To Our School Community,

As the 2024 - 2025 school year comes to a close, I want to take a moment to thank our students, families, faculty, and staff for your partnership, resilience, and continued support. Whether this was your first year in the district or your last as a graduating senior or parent, I hope it was a year filled with meaningful learning, growth, and connection.

This year brought both challenges and accomplishments. Together, we:

• Celebrated academic and extracurricular successes across all schools

• Continued to prioritize student wellness

• Engaged students in real-world learning experiences through internships, service projects, and interdisciplinary opportunities

• Showcased excellence in athletics, music, visual and performing arts, and a wide range of extracurricular activities, with students receiving recognition at the local, regional, state, and national levels

• Offered international student trips to Japan and Italy, expanding global learning opportunities

• Approved and began implementing our 2025 - 2030 Strategic Plan, which will guide our district’s work over the next five years

As we look ahead, I want to share a few important updates:

📅 Revised School Calendar

The school calendar for next year has been updated to include a clearly defined last day of school and two built-in emergency days. This change is designed to help families and staff plan more effectively. The revised calendar is now available on our district website.

📊 Strategic Plan Dashboard

Our newly approved Strategic Plan is available online. In July, we will launch a user-friendly public dashboard to help track progress and increase transparency as we move forward together.

🌐 New Website Launch

We’re in the final stages of transitioning to a redesigned district website, set to launch on July 15, 2025. The new site will be mobile-friendly, easier to navigate, and more reflective of our district’s vision and goals.

 Gifted and Talented Audit Report

Earlier this year, we completed a comprehensive audit of our Gifted & Talented program to explore how we can expand and improve current offerings. The audit report and action plan are available on our website and will be updated before the new school year. Thank you to all the families who contributed feedback; your input was invaluable.

💡 AI Integration & Digital Learning

Our district’s AI Implementation Team will continue its work this summer to support the responsible, ethical, and effective use of AI in education. Their efforts will ensure our students and staff are equipped for the future, while maintaining our commitment to privacy, safety, and human-centered learning.

👩‍🎓 Profile of a Graduate Initiative

Next year, we will begin districtwide work to define our Profile of a Graduate, a shared vision of the essential skills, habits, and mindsets we want every Leonia student to develop by graduation. This work will shape everything from curriculum to extracurriculars, and community partnerships.

🧑‍🏫 District-wide Staff Update

We are excited to welcome Dr. Dennis Frohnapfel as our Interim Business Administrator, effective July 1. We also extend our congratulations to Mr. Jin Lee, who will serve as our new Supervisor of Instructional Technology and Programs. Their leadership will help support our goals around innovation and sustainability.

To our graduates and their families: Congratulations! We are so proud of your accomplishments and can’t wait to see the impact you’ll make in the world.

To our returning families: Thank you for another year of partnership. We look forward to welcoming you back in September with fresh ideas, renewed energy, and a continued commitment to excellence.

Wishing you all a safe, restful, and joyful summer.

Go Lions!

Xanthy Karamanos, Ed.D.
Acting Superintendent of Schools

Leonia Public Schools