Dear Alva Public Schools Community,

The first full week of school is behind us and there are many reasons to celebrate the success of our students and staff. Thank you to all our students, staff, parents, and communities for your part in a successful first week. I would also like to especially thank the leadership of the Goldbug Education Coalition, Dala Leon, Lexie Lauderdale and all the individuals and businesses that sponsored the school supplies for our students. A special thanks also to Alex Mantz and OG&E for providing an opportunity for our teachers to pick up free teacher supplies this year. These are just two of the many examples of why Alva is a great place to live and work!

I want to begin by informing our school community that APS has been revising and working on school security plans. We will be working with our students on a more regular basis to modify and enhance our school security drills and expectations both during and after the drills. Additionally, the Oklahoma School Security Institute will be evaluating buildings this fall and providing feedback on areas we can improve at all sites. If you have questions please feel free to contact your school site.

Four years ago Alva Public Schools worked with numerous stakeholders to create a strategic plan to help guide the school district. The members of the strategic plan committee with their goal area listed first were:

• Curriculum and Instruction – Teresa Rader, Sherrye Lovelace, Bo Hannaford, Delaney Lambert, Shane Feely, Courtney Nesseralla, Jay Randels, Steven Ward, Connie Ruiz

• Culture and Community – Karen Koehn, Brenna Heaton, Alysson Tucker, Konya Martin, Colby Mackey, Jesse Chapman, Megan McMurphy, Ben Orcutt, Jenna Maier, Cami Percival Jane McDermott

• Personnel – Joe Parsons, Nick Bradt, Les Potter, Terri Smithey, Kelly Parker, Daren Slater, Kelly Thiesing, Stephanie Marteny, Melinda Barton, Kandice Allen

• Resources – Kay Decker, Mary Hamilton, Baylor Wren, Gena Denton, Madison Williams, Janet Cunningham, Todd Holder, Randy McMurphy, Tim Argo.

These members developed this plan along with information gathered from community members and students through surveys and community forums. From this information, learner expectations, core beliefs and core values were developed for Alva Public Schools.

The committee then developed goal areas with objectives, initiatives and action steps built around these expectations, beliefs and values. Additionally, the committee set performance measures to help track the progress made by the district.

Unfortunately, Covid put a halt to many of the actions steps and hindered our ability to complete many of the actions steps. We are, however, beginning to restart the implementation of the plan and look forward to providing updates throughout the course of the school year.

For more information on the strategic plan, please visit http://www.alvaschools.com under the Accountability Tab.

Thank you for your support of APS!

Sincerely,

Superintendent Tim Argo