Welcome Back, Lava Ridge Team!
August always brings fresh energy and excitement for a brand-new school year. Whether we’ve worked together for years or this is your first year at Lava Ridge, I want to share a few core leadership beliefs that guide how I serve as your principal—and what you can expect from me.
Positivity and Culture First
I try to focus on opportunities whenever challenges arise. My priority is to build trust, foster strong relationships, and ensure Lava Ridge remains a great place to work. I believe in face-to-face communication and hope you will stop by my office and talk directly with any concerns, ideas, or feedback you may have. If you have a question, this is usually the quickest way too, to get an answer. In 22 years as a principal, I’ve seen how back-channel gossip or indirect complaints erode a team. I’m not a fan of “Well, I’ve been talking to people and lots of them are very…” or “At lunch today, staff were saying…” Encourage those people you have been talking to to talk or meet with me. It’s similar to when a parent shares a concern with me about a teacher, I will direct them to the teacher to discuss the issue. My door is always open, really.
High Professional Expectations & Commitment to Lava Ridge Students and Families
I believe our students and families deserve our best every day. The reality is we all have days and times when we would rather be somewhere else (got skiing?) On these days, I fake it. I made the choice to be here and owe it to you, and our students and families to give my best. I also believe we need to use the most effective instructional strategies and district curriculum and remain open to growing in our roles together. Extensive research has gone into these curricular and instructional decisions, it’s foundational for equity, and it’s what is expected of us.
Work-Life Balance
When I’m at school, I work hard and try to be efficient as I can be. Outside of school, my primary roles are being a dad and a husband, and making time for things that bring me joy, like swimming. You won’t typically see my car parked here on weekends or receive 9:00 PM emails from me, and I encourage each of you to protect your personal time just as fiercely.
Streamlined & Consistent Communication
In addition to our face-to-face communication, emails, and monthly staff meetings, you can expect:
- Week at a Glance: Sent out every Friday, this is a primary communication tool. Keeping this a “must-read” helps keep us fully informed and allows us to cap full in-person staff meetings to typically once a month.
- Quick Check-Ins: I will continue sending short, periodic check-ins to see how you’re doing. Thank you for taking a couple of minutes to complete these, your well-being is genuinely important to me.
I am thrilled to partner with you all for another incredible year at Lava Ridge!
Schedule for August 27th – September 3rd
Thursday, August 27th
- New Certified Staff Orientation Day @ Silver Rail Elementary
- Option for certified Work in Classroom Day*
Friday, August 28th
- Option for certified Work in Classroom Day*
Monday, August 31st
- Certified Inservice @ 7:15-11:15 (Gym)
- Work in Classrooms PM
- Light Breakfast and Lunch Provided
Tuesday, September 1st
- Certified and Classified Inservice day at Lava beginning at 7:15 a.m. (gym)
- First day for Educational Assistants
- Light Breakfast and lunch provided
Wednesday, September 2nd
- District Professional Learning Day for Certified Staff (off-site locations)
- Classroom teachers, learning specialists, psychs, SLPs, Ots @ Caldera HS
- Music at Miller
- PE at Juniper
- ELD staff will be at the new DP Central Library
- Counselors and Student Success at High Desert Middle School
- Lunch on your own
- Non-contract day for Educational Assistants
Thursday, September 3rd
- Certified workday; 10:00-6:00 p.m.
- Teachers send welcome post on Parent Square to families by 10:30
- Work in Classroom Day
- Lunch on your own
- Open House 4:00-6:00 p.m.
Friday, September 4th
- Inservice activities followed with about 2 hours of time to work in classrooms.
- Lunch on your own
Tuesday, September 8th
- Option for certified Work in Classroom Day*
Wednesday, September 9th
- First Day of School! Half of our kindergarteners will attend on the 9th and the other half on September 10th. All kindergarteners attend school on Friday, September 11th
*This is an option for the 2nd Work in Classroom Day for certified staff (options include 8/27, 8/28 or 9/8)