The Taft City School District envisions a learning environment for all children that is effective through a sense of community. The district is committed to providing a successful, safe, challenging and nurturing educational experience, while promoting the joy of learning for all children. Families, staff and our entire community are full partners, actively working in a collaborative manner for the benefit of each child's education. Together we have an investment in our district's vision and believe a child's success equals our success. We ensure an environment in which everyone is valued and treated with dignity and respect. Everyone assumes responsibility for the success of the school community.

The entire educational community of Taft accepts the challenge of change and is motivated to acquire skills and values for a rapidly changing world. We create dynamic learning experiences by supporting and encouraging excellent teaching and educational growth of family and staff. The Taft City School District is dedicated to instilling hope for the future so that today's children will share their vision with future generations.

We encourage parents to play an active role in their children's learning by volunteering in our schools and participating in the many school related activities. Parents are viewed as the child's first and most important teachers. Education extends beyond the school itself to include grandparents and neighbors. Families are the primary role models for our children. We are committed to teamwork and collaboration to provide optimum services for students, staff and community. This partnership among families, community and schools is the foundation of our children's educational success.

My primary focus as an educator is to ensure every student reaches his or her potential, with strong academic emphasis. This current year has held many challenges caused by the state's financial difficulties. The district has had to make many tough personnel decisions and wide-reaching budget cutbacks. We always kept our focus on the educational programs and student learning. A priority has been to maintain class size and keep cuts as far away from the classroom as possible.

The improvement of the educational facilities has been a focus of the district. Thanks to the generosity of the Taft taxpayers a $20 million school bond was passed. The Taft City School District is in the process of completing the modernization and new construction projects for the district. The temporary site at Roosevelt School will be in operation the fall of 2003 and the actual modernization at Roosevelt School will begin this winter. The city is making a great investment in the future of the children of Taft.

The mission of the Taft City School District is to provide a child-centered education of the highest quality, using the unique vision and resources of home, school and community to ensure a stable and vibrant learning environment rigorous in academic standards, rich in diversity, sensitive to individuals, and committed to developing compassionate children who are confident, competent and creative learners.

The successful and positive future of the city of Taft is intertwined with the success of the Taft City School District. As the school district and town race together toward meeting the challenges of the 21st century, we envision a future of positive change and imaginative improvement.