Division Superintendent

Dear CCPS Family:

It is impossible to believe that we have started another school year!   Where did the time go?  I can tell you from my seat, these last few years have been some of the most challenging in my entire career.  We have faced unprecedented cuts in state funding, and while we have worked so hard to conserve and maximize the resources we have been so thankful to receive, the storm is not over.   Please continue to contact your local and state legislators and urge them to restore K-12 education funding.  Our children deserve better than this, and we can’t reconcile this “fiscal meltdown” of our state on the backs of our innocent students.

While our challenges continue, and funding will yet again be an issue in the years ahead, we have so much to celebrate and be thankful for in Charlotte County.  So, instead of another “doom and gloom” message emphasizing all that we need and don’t have, I’m proud to celebrate and acknowledge the “surpluses” we do have!

A talented and dedicated staff. The past  three school years  have been some of the most challenging in CCPS’s history, yet our staff continued to provide a secure learning environment and quality instructional program for each of our 2000 students. Even as the initial budget conversations progressed into very sobering decisions resulting in program cuts and employee layoffs, we saw a tremendous demonstration of collaboration, purpose of mission and shared sacrifice across all levels of our organization. This may have been our toughest year, but I have never been more proud to be an educator and to work with such committed colleagues.

Wonderful students.  We all know that test scores should not define a school or a district, and cuts are not always immediately reflected in annual assessments. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that CCPS students continued to outperform other students regionally and state-wide.  Our students are also frequently recognized as being some of the most polite, respectful and motivated of any around.  I am so proud of them!

Great families and strong community support. Year after year, our district benefits greatly from the unwavering support of parents, volunteers, businesses and community groups.  We have been so blessed that our local Board of Supervisors continues their commitment year after year to maximum available local funding, when we all know how our local economy has suffered.  Our school division is the nucleus of our community and we are so fortunate to have the support of our extended school family.

A district-wide commitment to “whatever it takes.”  Charlotte County truly is a “village” committed to raising all of its children, and regardless of staffing, funding, available resources and materials, salaries, benefits, etc…the adults in this community will see to it that our children are taken care of.  It is in this commitment and “heart” that I find myself so humbled to remain the leader of this great school division.  We care about our kids, and will see to it that regardless of what they do in Richmond or Washington, they will not suffer.  

Thank you for your commitment to the education of all of our children.  These are hard times and we are struggling to get the job done; but at the end of the day, the job will get done.  This is what our children deserve, and in spite of the present nature of our economy, we will stay the course and get through it together.  As always, thank you for your confidence and trust. 

Sincerely,

Dr. Melody Hackney, Superintendent