Building Student Success Through Staff Excellence

As we approach the 2025–2026 school year, Dysart Unified School District has been hard at work over the summer to ensure a successful year ahead for all students. We are proud to share the ways we have invested in our staff and educational practices to strengthen learning and student achievement.

Our focus this summer has been centered around expanding our schools’ capacity through the Professional Learning Community (PLC) process, a proven framework that supports collaboration, instructional improvement, and increased student outcomes. Here's how we've prepared:

• Summer Curriculum Workshop (May): Over 900 teachers and staff members gathered to dive into essential standards, analyze student work, and align instruction to student needs.
• PLC Conference (June): Instructional leaders from each campus attended professional development to deepen their knowledge and strengthen their implementation of PLCs.
• Dysart Leadership Team Meetings (July): School principals and district leaders collaborated on training and planning to align goals and strategies for the new school year.
  
• New Educator Orientation (July): We welcomed new teachers to the Dysart team, introduced them to our systems and expectations, and began building collaboration around our shared goals for student success.
  
• Back-to-School Planning (July): All staff will return for training and planning sessions to ensure we are fully prepared to welcome students and start strong.
  

All of these efforts are rooted in our commitment to the PLC framework, which is designed to build, evaluate, and continuously improve our educational systems. As a result, we have seen measurable progress in student achievement, school ratings, and staff retention.

Thanks to our strategic investments and dedicated staff, Dysart is now an “A” rated district, with 100% of our schools earning “A” or “B” labels - a first in our history. Here's a snapshot of our progress:

• 2021–2022: 12 “A” rated schools, 10 “B” rated schools, 2 “C” rated schools 
• 2022–2023: 18 “A” rated schools, 4 “B” rated schools, 2 “C” rated schools, District rated “A” (Year 1 of PLC focus) 
• 2023–2024: 18 “A” rated schools, 6 “B” rated schools, District rated “A” 
• 2024-2025: We anticipate increased labels

Superintendent Dr. Croteau shares: 

“There was a clear turning point when we began to train on and truly embed the PLC framework into our processes. The return on investment is evident—more and more students are finding success in the classroom. Through our investment in PLCs, we are strategically using our budget in a fiscally responsible way that impacts student learning and drives long-term success for our community.”

This focus on improvement continues throughout the year. Teachers work in collaborative teams to review student data, reflect on instruction, and take shared responsibility for student learning. By embedding the PLC process into all levels of our system, we are building a lasting culture of excellence and accountability.

As we begin the new school year, please join us in thanking our dedicated staff for their continued commitment to ensuring every student achieves lifelong success.

We look forward to a fantastic year ahead!