Dear Heuvelton Central School Community,

It was with great excitement that we hosted Orientation Night two weeks ago, and it was even more rewarding to welcome all students back on opening day!

We take pride in striving to make our school vision, “One Community. One School. One Family.”, a reality, realizing that progress is made one relationship at a time. As a school we are renewing our commitment to this vision, and ask the same of students and families.  

Collaboration with families and community partners is needed to be successful, and the Heuvelton Parent Teacher Association deserves thanks for their initiative and ongoing support, as seen most recently in their co-sponsorship of our school community dinner at Orientation Night and their raffle baskets. Please consider joining their effort, as many hands make for light work. Several other organizations contributed to the success of the evening, including St. Lawrence County Public Health, Claxton-Hepburn and the Heuvelton Health Center, and the St. Lawrence County People Project. We appreciate their support!  

Importantly, our dedicated school district employees - our monitors, teachers, teaching assistants, food service workers, principals, bus drivers, nurse, custodial workers, and clerical staff - are the backbone of our success. Their tireless efforts to prepare for school opening, and to care for your children throughout the school year, are a tremendous asset.  

This year our school and staff continue as part of the Learning 2025 partnership, a collaborative network of districts across the country working to help advance student-centered, equity-focused, future-driven education. School district employees kicked-off the year with professional development sessions focused on discussions of equity and excellence, with the goal of validating and engaging all learners, while helping them reach their highest aspirations. Ongoing activities aligned to this goal will continue throughout the school year, and additional information will be shared.

Our buildings and campus are designed to support the work of staff and students, and visitors to our district quickly recognize the pride and care that go into the care of our buildings and grounds. The condition of our facilities is the result of careful planning over the course of decades, and the dedicated efforts of our maintenance staff on an ongoing basis. An important part of such planning is our capital reserve fund. Our existing capital reserve allows for future capital improvements to be made with little to no impact on Heuvelton taxpayers. The district is currently working with architects to conduct a building condition survey to identify and prioritize needed repairs and improvements to best support learning. Once completed, their recommendations will be shared with the public to help define the project scope. A voter referendum is tentatively planned for December, 2023. With voter approval, the district must then submit an application to the NYS Education Department. Construction is anticipated to begin during the summer of 2025.  

Our ongoing focus on both the instructional program and physical infrastructure is designed to meet the needs of our learners today, and for the foreseeable future. We are more effective in partnership with our community and families, so please partner with us to optimize outcomes.  

Respectfully,

Jesse Coburn
Superintendent