Superintendent's Letter

Dear Parents,

The first few months of the 2009-2010 school year have been both rewarding and challenging. During that time, Indian River has continued to establish itself as one of the highest-performing school districts in the State of Delaware.

First, the good news. In addition to North Georgetown Elementary’s Distinguished Title I School award, we were very pleased to be one of 10 districts to receive a “Commendable” accountability rating from the State of Delaware for 2009. This designation is the result of a tremendous amount of hard work by our teachers and students. Across the district, our instructional teams take great pride in their work and have dedicated themselves to the goal of having every child be successful in the classroom. However, we remain focused on the ultimate goal of becoming a “Superior” district. We will continue to implement Learning Focused Strategies across the K-12 curriculum and are confident that we will eventually achieve a “Superior” designation.

Susan BuntingOn a more serious note, the H1N1 (Swine Flu) virus continues to be a concern for our students and staff. Throughout the month of November, the Delaware Division of Public Health will be administering free H1N1 vaccinations to students in Grades K-12. Children under the age of 10 will receive two doses of the nasal mist vaccine, while all other students receive a single dose of the injectable vaccine. I would like to thank all of our school nurses for working with the Division of Public Health to organize this important vaccination program. Parents should also be commended for returning the vaccination consent forms in a timely manner. Anyone with questions about the vaccination program should contact the Division of Public Health hotline at (800) 282-8672. It is important for parents to recognize the symptoms of the H1N1 flu and to keep sick children at home if those symptoms are detected. Students should not return to school until they’ve been fever-free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing drugs. 

Finally, it’s been nearly 10 years since district residents approved a major capital improvement referendum to build two new high schools and renovate 10 older school buildings. In October, the Board of Education authorized the development of construction plans for the final project - the renovation of Frankford Elementary School. It’s been a long, hard road since the passage of the referendum on May 23, 2000, but our students and staff will benefit from these improvements for years to come. Thank you for your support of these initiatives during the past decade. We hope you enjoy your new and renovated facilities! 

Sincerely,
Susan S. Bunting, Ed.D.
Superintendent