Dear Mossyrock Community,
As we enter a season of reflection and gratitude, I want to share where Mossyrock Schools is headed and speak honestly about what stands in our way. As your school superintendent, my guiding principle is simple and unchanging: every decision we make must begin with the needs of our students, including their learning, their health and their sense of belonging.
None of this vital work is possible without our dedicated teachers and staff, whose commitment and hard work form our district every single day.
To give every child the best possible environment to thrive, we are working toward several key goals:
• Student & Facilities Opportunities: We are pursuing targeted grants to update our facilities and expand athletic and educational opportunities for students and the community.
• Expanded Student Pathways: We are growing our career, technical education and dual credit programs, work that high school Principal Lori Cournyer has championed, while developing local internships that connect students with opportunities close to home.
• Family and Student Support: We are proud to partner with Arbor Health to expand wellness services for students and families. We also plan to launch a Homelink program and expand remote and alternative learning options to meet the diverse needs of our families.
• Communication and Access: We are improving district communication by investing in our technology team, equipment and launching an updated AI chatbot on our website to help families quickly reach the right department. We also plan to expand multilingual assistance so every family can easily access the resources and support they need.
• Academic Rigor and Innovation: True academic growth requires a rigorous curriculum and modern support systems. This winter, we are launching new curriculum committees for elementary science and high school English language arts. Planned teacher coaching in modern strategies, new data teams to track student growth, and hands-on learning such as a shared community garden, are all aimed at improving reading and math achievement and graduation rates.
• Safety and Preparedness: Ensuring a safe learning environment is fundamental to everything we do. We are updating safety protocols across the district. Every classroom will be equipped with a new emergency action flipchart, and we conduct monthly safety drills so staff and students know how to respond. We are also updating our districtwide evacuation and reunification plans so that, in an emergency, we can reunite students with their families quickly and safely.
• Financial and Policy Health: We are working to balance our budget while actively pursuing grants to bring in additional resources. We are also updating all district policies in partnership with the Washington State School Directors’ Association so our guidelines are current and legally compliant.
• Supporting Student Wellbeing: Because academic success goes hand in hand with wellbeing, we are implementing social-emotional training for students and staff. This focus on positive interventions supports student mental health, fosters a healthier school culture, and reduces discipline issues.
I also owe you candor. Recently, conflict among adults in our community has drawn time, energy and attention away from our classrooms. Disagreement is a healthy part of public education, and I welcome hard questions about how we make decisions and spend public dollars.
But when adult conflict becomes the focus, students are the ones who pay the price, and the momentum we have built together slows. Our children are watching how we treat one another. They deserve to see the adults in their lives disagree with respect and stand united in their corner through collaboration and shared purpose.
For my part, I commit to keeping my door open, answering questions directly, and sharing information as clearly and promptly as I can. To support open communication, I will be hosting quarterly open community events where we can connect directly and discuss our district’s progress.
So I am asking all of us to return our focus to what matters most. I invite you to join me in finalizing our new district strategic plan, keeping our students at the center of every conversation and decision. If you haven’t already, please participate in our current community survey to make your voice heard. This work requires all of us, and I am deeply grateful for your continued dedication to the students of Mossyrock.
Warm regards,
Effie J. Dean
Superintendent
Mossyrock Schools
