COBRA COMMUNICATIONS – Craig Schlichting – Superintendent
Gratitude. I am very grateful for the amazing staff at Triton Public Schools. I am also very thankful for the amazing families in our district. This past school year was full of challenges that I would prefer not to repeat. The constantly changing guidance and executive orders made day to day operations of school a constant challenge. Many times we were told of these changes without any time to prepare or adjust the plans we already had in place. On a positive note, working through this pandemic provided the opportunity for a number of individuals to shine. Difficult situations can often bring out the best in people, and it was amazing to see all of the great things the staff did to help serve our students. We were able to overcome a number of barriers and obstacles and still provide our students the education they deserve. It wasn’t an easy task to keep up with the constantly changing guidance, but we were able to keep our students in the building most of the school year. We only had a short period of time in which we needed to resort to distance learning in December. None of this would have been possible without the cooperation and teamwork of so many people in our Triton Community. I am very thankful to work in such an amazing school district with so many amazing people. I believe that our students are the focal point of everything we do, and making sure that we are able to serve their needs makes it all worthwhile.
Now that we have made it through the school year, it has provided time to reflect on the things that went well. It also provides a time to look at what didn’t go as well as we would like, and how we can improve. One area that I have I received feedback on is the way we communicate. We have had our emergency calling system for a number of years, but I heard of calls that got cut off and incomplete messages. We found a company that will update our webpage and link it to an app that you can put on your phone that will really update our ability to communicate with people in our community. This updated system will also provide us with the ability to send text messages and updates via the app. It also connects a number of social media platforms, so we can put the same message out in a variety of formats from one place. I am looking forward to getting this in place over the summer to be ready to go this fall.
It will also be very nice to have all of the work in our district completed after this summer. We will have the entire building dehumidified which will create a much better learning environment for our high school students early in the fall and late in the spring. Our roofing will all be updated and free from any worries about leaking. Our 20-year roofs have served us well since 1996, but they were in need of being replaced. The other major area that will see improvements is our parking lot. If you have ever driven through our parking lot, I don’t need to say any more about that topic. It will be smooth and graded to drain and move the water out of the area. I will be a busy summer around the building, but it will address all of the major concerns that need to be addressed, and overall, our facilities are in excellent shape, and we have room to grow!
Please reach out to me with any questions that you may have regarding our school district. You can email me at schlich@triton.k12.mn.us or you can call me at 507-418-7530 to reach me at the district office. I would be happy to set up a time to meet with you or your organization. I believe that communication is an important aspect of my job responsibility, and I welcome the opportunity to learn from your perspective. GO COBRAS!
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