Dear ACSD Community, 

Thanks to our community for supporting our fiscal year 2023 Addison Central School District budget! This budget enables us to continue to support our students in the many ways that ACSD staff do, and to respond to the growing impacts the pandemic has had on our community.

We’d also like to thank outgoing board members Mary Cullinane, Betty Kafumbe, Amy McGlashan, and Lorraine Morse for their years of devoted service, and welcome new board members Brian Bauer, Joanna Doria, Jamie McCallum, and Steve Orzech to the ACSD Board. Chip Malcolm is continuing in another three-year term.

Despite the challenges of the last two years, our ACSD community has been bolstered and uplifted by our teachers, staff, students, and community. Our students are guided by some of the most engaging and dedicated teachers and administrators in the state. They are cared for by skilled and thoughtful support staff and nurses. They are inspired by music, art, and language teachers. They are encouraged by athletic coaches, community volunteers, and school club advisors. 

This year, our elementary students have designed kindness campaigns, explored their local government, learned to identify animal tracks and spent time in outdoor classrooms, enjoyed big and little buddy activities, and performed and celebrated with classroom concerts and hallway parades. Our middle and high school students have deepened their learning and been recognized for academic, athletic, and artistic honors. They have begun to return to the social activities — from homecoming and spirit weeks to talent shows, musicals and athletic events — that build school pride and create lasting memories. Your approval of our budget allows us to support and extend the learning and relationships that will guide our students for years to come.

The warmth and resiliency of our community has buoyed us, and we face significant work ahead as a district. Responding to the swelling impact of the pandemic on the academic and social/emotional realities of our students is at the core of our mission as a learning community. Over the next year, as part of our Strategic Plan for Equity, our community is faced with assessing where we currently are and making decisions together that center equitable access for all students. This roadmap for our work over the next years requires all of us to look openly at how our systems can better support the diverse needs of our students.

As we emerge from what we hope is the worst of our COVID years, we are committed to finding new opportunities for parents and community members to feel heard, to understand the possibilities for our future, and to collectively ensure all of our students have an equal opportunity to succeed. 

Thank you again for your continued support and investment in our students at a time when it is so critical. I look forward to seeing you all out in our schools and community as we continue this work together.

With gratitude,

Peter Burrows

ACSD Superintendent