Here’s hoping that everyone enjoyed a relaxing summer break in the company of friends and family. We have wonderful opportunities ahead to make a difference in the lives of your children. Achieving our goals will take a strong commitment to continuous learning on the part of our talented and motivated staff, informed parents and an involved community that values education. I am committed to making sure our students receive the best possible education based on our knowledge of their previous learning, where to take them next and how to get them there!
Varnett's priorities
Student achievement remains our highest priority as we continue to increase our students’ growth in their learning through meaningful and honest collaboration with teachers, staff and our students. Together we can make this the best school year yet by ensuring that every child is in our classrooms every day, keeping focused on their learning and celebrating successes along the way! When our children succeed, we all succeed because of the contributions young minds can make to our society and the communities in which we live.
Our second priority is engaging every parent in the academic activities of his or her child. Varnett is launching a new initiative - “You’ve Got the Power!” – designed to increase our parent engagement and improve student performance. We look forward to seeing each of you attend at least one of our parent seminars scheduled throughout the year.
What is new this year? This year all three campuses will add sixth grade and we are excited to take our students to the next level.
We welcome new staff to Varnett and current staff in new positions:
- New Southwest Director - Jesse Arps
- New Professional Development Director- Ni’Cole Mukes
- New Instructional Science Coach – Elisha Newton
- 18 new teachers
- A new district counselor
Together with our returning staff, we are a very strong team and we will continue to focus on people as our most valuable resource: students, staff, parents and community members.
New school coming
We will open our K-8 Southeast campus as projected for the 2017-18 school year. The start date for students is September 5, 2017. If your child was enrolled last year at the school previously at this location, 12707 Cullen Blvd., you will need to enroll at The Varnett Public School for the 2017-18 school year. You may complete the enrollment and transportation request at our Southwest Campus located at 5025 S. Willow Drive or you may call 713-667-4051 for further registration information. Visit our website at varnett.org for school supply lists and start times for all campuses.
Lastly, this year we are adding an afterschool enrichment program through collaboration with “Be a Champion.” This endeavor will provide our students an opportunity to participate in fine arts, dance, martial arts, cheerleading, painting, drama, chess, STEM activities and homework assistance. Additionally, we will be forming intramural teams to compete in soccer and basketball.
I highly encourage you to stay tuned to both the district and your child’s school website. We have been hard at work to ensure our sites are up-to-date and a valuable resource to you as a parent. Our online calendar is a helpful tool to stay informed of events and important dates in our school community.
Please remember that school is from 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Best regards and welcome back.
Dr. Margaret Stroud,
Superintendent of Schools