Dear Parents and Families,

Welcome to Peters Elementary School. I am excited to begin the 2022-2023 school year as principal of Peters Elementary School and to lead a staff that is dedicated to creating a supportive environment for your children to learn and grow. This is my 22^nd year in public school education, and I can confidently say that Peters Elementary School has the greatest faculty and staff that I have ever worked with! 

Last year, as we approached the beginning of school, there were a lot of uncertainties. We had just come off of a year with altered models of schooling, extra mandates, and ever-changing plans to ensure staff and student health and safety. It was a challenge as we planned for potential school closures and instructional changes. We entered the year planning to re-focusing on our School Wide Positive Behavior and Support (SWPBS) principles in hopes of building a school climate and culture that was safe and beneficial for all students. And, we hoped to provide a full year of education without significant barriers. Looking back on last year, I am so proud of everyone and what we were able to accomplish! We began the year with uncertainty and ended with having the school community enter our buildings to attend our end-of-year school concerts. We began the year unsure if we’d be able to maintain a traditional model of schooling and ended the year with data that shows that students grew A LOT last year. That makes me even more excited for this year!

Instructionally, we have made a number of changes this year to address the challenges brought forth by the pandemic. We have adjusted schedules to include a What I Need (WIN) period at each grade level. This will provide teachers a dedicated time to work with students on their specific needs. We’ve hired additional staff to address a larger than typical kindergarten class, and, we continue to investigate new platforms to meet students’ needs. This year, the district will be moving to Canvas to make our communication and learning platforms consistent in grades K-12.   

Each year, my personal goal is to provide opportunities to have parents directly involved in their child’s educational journey. We received some great feedback at the end of last year and have some ideas that I hope will make our monthly Family Engagement Meetings more accessible. Remember, all Peters parents are invited to attend these agenda-driven meetings where parents and staff discuss ideas and suggestions related to our elementary schools. We will meet once per month and the dates are already on our website. I hope you will consider participating!

I’m looking forward to an amazing 2022-2023 school year! 

Respectfully,

James Schnyderite

JSchnyderite@nlsd.org