Hello Panther Family,
With our school year well underway and exciting things happening throughout the district, I am honored and humbled to have been selected to serve as your next Superintendent! While I officially began in this role on October 17th, I am fortunate to have spent the last 15 years with the district. As I reflect on my time with the Parchment School District, I am flooded with warm memories of time with incredible students, supportive families, and outstanding district staff.
I first came to Parchment in 2007 as the principal at Northwood Elementary, where I spent 11 truly amazing years, during which time we moved our family here and officially made the Parchment Community our home. I am blessed to be the mother of four pretty awesome girls who always help me to keep life in perspective! Lena, age 3, is at Parchment Early Learning Center and Nora, age 6, is a first grader at Northwood. Abby, age 16, is a junior at PHS, and Erin, age 18 and a 2022 graduate, is studying Special Education at Western Michigan University. Parchment has been a wonderful place to live and work, and for our girls to learn and grow!
I feel confident that our district is on a great course! I see the passion, dedication, and tireless devotion that our teachers, administrators, and staff exhibit on a daily basis, and am humbled by their commitment to our kids and our community. As we emerge from the pandemic, it is clear that education is facing a new frontier. Our team continues to work to find new and exciting ways to engage our students and families, and to ensure their success. We remain committed to investing in our amazing teachers, and building capacity in them so that they may serve our students and empower them to reach their full potential.
As we move forward with this important work, we have grounded ourselves in the “Portrait of a Parchment Graduate” which we consider to be the “beacon” that guides our work, and defines our direction for our graduates of the Parchment School District. Our board, school and teacher leaders, administrators, and staff have worked to align this “portrait” with our district strategic plan, and we continue to strive for excellence as we build programming and opportunities for our students.
I feel very blessed to have such a great team to work with and to do the great work our community has entrusted us to do, and look forward to what the future has to bring for our School District and the Parchment Community!
Sincerely,
Dr. Sarah Neumann
