From the Desk of the Superintendent Sept. 2021

From the Desk of the Superintendent…

We are excited to see our students back in classrooms! Teachers and staff are hard at work reigniting
our students’ passion for learning, reimagining learning opportunities, and restoring a sense of
community in our schools. The first 30 days of school will be primarily focused on re-establishing our
sense of community to foster a safe, warm environment to ensure that the best learning can take
place.

In an ever-evolving pandemic, our priorities remain unchanged. Safety has been our first priority;
however, our mission still stands. “We create innovative thinkers for a dynamic world.” Our mission
still drives all we do here in Colchester. “We” embodies the notion that everyone in our community
plays a role in developing innovative thinkers, and that Colchester collectively thrives when students
develop the skills to solve problems, work collaboratively, and communicate effectively.

Building upon this mission, the Board of Education recently established the following four goals:

   ● Goal #1: The Board is known for fostering and cultivating a welcoming, inclusive, and
     equitable culture that promotes the overall well-being of our students, staff, caregivers, and
     the community.
   ● Goal #2: The Board is known for growing innovative thinkers by investing in student
     achievement through dynamic and appropriately resourced instruction that maximizes the
     individual potential of students.
   ● Goal #3: The Board is known for effective reciprocal communication that builds connections
     with the CPS community and promotes advocacy efforts at the local and state level.
   ● Goal #4: The Board is known for purposefully aligning the needs of students with a fiscally
     responsible, equitable, and transparent budget.

The District’s goals are in perfect alignment with the Board of Education’s goals. We’ve spent much of
the last 18 months reacting to the impact of the pandemic on our community. While we will continue
to support a recovery, we must also sustain instructional and operational programming. The District
has been able to implement a number of initiatives and programs over the past decade that need to
be sustained in order to continue the tradition of excellence in our schools.

I am grateful for the strong partnerships we have cultivated with parents, caregivers, educators,
business owners, and community members. I will continue to listen to and learn from you, and
work with the Board of Education and my colleagues to foster the best educational, social, and
emotional environment for all of Colchester’s children. Working together for children, we can
help them strive for excellence.

Jeffrey E. Burt
Superintendent, Colchester Public Schools