Superior Schools ready to welcome back students
The 2022-23 school year is off to a great start, and we are fully staffed at Superior Public Schools.
Our summer maintenance team did outstanding work getting our facilities cleaned, mended, and spiffed up for the start of school. We are excited to be back at doing the work we love…teaching our kids!
Our enrollment is up as we currently have 349 students on our rolls. Change has been the developing theme as we have been getting ready for our new year.
Principals Jessica Nagy and Logan Labbe, alongside counselor Byron Quinlan and Curriculum Director Beth Keyser, have done a phenomenal job implementing new schedules and curricula that continue adding new core and elective classes across the District.
The junior high and high school added a groundbreaking CTE automotive technology lab housed in our bus barn, with classes taught by US Army veteran Matt Doughty. We have also added other new and not-so-new faces to our school family.
SHS alumni Bridger Lapierre took over the reins of retired veteran Kari Labbe's Kindergarten class, Sentinel HS graduate and UM-Western alum Amanda Reichenberg is teaching second grade, and UM-Western grad Julia Willhite returned home to Superior to also teach second grade.
In our junior high and high school, MSU-Northern graduate and standout All-American basketball player Natalee Faupel teaches school mathematics. Fun Fact: Ms. Faupel is being inducted into the MSU-Northern Hall of Fame this fall in Havre!
The District also hired two new paraprofessionals, SHS alum Colleen Church and Michelle McCracken, to serve in the elementary as paraprofessional support personnel.
Other exciting changes have seen veteran elementary paraprofessional Kate DiGiando move to the high school to become our new JH/HS secretary as the venerable Ev Schultz retired this past June. The superintendent's and district offices moved to the high school for the first time in over twenty years to make room for our expanded elementary program.
We continue to offer our KinderOne program, enrolling four and five-year-old students to gain early experience in the Kindergarten curriculum designed to increase first-grade readiness. We are continuing to expand our GEAR-UP program under the direction of Toni Labbe, which exposes our JH/HS students to educational/training opportunities focusing on Year 13, the first year after high school graduation.
Our famous Superior School Pantry and Backpack program continues to support students and their families in Superior, as well as our sister communities in Mineral County. Alongside these efforts, our Food Service program, under the direction of Chandra Plakke, has a new kitchen/lunchroom floor and a shiny new double oven provided by a grant written by elementary secretary Dawn Bauer.
And local Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor Carissa Kuhl is in her second year as an elementary school counselor offering expanded mental health support to students and their families.
Our mission statement, "Working together to offer a SUPERIOR education!" remains central to supporting our students, families, and community. We also offer a robust number of afterschool and adult education offerings year-round to build the love of learning for anyone of any age in Superior.
We stand ready to serve and are always looking for new, innovative ways to leverage our community's investment in our schools. Stay tuned by checking out our website at www.ssd3.us or download our free school app; search Superior Public Schools MT in the Android, Google, or iOS app stores.
Scott Kinney is Superintendent of Superior Public Schools.