Dear Parents and Community Members,

The School of Excellence is one step closer to reaching its ultimate goal. We believe excellence in education is when our students have achieved mastery in all content areas and the school district has reached the status of Exemplary, according to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) standards. Although this quest for excellence is not an easy one, the students, faculty and support staff is up for the challenge. "Because We Believe One Can Achieve What One Can Perceive."

Last year, everyone believed that we could accomplish "Recognized Status" at each campus. This year, I am very proud to say for the first time in the DistrictÕs history, we have 5 of 7 campuses that have reached "Recognized Status" according to TEA standards.

The five campuses that received "Recognized Status" from TEA are:

• Burch Elementary, Principal Mr. E. Davis
• Copeland Elementary, Principal Mr. J. Allen
• Kelly Elementary, Principal Ms. A. Garza
• Milton B. Lee Academy, Principal Ms. V. Walker
• Walker Elementary, Principal Mrs. P. Tankerson

As Superintendent of the School of Excellence in Education, I am extremely proud of our students, faculty and support staff that contributed to this success. This was a collective effort of many people who would not accept mediocrity from our students or themselves. The faculty and students at the School of Excellence are awesome people. I say this because as you know Charter Schools do not receive the same funding as Independent School Districts. In fact, the School of Excellence received less funding, but were still able to achieve student success.

In closing, this year's theme is "Begin With The End In Mind." How do we achieve this quote? By continuing our quest for student improvement one student at a time. Therefore, an "Exemplary School District" is our ultimate focus. Additionally, the School of Excellence in Education is a place where we guarantee student success.

Superintendent,
Kenneth Matthews