From the Administrator’s Desk

by Granton Area School District Administrator Nancy Popp

Never a dull moment

One interesting part about working in education is that no two days are ever the same. When I was teaching every day, I always had my plans, and then a backup “plan B” just in case something changed. Even though my job is different now, I still need to be prepared for both the expected and unexpected. Small things like the weather can even affect how the day goes for the staff and the students. One week the temperature is bitterly cold and the kids have to stay indoors all day long, and the next week it’s in the 40s and rains three days out of the five, meaning the kids still can’t go outside for recess.

Making it even more challenging are the weather predictions that lead to the inevitable question, “Are we having school tomorrow?” I can follow all the forecasts and listen to all the meetings, but even when we move into a warning, that doesn’t mean that the storm will actually dump snow in the morning. Luckily, I have had good roads for my daily commute, and the staff and students have been flexible through all the changes and they maintain their dedication to helping students achieve their academic goals.

Speaking of academics, we just finished our first semester, and grades will be coming out soon. Many grade levels completed some sort of testing, whether it was FastBridge assessments or semester exams, and soon the ACT and state testing will be here, too. I know there are times when all of this feels overwhelming, but it is important to have scores (data) to look at so we know if we are teaching the correct information and if the students are learning what they need, either to move on to the next grade level, next class or their chosen career.

This is also the time of year we start planning for the 2024-2025 school year. The budget is one of the first pieces that we tackle. We look at all the costs we have had this year, and then predict if we will have the same needs next year and if those needs will cost more or less. Then we move on to the school year calendar and teacher matrix, which sets the class schedule for the students. Everyone knows that these tasks are done, but when you are part of the group that puts all of these pieces together, it is then that you see how changing one piece of one plan makes a huge ripple all the way through. I would like to thank all the staff members in the district who help to build these plans. Everyone works hard to do their part and this creates the best environment for our students. We couldn’t be successful without all of you.

Another one of the big items right now is the delivery of our electric buses. I am jumping into the project mid-stream and can honestly say I know a lot more about buses than I ever thought I would. The whole process started when the past superintendent wrote a grant to cover the purchase of the buses and chargers. The first week I started working in July, I was introduced to the “team” working on this project and since that time, Xcel Energy has done the necessary electrical work to pull the power from the lines into the bus garage area. The chargers and a new garage door have been installed and our maintenance and technology staff have done a ton of legwork here in the building. Our buses were scheduled to be delivered Tuesday, Jan. 30. Look forward to more information and a date for our celebration coming soon.

Nancy Popp