By Roydon Tilley Commentary



I would like to express my appreciation to those patrons and students who volunteered during the Oct. 29 Make a Difference Day. A multitude of projects were completed.

The elementary school painted and renovated the playground areas, repaired and cleaned the greenhouse, painted various areas inside and outside the school and replaced several outdoor benches. The middle school concentrated efforts on a complete makeover of Celebration Garden, which recognizes the reading achievements of students. The garden looks wonderful.

The high school landscaped every flower bed, painted every flagpole, replaced the skirting on the portables, planted approximately 25 crepe myrtles and 10 junipers, painted several of the entrances to the high school and cleaned the charter bus.

It was amazing to see the difference 100 people can make in such a short time. Thanks to all of those who supported the day with donations and volunteer time. Your help was appreciated.

Chisholm Public Schools recently held parent-teacher conferences. The number of parents participating in conferences rose dramatically at the high school. The student council sponsored a class chili cook-off and the high school served a meal to parents attending conferences. Ninety-seven percent of the elementary students' parents attended conferences.

The elementary consistently has averaged above 95 percent attendance for conferences. At the middle school, 97 percent of the parents attended student-led parent conferences. The student-led conferences were very successful in creating accountability for students. The middle school students explained their grades and the curriculum to their parents while setting goals for the next nine weeks. It is exciting to see the importance parents place on education by attending parent-teacher conferences. I would like to express my appreciation to the parents who participated.

The board of education, faculty and staff currently are in the process of identifying capital improvement needs for the district. In the coming months, I will be visiting with the Chisholm community to solicit input regarding our capital improvement needs.

I would like to express my gratitude to the Chisholm community for the support they have demonstrated for the education of our children during my 3 1 ? 2 years as part of the Chisholm Public School system. Your support is very much appreciated.



Tilley is superintendent for Chisholm Public Schools.