In the blink of an eye, we will enter into the 2017-18 school year at Niles Community Schools.

While it does mean summer must come to an end, we truly are delighted to welcome students back for a successful school year ahead Sept. 5.

In terms of student achievement, our learners continue to reach higher at every grade level across the district, challenging the limits of what is possible.

Many people don’t realize learning is a year-round activity for our teachers. To that end, our staff and teachers have been working hard over the summer to expand their horizons and to build on instruction and programming for all students. It will be exciting to witness our teachers demonstrating all that they have learned.

In order to continue to challenge our students and best prepare them for future success, I am pleased to share that we are adopting a new science and health curriculum this year. As you may recall, we adopted a new math curriculum two years ago and we continue to grow that program every year.

As a district, we will continuously work to ensure these curriculums work well for our students. To do this, we have built distinct curriculum teams that evaluate progress, challenges and seeks solutions at all levels.

By the time students enter our doors in September, construction will be completed at Howard-Ellis and Ring Lardner. I can’t wait to see the smiles on students’ faces when they experience these new facilities.

Meanwhile, construction crews are still hard at work making improvements at Ballard, Oak Manor and Niles Senior High. By this time next year, we expect to be able to enjoy finished upgrades at every building in the district. In the meantime, we are doing our very best to limit disruptions to students.

To celebrate this progress, the public is invited to attend one or both of our upcoming building dedication ceremonies at 2 p.m. Sept. 12 at Ring Lardner and 3 p.m. Sept. 14 at Howard-Ellis to thank the community for their ongoing support and to celebrate these state-of-the-art learning environments. Both ceremonies will be followed by open houses, at which time we will be pleased to share all of the improvements.

If you have not already enrolled for the 2017-18 school year, I encourage you to do so by calling (269) 683-0732 or going to the closest school to your home where the staff will assist you. We are happy to answer any questions you may have about getting started.

We encourage all families to make sure students are in school on Sept. 5 to ensure they don’t miss a beat and are on track for a successful school year.

Residents who don’t have school-aged students can exhibit Viking pride, as well. I encourage all residents to join us at events to celebrate arts and athletics throughout the school year.

Programs like these help our students become well-rounded members of society. We welcome your support.

A full calendar of events can be found on our district website, nilesschools.org.

The year ahead will be a bright one, and I look forward to seeing all that is to come for the students of NCS. 

Dr. Dan Applegate is superintendent at Niles Community Schools.