State of the School Address

Keith Tacey
Apr 28
5 min read

Dear St. Paul’s Families,

As we wrap up the school year, I want to take a moment to reflect on what we’ve accomplished together and share an exciting look at what’s ahead. This first year as your principal has been a blessing. Thank you for your prayers, partnership, and trust as we continue building a school where children grow in faith, knowledge, and character.

Celebrating This Year’s Growth

This year, we laid important foundations to improve how we teach and support every child. We launched UFLI Foundations, a research-based phonics curriculum that is already helping our younger students develop stronger reading skills from the very beginning. We also invested in Evidence Based Literacy Instruction (EBLI), and will be training our teachers in it over the summer to better support all readers, whether they are just getting started or catching up.

To improve upon an already strong school culture, we hired a full-time Dean of Students, Mr. Perkins, to help strengthen the connections St. Paul’s has with both families and students. Mr. Perkins has done a fantastic job just these past few months building relationships, supporting students, and helping create a joyful, respectful atmosphere throughout the school. His presence has been and will continue to be a true blessing.

We also responded to classroom needs with additional support. To help with classroom management and student engagement, we added a teaching assistant, Ms. Kaitlin, to our third and fourth grade classroom. The positive difference she has made in the lives of students and staff has been clear. Because of the impact she’s had, we are now actively recruiting others from our church and school community who might be interested in serving in a similar role in each of our four other classrooms.

Challenges and Changes Ahead

While there is so much to be excited about, we also need to address an important change for next year that will impact many families. After careful consideration, we have made the decision to discontinue our current latchkey program, effective at the end of this school year.

This program, which currently runs from 7am until the school day begins and again after school until 6pm, is no longer sustainable. We simply do not have the staffing or the physical space to run a before and after school care model that is healthy for students or staff. Placing large groups of children in a small room with minimal resources for extended periods of time is not a solution we’re comfortable continuing.

The current model has become a detriment to the mental health and well-being of the teachers who run and the students who rely on it. As a school committed to doing what is best for children, we cannot keep offering a program that does not reflect that value.

That said, we are not stepping away from extended care entirely. We are hopeful that we can launch a new, paid enrichment-based program in its place. This new model would offer structured, engaging, and meaningful activities led by someone who is passionate about working with children in a creative and caring environment. However, this program is only a possibility at this point.

We are actively seeking someone within our church or school community who would be interested in taking on this part-time role. If we are unable to find the right person to lead this initiative, we simply will not have the capacity to offer any after school care next year.

It is important to know that the enrichment program would cost substantially more than our current latchkey program, but it would also be a very different experience. It would allow us to pay staff fairly and provide students with a safe, stimulating environment that supports their social, emotional, and academic growth.

Students who sign up for the enrichment program would be allowed to arrive at school as early as 7am. The morning portion of the program would take place in the gym, where students can relax, talk with friends, and ease into the day in a calm and supervised setting. This time would be led by our Dean of Students, Mr. Perkins, who is excited to create a positive and peaceful morning atmosphere for our students. If we cannot offer after school care, we will still strive to offer a paid morning option with Mr. Perkins.

In addition to rethinking our latchkey program, we are also actively exploring how to better support families who struggle with transportation. I am currently in the middle of a proposal to the school board about the possibility of purchasing two 15-passenger vans that would serve students with the greatest needs to get to and from school in a timely manner. These vans would not only help families who face barriers getting to and from school, but would also provide reliable transportation for all school field trips. We are currently researching the total costs involved and hope to present a finalized proposal to the school board later this spring. If approved, our goal is to have the vans purchased and operational by September 2025.

We will continue to communicate any updates as soon as we have them, and we truly thank you for your understanding, support, and prayers as we work to build a program that reflects the heart and mission of our school.

Looking Ahead: Big Changes for 2025–2026

Next school year will bring meaningful changes that reflect our shared commitment to academic excellence, hands-on learning, and a positive, Christ-centered school culture. We will be introducing Amplify CKLA, the Core Knowledge Language Arts curriculum, in grades kindergarten through five, and Amplify ELA in grades six through eight. These programs will provide students with a rich and rigorous foundation in reading, writing, vocabulary, and grammar.

We will also be ending departmentalization, which means that teachers will focus on teaching their own class rather than rotating to teach special subjects across multiple grade levels. This will allow for longer, uninterrupted blocks of time for English Language Arts and Math, giving students more consistency and focus in these foundational subjects.

We are launching a new school-wide initiative called Makers Market, an innovative, hands-on program that gives students real-world skills and project-based learning opportunities every day during the final hour of the school day. All grade levels will participate.

As part of Makers Market, students will help operate five Green Bronx Machines to start a community garden project, five Kitchen a la Carts from Edible Education to learn home economics and cooking skills, and a t-shirt screen-printing setup where they will design, create, and sell their own shirts to raise money for school events. We are also bringing in musical instruments to begin teaching the foundations of music education. This program will not only support academic and creative learning, but also build leadership, responsibility, and collaboration.

To support all of this, we are partnering with a highly experienced educator who has spent over twenty years working in Title I schools. This individual will help train our staff in trauma-informed practices, project-based learning, and school culture development. They will also work closely with us to build a multi-year plan for fully integrating the gardens, kitchens, music, and screen-printing into a long-term vision for Makers Market.

Rooted in Christ, Growing Together

Every decision we make at St. Paul’s is grounded in our commitment to Christ and our love for children. We are working hard to grow a school that is not only academically strong, but also joyful, engaging, and centered on the gospel message of God’s grace.

Thank you for walking with us through a year of important change. I am so excited for what the future holds, and I am grateful we get to grow together—students, staff, and families—as one school in Christ.