Dear Parents, Staff & Students,

 

As summer winds down, I hope that you have had an opportunity to spend some quality time with your family and friends. Although most of us hate to see summer leave, new opportunities and experiences will be coming as a new school year begins.

 

For many staff members at Manchester, summer is a busy time. I would like to commend the secretaries, maintenance, mechanics, and grounds staffs for doing an excellent job getting the buildings, buses, and grounds ready for school. I would also like to commend the administrators for conducting many interviews and making excellent recommendations for some outstanding new staff members who will fill the void left by our retirees.

 

But despite the efforts of many people, we have experienced a setback as we prepare for the opening of the school year. As many of you know, due to a series of circumstances beyond our control, the presence of mold in our Middle School has required us to vacate the building and it will not be ready for the start of school. We have worked on an alternate plan that results in the least impact on our students. Our elementary schools will not be affected but parents, students and staff in the Middle School and High School will experience changes that are necessary but not optimal. I know many parents and students will be greatly inconvenienced, but the best solution for this challenging problem is for the high school and middle school to share the high school in split sessions. [see MS details] [see HS details]

 

While we will do everything possible to keep the time for split sessions as short as possible, I can assure you that we will not compromise on safety, and students and staff will not return to the middle school until it is completely safe for everyone.

 

I would like to thank the many parents, students and staff members who have remained positive and supportive during this time. I have always known that Manchester is a very special school district with very special parents, students, and staff who not only give back to the community but also rise up during difficult times. As a school district, we will be as flexible as possible with our transportation department, athletic department, and of course our instructional staff to address any problems that arise from this schedule. As always, I appreciate the cooperation and support that you give to our school district.

 

I hope to see you at our Back to School Nights in September. Welcome back and I wish all of our students and staff a successful year.

 

David Trethaway

Superintendent of Schools