District Downlow - November

November 2026 -- Issue No. 3

No jargon. No 47-page reports. Just the Downlow. 😎

I don't know where October went, but I certainly didn't spend it sitting around admiring the status quo.

I've never been one to accept “That's how we've always done it” as a particularly compelling argument. Apparently, that's going to keep things interesting around here. 😂

Here's the thing about curiosity. Once you start wondering what's possible, it's awfully hard to stop. And the more I learn about NPS, the more I find myself thinking, “Ooh, imagine if we…”

Imagine if we became the district that caregivers couldn't stop talking about, for all the right reasons.

Imagine if we became the district where talented educators were lining up to join.

Imagine if we became the district where scholars didn't just discover their potential…they unleashed it.

Now THAT'S a Destination District. 😎 Not because we slapped the words on a banner or gave ourselves a fancy title, but because we're doing the work to build something worth choosing.

So how do we get there? Well, I can promise you one thing. We won't get there by doing everything exactly the way we've always done it.

Preschool? Let's talk.

Making special education a little less complicated? We've got the Scoop. 🎬

Giving educators, scholars, and caregivers a real voice in shaping our future? You better believe it.

Buckle up. We've got possibilities to explore and a little momentum to show off. 🚀

Let's talk about our littlest scholars. The ones with tiny backpacks, enormous personalities, and absolutely no hesitation about telling you exactly what they think. 

I've been thinking about preschool. Not because we're doing everything wrong, but because I can't help wondering what else we could do right. 👀

Here's what we know. Half-day preschool works beautifully for some caregivers. For others, it's a logistical nightmare involving work schedules, childcare arrangements, and the occasional need to be in three places at once.

Preschool should open doors, not create another hurdle caregivers have to clear. And when our options don't fit their lives? They'll find a preschool that does. Not because they don't want NPS, but because their lives can't simply be put on hold to accommodate our schedule. And honestly, who can blame them?

Once they've enrolled their children somewhere else, something happens. Their children make friends. Caregivers build relationships. They find their community. And by the time kindergarten rolls around, they may already feel at home somewhere else.

Caregivers shouldn't have to choose between the district they want and the preschool schedule they need.

So naturally, I started asking questions. 🧐

What if we offered both half-day AND full-day preschool?

What if we offered it five days a week?

And because apparently I don't know when to stop…

What if we explored offering preschool in all FOUR elementary schools? 👀

Now we're cooking! 🔥

Think about it. More options for working caregivers. More opportunities to welcome our youngest scholars. Earlier connections with caregivers. More time to recognize learning needs, intervene early, and provide support before small challenges become bigger ones. And a chance to build that sense of belonging long before kindergarten.

To be clear, we're exploring possibilities, not announcing an expansion. There's plenty of homework to do before any decisions are made. But that's how exciting things begin. Somebody asks a question that makes everyone think a little differently. Now THAT'S my kind of jam! 😎

And if we're serious about becoming a Destination District, we can't wait until kindergarten to give caregivers a reason to choose us.

Let's talk about special education. IEPs. IDEA. FAPE. Acronyms. SO. MANY. ACRONYMS. 

Seriously, at this point, we might need an acronym just to keep track of the acronyms.

For caregivers trying to make sense of it all, navigating special education can sometimes feel like learning an entirely new language.  Somewhere between the evaluations, meetings, and paperwork, it's perfectly reasonable to wonder, “Wait. What did they just say?” 👀

Well, we've got something for that!

Here's the best part. The idea came from SEPAC! Yes, our Special Education Parent Advisory Council, because apparently, the solution to too many acronyms was another acronym. 😂

Seriously though, when caregivers bring good ideas to the table, we should do something with them. That's exactly what we're doing.

Introducing The Special Education Scoop, our new video mini-series that takes those complicated special education topics and breaks them down into short conversations.

Think of it as turning the “Wait, WHAT?” into “Ohhh, NOW I get it!” One episode at a time. 😎

Here's what I believe: Caregivers shouldn't need to become special education experts just to understand their scholar's education. They deserve clear information, meaningful partnerships, and the confidence to ask questions and advocate for their scholars.

And our educators? They deserve that same clarity. We're all better partners when we're working from the same understanding.

Now, is a video mini-series going to solve every special education challenge? Nope. If only it were that easy. But it IS one more way we're opening doors, strengthening relationships, and turning caregiver feedback into action.

And THAT'S worth celebrating.

Curious? Of course you are! Check out The Special Education Scoop videos. Who knew a little clarity could be so refreshing? 👀🎬

You know what happens when you put educators, scholars, and caregivers in a room and ask what they think about our schools?

You get opinions. Lots of them.

Thoughtful disagreement? Yes, please. Groupthink? Hard pass.

Online conversations have their place, but a comment section doesn't speak for an entire community. That's why we're making room for more voices, more perspectives, and conversations that actually move us forward.

Now of course having a seat at the table doesn't mean everyone gets to order off their own menu. Sometimes we'll agree. Sometimes we won't. And sometimes you'll leave thinking, “Well, I wouldn't have ordered THAT.” 😂 But you should leave knowing your voice was heard, your perspective mattered, and your input helped shape our thinking.

Here's the thing. The people living the experience often see what the people making decisions miss.

So we've created three Superintendent advisory groups. Not to check a box. Not to hold meetings for the sake of holding meetings. And definitely not to produce another document that lives happily ever after in a shared drive.

We're bringing real questions to the table, and we're inviting people to challenge our thinking.

Want to know what's really happening in a school? Talk to the people who spend their days making learning happen.

Our educators know where things are working, where the obstacles are, and which well-intentioned ideas look a whole lot better on paper than they do in practice. 

We kicked things off with a Four Corners activity that got people moving and thinking about everything from scholar behavior and mental health to instructional support and opportunities.

Then we tackled school start times because apparently, I enjoy starting with the easy topics. 🫠

Sleep. Learning. Athletics. Childcare. Work schedules. Equity. Transportation.

Move one bell, and suddenly you've got a domino effect across the entire district.

And we're just getting started. Dual language immersion and preschool expansion are among the conversations ahead.

The point? Our educators shouldn't just be handed decisions. Their expertise should help inform them.

I have a radical idea.

What if, before making decisions about scholars, we actually asked scholars what they think? 🥸

I know. Groundbreaking.

Our Scholar Advisory Council gives young people a direct line to conversations about their schools. The council is intentionally designed to reflect our student body's diversity, bringing together scholars with different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, because if we're only hearing from the same voices, what are we really learning?

We're talking about safety, belonging, mental health, opportunities, and whether scholars feel adults really listen when something goes wrong.

And yes, we talked about school start times. Turns out, the scholars who joined us actually favored an earlier start. I know. That wasn't on everyone's bingo card. 😂

But the conversation is bigger than that. It's about understanding what helps them learn, participate, and feel connected to school.

We'll also dig into technology and AI, course offerings, and how we organize the school day because scholars aren't just preparing for the future. They're the ones who will be living in it.

Ever looked at a school decision and thought, “Did anyone actually ask the caregivers how this would work?”

Fair question. And one we should be asking ourselves more often.

That's why we created the FACE Roundtable, short for Family and Community Engagement (I know I know...another acronym 🤦🏽‍♀️). What makes perfect sense from behind a desk doesn't always make sense at the kitchen table. We need to understand BOTH perspectives.

So we're asking some real questions.

Are we meeting the diverse needs of our scholars? Where are we getting it right? Where do we still have some homework to do? 👀

And then there's school start times.

On paper? Just move the bells.

In real life? Six buses, three school levels, work schedules, childcare, athletics, and about a thousand dominoes waiting to fall. Oh, and me asking, “Okay, but what if we tried…?” 😂

See why we need caregivers in these conversations?

And before anyone gets too excited (or too nervous!), these aren't decisions we're announcing. They're possibilities we're exploring together.

Caregivers shouldn't have to find out what we're thinking after we've finished thinking about it. They deserve to be part of the conversation from the beginning. 💜

An educator might say, “Here's what that looks like in my classroom.”

A scholar might say, “Well, here's what it actually feels like.”

And a caregiver might say, “Okay, but here's what happens when we try to make that work at home.”

Same issue. Three completely different perspectives. And somewhere in the middle of all that? Better questions. Smarter decisions. Stronger schools.

Listen, Beautiful People, if I'm heading east and you can clearly see a cliff ahead, PLEASE don't just smile and wave. Say something! I'd much rather adjust our course than explain to the School Committee (🤦🏽‍♀️) how we all ended up at the bottom. 😂

My Cabinet has been incredibly patient with my curiosity...although I suspect someone has considered hiding my whiteboard markers. 😂

Our three advisory councils? We've barely scratched the surface.

And school start times? Your alarm clock can stand down…for now. 😂

Meanwhile, my Listening & Learning Tour continues, and in December, I'll start sharing what I've learned. The good, the challenging, and the questions we probably should've been asking before social media convinced everyone they had all the answers. 🫠

And here's what I hope you're starting to see. We're not interested in change for the sake of change. We're interested in building something extraordinary. A district where scholars thrive, educators want to be, and caregivers are proud to belong.

If getting there means questioning a few sacred cows along the way? Well, you probably know me well enough by now. 😂

Until next month…

Stay fabulous. Stay curious. And whatever you do, do it with soul. I know. The audacity. 🫠

Superintendent Annie