Superintendent

Dr. Badams Dr. Jay D. Badams
Erie Public Schools
148 W 21st Street
Erie Pennsylvania 16502

Telephone:
(814) 874-6001

Fax:
(814) 874-6010

Email

Dear Families:

As we get set to begin a new school year, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your patience and support over the past year and tell you just how honored I am to serve as your superintendent during this exciting time.

Reflecting on our recent successes and challenges, I am confident that we have made significant progress on the three goals we outlined last year and can look forward to building on this momentum in the year ahead:

Continuous Improvement of Teaching and Learning: The heart of any school system, naturally, is teaching and learning. Students in Erie’s Public Schools benefit every day from a truly outstanding team of educators -- teachers and support staff dedicated to student achievement and individual success. We also continue to implement the Common Core State Standards to provide a more consistent and clear understanding of what our students are expected to know and be able to do. The recent announcement by GE to commit an additional $8.6 million to teaching and learning in our school system will further enhance our ability to deliver an education that is robust and relevant to the real world and reflects the knowledge and skills that our students need to graduate ready for success in higher education or the workforce.

Continuous Improvement of Culture and Climate: We have also made significant progress in areas that positively impact the culture and climate in our schools. From a strong commitment to increased transparency and communication to continuous leadership and professional development for our staff, we continue to build a culture and climate that nurtures the dedication and involvement of all employees, parents, students and members of the community -- a climate in which our students can succeed.

Continuous Improvement of Organizational Effectiveness: The more effective and efficient we are as an organization, the better able we will be to provide students with a world-class education. After facing a $26 million deficit last year and overcoming a $12 million gap in this year’s school budget, we have accepted and embraced the challenge to do more with less. Becoming a more effective school system in the face of these obstacles requires bold and innovative ideas — even some unpopular and difficult recommendations — but it allows our students to benefit from a more equitable distribution of educational resources. The important reconfiguration we completed last year was an important first step in our financial recovery and the optimization recommendations we approved in August will bring us even closer to becoming the public education system our students deserve.

Above all, we look forward to working in partnership with you to ensure your child’s success this school year. Your child’s education is as important to us as it is to you.

On behalf of the Board of School Directors and our entire team, I wish you and your family a successful and rewarding school year!

Sincerely,
Dr. Badams Signature
Dr. Jay Badams
Superintendent