Principal’s Message
We are very grateful at the Elementary School to be back in our full classroom spaces this fall. We are enjoying the beautifully upgraded rooms and enjoying the benefits of the building project success. As a principal and a parent, I get the benefit of seeing our school district facilities on many different levels. I spend my day seeing the upgraded classroom spaces and see how it benefits our students to have thoughtful upgrades that help our daily work. I walk through the new athletic facility in the evenings and hear the exciting thrill of crowds cheering at the various games all occurring at the same time. I even watched a game near the visitor’s side of the new turf facility and enjoyed hearing the opposing team’s families talk about how they wanted our new turf facility for their district. Then I walk into the new main entrance of the high school to see the beautiful entryway with increased security features opening into the amazing lobby outside the auditorium.

As a district, we lived through a lot of dust and facilities taken off line for these improvements to occur and I think it is important to take time to reflect and celebrate the success of the project as we move into the final phase. It is not just that the spaces are newer and look better. It is also a vibrancy and energy of how those spaces are being used to make the quality of the daily educational and extracurricular experiences better for our students. I celebrate the games on the turf; but I also celebrate the fact that our PE classes are able to get students outside well into the seasons that traditionally would have been too wet and muddy to support outdoor activities. Thank you to our community for supporting a well-maintained school facility and understanding the challenges and disruptions that go along with capital projects. I felt it was important to share the reminder that these improvements not only look good visually, they add new life and opportunities for our students.

The Elementary School is also continuing its work to strengthen our programming to better reflect the research collectively known as the Science of Reading. This year we introduced a whole group phonics enhancement to our current programming in grades K and 1 from the University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI). We have seen some great success with that implementation and our teachers have made the commitment to help our students begin with a solid phonics and phonemic awareness foundation that UFLI offers. We continue to use our Collaborative Classroom and American Reading (IRLA) resources as the core for our instructional practice but the UFLI program adds a component of strength to an area that we saw as a need in our benchmark data. This continuous use of data and research to refine our programming is a hallmark of what makes Livonia so successful. We are committed to continue to shift our approach to do what is best for students. It is not simply about test scores. It is an understanding of the central role of importance that literacy will play in our students’ futures. We are dedicated to ensuring that all students leave Livonia as critical thinkers and strong communicators. That begins with a strong foundation in literacy.

Thank you all for your continued support. Livonia Elementary continues to be a place dedicated to the idea that we are always a work in progress. Whether those changes come in the physical form of new facilities or in the form of shifts within our instructional practices, we know that to help students be prepared for life after the elementary school, we must continue to provide the best environment and thoughtful activities targeted toward building students of character and capability. We will continue to strive for our district motto of helping all students Achieve and Thrive through a constant pursuit of professional improvement.

Warm regards,
Casey Whittel
Phone: 346.4000 ext. 5001  |  Email