Guest Column: Dr. Marc Snow, Superintendent of Schools

​Grain Valley Schools Community,
 
     We are excited for the start of a new school year!
     Last year brought many challenges to our community, as it did to communities across the country, and many difficult decisions were required of us throughout the school year. I wish to thank our entire school community for your involvement, your patience, and your trust, as we have worked to overcome the challenges of the pandemic, including trying to keep students engaged with their teachers as much as possible, and to keep families informed on the latest updates.
     Our staff members have worked so hard and so creatively to support the learning and emotional needs of students. They truly rose to the challenge and I am so proud of their excellent work!
     This summer, our School Board looked to the future, approving a new five-year strategic plan for continuous improvement. We appreciate the involvement of more than 60 community stakeholders, including parents, guardians, students, and staff, who answered our call for volunteers to develop this new plan. We are eager to meet these ambitious expectations. You can check out our new plan on our website at GrainValleySchools.org.
     Grain Valley Schools continues to have one of the longest-running patterns of year-over-year growth in the state. Our community has consistently stepped up to support the addition of classrooms, schools, and other facility needs over the years. Work on the latest addition to our high school will be completed for the start of this school year and was made possible with the passage of a bond issue in June of 2020.
     The completion of this phase brings us just over halfway through our planned additions and renovations to the high school campus, which, when completed, will provide all students a modern high school facility.
     We have delayed major renovations or additions to our district office facility located on our Pink Hill Road campus for several years as we prioritized classroom and student activity space needs. Now we are looking into ways to address the needs of district-level operations as well. We will share updates with our school community as we work on possible solutions.
     It is a pleasure to serve this community and I look forward to working with you to ensure continued success for our students as we begin a new school year. Again, thank you for your support as we seek to do our very best for “every student, every day.”
 
Sincerely,
 
Dr. Marc A. Snow
Superintendent of Schools
(816) 847-5006
msnow@gvr5.net
 

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