Dear Pinon Unified Families,
On behalf of our staff and Governing Board, I welcome you and thank you for choosing the Pinon Unified School District. It is our honor to serve the children and families in our communities across the Dzil Yijiin Region in the heart of the Navajo Nation.
It is truly an honor and a privilege for me to open the 2023-2024 school year as your Superintendent. My focus for this year is to create a safe and secure learning environment where students receive the best academic and extracurricular programs. Parents and community members are encouraged to become actively involved in their student’s school experience. After several years of pandemic restrictions, the PUSD campus is open for business.
During the summer, we have continued to develop and enhance a variety of our District programs. Throughout the school year, we will showcase these great programs and highlight the students’ accomplishments in learning. The District takes pride in providing the highest quality comprehensive curriculum in a safe, supportive, and technology-rich environment. Students are challenged, relationships are built, and instruction is focused on student achievement. The District has remarkable employees, a dedicated Governing Board, and caring parents and community members.
One of our goals this year is to ensure that every student attends school regularly. Chronic absenteeism negatively impacts learning. When a student misses two days of school per month, they miss 20 days of school by the end of the school year. This means that they miss over 20 hours of instruction in math and over 20 hours of instruction in reading. Parents and families play a huge role in promoting student attendance; teachers, administrators, and counselors can offer student support and programs to improve attendance, but parent involvement makes all the difference in ensuring regular student attendance. Everyone in our community can make a difference by helping students, and families understand that attending school every day is critical to their academic achievement. Together we can make school attendance a community priority so that all our students achieve success!!!
Our vision statement, “Every Learner, Future Ready,” captures our purpose and values. The District believes that we must continue to find opportunities to engage students in the most relevant learning opportunities possible so they become lifelong learners and responsible citizens. The District is confident when every student graduates and leaves, they are equipped with the skills, knowledge, and values necessary for success in an ever-changing society.
Sincerely,
Chris Ostgaard, Superintendent
