progress through the year.

I remain very proud of our school and school community where our students achieve far beyond the ordinary in academics, athletics, and many other areas each and every year.  I have no doubt that this year’s achievements will continue this commitment to excellence.

I look forward to a new school year at WAHS.

Dave Francis,

Principal