Welcome to School Year 2005-2006 in DoDDS-Pacific/DDESS-Guam.  I trust everyone had a relaxing and productive summer, and that you have come back eager to take on new opportunities and challenges.  These next few days and weeks will be especially busy as you prepare your classrooms, attend meetings, plan your lessons, and focus on all the things good educators do at the beginning of the school year. 

This year will be a pivotal year as we continue our focus on mathematics, science, and literacy. We will continue to deepen the professional development within our schools to enable all educators, specialists, administrators, and district leaders to foster an atmosphere of teamwork and shared leadership, which are the foundation of a world-class organization.

Initiatives you will see unfolding in our schools include: 

• “Assessment for Learning” to ensure a consistent approach in our schools towards standards-based instruction and assessment.
• Use of the Quality Indicator Map to reflect on our teaching practices and to help set goals for enhancing our programs.
• Pre-implementation year for mathematics. Training on the new DoDEA Math Standards and newly adopted math materials will take place.
• Continued focus on school level leadership and staff development through the use of CIFS, Literacy Facilitators, and the administrators’ "Leading Learning" initiative.
• The new Student Management System (SMS) program, designed to enhance school functionality and improve access to data at all levels.

We are very proud of the academic achievement of our DoDDS-Pacific/DDESS-Guam students. As educators we face the daily challenge of making learning come alive for them. As you begin planning for this new school year, I encourage you to set high expectations not only for your students but also for yourself.

I am very excited about this year and the incredible team of education professionals throughout the Pacific. I look forward to working with you and I hope to see many of you when I am visiting schools and districts during the school year.

Nancy C. Bresell
Director, DoDDS-Pacific/DDESS-Guam