The below message from Dr. Jason Dandoy, Superintendent of Schools, and Theresa Rangel, Board of Education President, was published in the spring edition of ourTurner Today magazine:

It is always bittersweet to close out a school year in USD 202. Watching our seniors walk across the stage and embark upon the next journey in their lives causes us to reflect on the hard work each of our young people has undertaken… and the exciting new opportunities they’ll encounter as they depart.

But as each graduating class of seniors moves on, we welcome new preschoolers and kindergartners into the Turner family. Before school is out for the year, we are busy planning for new initiatives, hiring new staff members, and preparing to kick things off again in August.

Each spring, we announce a new theme for the upcoming school year and next year, we have chosen “Raise the Bar” as the guiding vision for 2024 - 2025.

Over the past few years, we have implemented new and rigorous curricular resources in English Language Arts and Math, which have shown us great results. “Raising the Bar” is a challenge to all our students, staff, and families to embrace the high expectations we have for our learners and ourselves.

Our summer season will be filled with many summer programs for students that have been shared with our families. Also, this summer, our teams will be updating Strategic Plan action steps with closing activities to round out our five-year planning cycle. Some exciting new changes for next year include:

• New World Languages resources implemented in our secondary schools.
• Improvements to the Turner Aquatics Center will be completed, including new lockers in locker rooms, repairs to pool paint, and installation of swimsuit dryers.
• Turner Middle School is moving to a six-class period day that will provide longer class periods with more opportunities for deep learning with our new Math and English Language Arts resources.
• New touch-based interactive panels will be ready for students at Turner Elementary and Midland Trail. These are the final schools to be updated with new classroom displays.
• A MacBook purchase will occur to refresh devices for two grades of students at THS.
• All new elementary/6th grade iPads will be delivered over the summer and ready for students in the fall.
• In the back-to-school edition of Turner Today, you’ll have an opportunity to meet some new leaders in our district. These individuals and position changes include:
  • Mr. Steve Clark will be joining us as the Supervisor of Grounds.
  • Ms. Hillary Madrid-Matthews will be moving into the role of Parent/Community Liaison.
  • Dr. Frankie Lizar is moving from THS to the Principal role at Journey School of Choice. Dr. Lizar will also coordinate Real World Learning efforts in our district.
  • Dr. Rena Duewel will be moving from Journey School of Choice to the role of Dean of Student Services. Dr. Duewel also coordinates staff professional learning in our district.
  • Ms. Kasey Sanders will be joining us as an assistant principal at Turner High School. Ms. Sanders comes to us from USD 500 where she worked as a special services coordinator.

On behalf of the USD 202 Board of Education, we hope you have a safe and enjoyable summer!