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The Times reached out to Dr. Cain Jagodzinski, Fountain Hills Unified School District Superintendent, for his thoughts ahead of the new school year.
“We are excited to take on several new initiatives tied to our goals as a district,” Jagodzinski said. “[We are] creating a strategic plan that will create our vision, mission, values, and goals.”
Some of these goals include increasing enrollment by attracting more students and families, improving aspects of Fountain Hills so no more students leave the school district for another, and getting back to the academic and athletic success Fountain Hills experienced prior to the pandemic.
Part of returning to success will be reinstating programs and interventions that will raise student academic achievement. Jagodzinski and the School Board discussed career technical education (CTE) opportunities at Fountain Hills during the school Board retreat on Wednesday, July 27. Currently, sports medicine is a popular CTE class at Fountain Hills High School, but there used to be other programs like nursing. Revamping those CTE classes could help compete with surrounding school systems, according to Jagodzinski.
Another goal is to enhance school safety and parents’ peace of mind with children on campuses. Jagodzinski is committed to strengthening safety measures to ensure a positive and safe climate through a unified effort from all three schools.
Jagodzinski also wants to improve communications with stakeholders and has invested in a “Remind” group text. Remind allows Jagodzinski to send a mass message to everyone – parent, teachers, and students – and Remind has been very helpful in the past when he needed to share important information quickly.
Jagodzinski said he is happy with new hires and knows that they will help address issues from last year. For instance, Dr. Kimberly Weeldreyer, Fountain Hills Middle School’s new principal, has over 20 years’ experience with special education and professional development. Sean Moran, the new head football coach, is also a special education teacher, and Jagodzinski knows he’ll do well with his classes and his team, since Jagodzinski was once Moran’s coach.
“I am excited about the new staff we have hired and the positive climate within the district,” Jagodzinski said. “Our focus this year is centered on high expectations for all aspects of the district. Through continuous improvement, feedback from who we serve, we will find success.”
