Principal Message

Welcome to the 2025-26 school year!  

As I sat down to write my back to school message this morning it felt a bit more like Fall than I would like.  The end of Summer and beginning of Fall is a bitter sweet time for people who love to be educators.  It is always hard to say goodbye to the slower pace that comes with Summer but it is exciting to think about what we learned last year and how we are going to move forward for the 2025-26 school year.    

There was lots to celebrate this year in the ALE program.  We were able to add a certificated math teacher to help increase the level of math instruction our students were able to get, we saw state assessment improvement from a large number of our students, we were able to provide a Friday only program for our students who were not able to attend school on a regular school day due to behavior concerns, and we were able to help multiple young parents complete, or make progress towards, their diploma.  Because the average person who earns a diploma earns approximately $14,000 a year more than those who do not this is a huge deal!  

As I begin my 4th year overseeing the ALE program I am as excited as ever to start the school year.  Our theme for the year is “Better Together”.  As many of you are aware, the end of last school year threw us a major curveball.  As a former, and current, baseball guy my dad always told me when you get thrown a curveball you sit back and hit the ball the other way.  That’s precisely what we are going to do.  Although we don’t have all of the resources we did last year, we do have the ability to work “better together” and we are going to do so.  We will increase our communication, increase our competence, and increase our accountability to each other as we seek to serve our students and our community.    

I am both proud of what we have done and excited for what is next as we enter the 2025-26 school year.  We are committed to the Charger Promise to “develop confident, well-rounded, and sought after graduates prepared for their future”.  I look forward to working together to make this promise a reality through providing programs, like the ALE program, that meet the diverse educational needs of our students! If you want to hear more about our wins and our challenges please feel free to be in touch via phone, 509-258-4534, or via email, [email protected] and I’ll be happy to talk!  

Best wishes and Go Chargers!

Mike!