The end of the 20222023 school year has come — and what a year it was! When I arrived for this new position roughly 11 months ago, I was thrilled to become part of USD 327 and the Ellsworth, Kanopolis and Geneseo communities. Fast forward to today, and the pride I have exceeds every expectation I might have had when I arrived last summer.

As I reflect on the past year, I am grateful for so much. As many remember, last fall we moved fourth grade to Kanopolis Middle School, the first time to have the fourth, fifth and sixth grades in the same building. This change provided a chance for our fourth graders to grow, as well as the opportunity for third graders to become leaders at the elementary school. I am especially proud of the teachers and staff at KMS for the work they did to make this such a smooth transition. The fourth-grade team was welcomed and quickly blended with fifth and sixth, which made all the difference for our students.

I’m also grateful for the work of our elementary and junior/senior high teams for welcoming new principals this year. This has been a year of transition in our schools, and it was full of dedication and hard work, accompanied by new ideas, new relationships and a renewed commitment to the bright future of every student and every adult who calls USD 327 home.

All year, our board of education members have worked hard to listen to the community and make thoughtful decisions for our students, staff and community. Using community input, they have adopted a new mission, vision and motto for our district and identified six strategic themes to focus our work in the months and years ahead. This process will continue during the 2023-2024 school year with the continued development of a strategic plan.

There are many facility projects planned this summer that support the strategic theme of Aligning Resources with Facilities & Infrastructure. Watch for painting crews in buildings and parking lots as well as a new gym floor installation at EJSHS. In addition, we will be upgrading the EJSHS school safety system and enjoying new gym windows at KMS and EJSHS thanks to a Kansas Department of Health and Environment $137,000 grant. If you see our work crews this summer, I hope you’ll let them know the difference their work makes.

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that May should always be a time of celebration. Over the last few weeks, we have enjoyed field trips, spring sports and an inspiring show of community pride for our home track meets. In addition, we have had many opportunities to bring our stakeholders in to our buildings. Kanopolis Middle School welcomed local veterans on Veteran’s Night as well as the Ellsworth Fire Department for their annual fire safety presentation. The fire department also cooked hot dogs recently for our endof- the-year celebration for both EES and KMS. So many local businesses lent a hand in making this celebration such a success for our students. We appreciate these partnerships as this communicates not only to our students and their families but to our community stakeholders, we are bet- ter, together!

Few things feel more like May than high school graduation. Watching our young men and women walk across the stage and receive their diplomas was such a highlight of the school year — and an exciting milestone for all our graduates and their families. Whether hearing the band play “Pomp and Circumstance,” posing for photos or gathering to celebrate with family and friends, graduation was a special time for our entire learning community. Congratulations to the Class of 2023 and to all who helped, challenged and encouraged them along the way!

Let’s Grow!

Deena Hilbig is the superintendent of USD 327. She can be reached at (785) 4725561.