December began with welcoming two new directors to our Board of Education. Ginger Schaaf now represents Director District 3, and Tim Bennett represents Director District 1. Our newly assembled Board and executive leadership team gathered for a retreat on Dec. 2, and the first order of business was to appoint officers. Ron Schwarz was named president, Patti Shank as vice president, Todd Brown as treasurer, and Ginger Schaaf as secretary. During the retreat, leaders also shared an overview of our district’s strategic priorities. I am grateful for our new Board members who have chosen to serve D38 and to those who have stepped up to fill officer roles.

We made it to December before calling our first snow day, and this year we are committed to keeping our staff, families, and community well-informed when it comes to our use of snow days. By clicking the “Weather Information” button on our website’s homepage, you can learn about the factors we consider when deciding to close or delay, and see our new Snow Day Tracker. So far, we’ve used 1.3 snow days (delays count for about one-third of a school day), and we will not need to adjust any school or district calendars unless we exceed a total of 8 snow days this winter. A lot of thought goes into weather decisions, and we always appreciate the continued support on those days when we need to adjust due to weather.

Finally, we are pleased to participate in FOX 21’s “We are Tri-Lakes” campaign that is showcasing our amazing community this week. We hosted their morning anchors on Dec. 15 at Palmer Ridge HIgh School for a live broadcast, which gave us the opportunity to show everything that’s incredible about PRHS and our district. I encourage you to tune in to FOX 21’s Loving Living Local show on Dec. 18 to see more schools highlighted. This campaign has given D38 the opportunity to share with the entire Pikes Peak Region that we are a small community with big opportunities!

Wishing everyone in our D38 community a joyful holiday season.