August 27, 2026

Dear Hastings Families and Staff:

As we begin 2026–27, I am excited about the opportunities ahead for our students, staff, and families. This year, we are bringing renewed focus to the work that matters most: ensuring that every Hastings student is known, supported, challenged, and prepared to thrive in a changing world.

The Portrait of a Hastings Learner (POHL) provides a unified vision of student success, describing the learners we aspire to develop—Bold, Collaborative, Empathetic, Empowered, and Inquisitive & Inventive. The Portrait is guided by our North Star: “We are a nurturing community of diverse learners who foster a just and compassionate society.”

With that vision in mind, the Board of Education has established five multi-year goals to guide our work in 2026–27 and beyond.

1. Advance Academic Excellence and Innovative Learning

We will strengthen K–12 coherence, rigor, and consistency in teaching and learning. Teachers are at the heart of our daily work with students. We aim to foster their mutual success. Immediate priorities include advancing mathematics and English Language Arts, strengthening the use of data to support student learning, deepening the integration of special education into our instructional practices, and preparing students and staff to navigate an increasingly AI-driven world with creativity, critical thinking, ethical judgment, and academic integrity.

2. Support Student Well-Being, Belonging, and Mental Health

We will strive to have every student feel known, valued, included, and connected. A key priority will be strengthening the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) so that academic, social-emotional, and mental health supports are coordinated, proactive, and responsive to student needs. We will also expand opportunities for student voice, belonging, and meaningful participation in our school communities.

3. Develop and Strengthen Leadership Capacity

Effective districts and schools depend on strong and collaborative leadership. This year, we will promote shared leadership, professional learning, coaching, mentoring, accountability, and succession planning across the district. We will clarify roles and decision-making while ensuring that leaders at every level are aligned around our district priorities and share responsibility for the success of every student.

4. Strengthen Communication and Collaboration

We will work to create a more connected, coordinated, and cohesive district. This means improving the clarity and consistency of communication, strengthening collaboration across schools and departments, ensuring that families have accessible information and meaningful opportunities to engage, and deepening our partnerships with the Village and broader community. Our goal is for students and families to experience Hastings as one connected educational community.

5. Maintain Strong Fiscal and Operational Oversight

Our commitment to educational excellence must be matched by responsible stewardship of the resources entrusted to us. We will maintain a focus on financial transparency, thoughtful budget planning, responsible reserves, and careful oversight of capital projects and facilities. Sound fiscal and operational management allow us to invest in students' immediate needs while protecting the district’s ability to serve future generations.

Speaking of facilities and the capital bond, I want to make sure you saw my recent letter regarding immediate and long-term physical improvements (August 12, 2026). In short, the 2025 Capital Bond is making significant progress, with construction underway at the Burke Estate Athletic Fields and exterior masonry work completed on the Farragut Complex. The Farragut Complex additions and modifications are still in the design and approval phase, with construction expected to begin in spring 2027. Over the summer, the district also completed numerous maintenance and cleaning projects, including FMS playground and bathroom repairs, new classroom flooring and lighting, and gym-floor refinishing. A big thank you to the hard working building and grounds team.

All in All – Interconnected for Student Growth and Success

These five goals are interconnected. Academic excellence depends on student well-being. Strong systems depend on effective leadership. Collaboration depends on clear communication. And all of this depends on responsible stewardship of our resources. The Leadership Team is finalizing annual strategic priorities, measures of success, and management plans for each of the five goals. The resulting Strategic Plan will be lean and living – that is, not a shelf piece. Ultimately, these priorities are varied expressions of the Portrait of a Hastings Learner and our commitment to a district in which every student has the opportunity to become bold, collaborative, empathetic, empowered, and inquisitive and inventive.

As we begin the year, I look forward to working alongside our outstanding teachers, staff, families, students, Board of Education, and community partners. Together, we will continue to strengthen the systems, relationships, and experiences that make Hastings a special place to learn and grow.

Thank you for your continued partnership, trust, and commitment to Hastings students. Let’s do all we can to make 2026-27 a wonderful school year.

 

Be well.

 

Bill

 

William S. McKersie, Ph.D.

Superintendent of Schools

September 18, 2026

Dear Hastings Families and Staff,

That is the beauty of our lives -- that powerful new friendships blossom at all times.

A wise person I know well shared this advice with a group of 8th graders, six years ago, in a school not far from here. I have been thinking on this advice as I take in the opening of school–walking the halls, chatting with students in the cafeteria, being on the sidelines for athletic events, welcoming families at the HES and FMS back-to-school-nights, and sitting with faculty, staff and students to gather insights, feedback and guidance. Peeling it back, at the heart are evolving relationships, understandings, and friendships.

Joaquin Toledo-Chae ‘27 said it best in his keynote speech for the Opening Convocation, when he underscored for the entire staff and faculty the “Power of Human Connection,” doing so with heartfelt and insightful appreciation, as conveyed by his closing statement:

 

You guide us from when we are kids to young adults to becoming educated, functioning members of a society ready to improve a world that seems to be fraught with digital and political and economic uncertainty, to becoming adults who will help others and who believe in the pursuit of passion. So although like with all new school years we may encounter change and uncertainty in the building, I as a student would like to make clear that it is you why we come to this building every September morning and you why leave it transformed a better person each July. Thank you. (See the full video below of Joaquin’s speech.)

Today’s Hastings Happenings, the first for this school year, is a compendium of blossoming friendships–of human connections. Examples of early school year learning from colleagues, teachers and classmates runs from start to finish in this issue. Along the way, we highlight Superintendent’s Conference Day, Kindergarten Kickoff, Science Research, Athletic Distinction for Scholar-Athletes, Hispanic Heritage Month, and Yom Kippur.

 

Read on, with appreciation for what Hastings is — at its best.

 

Be well.

 

Bill

 

William S. McKersie, Ph.D.

Superintendent of Schools

October 2, 2026

Dear Hastings Families and Staff,

I am bouncing from the blossoming of friendships and human connections to technical stuff – all of which matters to teaching and learning. “Wait, what?”

The last Hastings Happenings opened with inspirational words from Joaquin Toledo-Chae ‘27 about the value of friendships and human connections in his years as a student in Hastings. Reflecting on the importance of these connections and speaking directly to staff, Joaquin shared, “...it is YOU why we come to this building every September and YOU why we leave it transformed a better person each July.”

Today, I shift to quantitative measures of student learning and growth. I do so by introducing an essential annual report that will be presented at the October 6 BOE Meeting: Comprehensive State of the District Report: Descriptive Presentation of Quantitative Indicators & Outcomes, Part I: Academic Data. The report will be presented by Dr. Melissa Szymanski, Ms. Amy Cazes, Ms. Lina Carolini-Cannavò, and Mr. Andy Clayman.

Let me highlight several major points, taken verbatim from the presentation.

Hastings is committed to examining multiple measures of student data to inform continuous improvement efforts and celebrate areas of growth. Our commitment extends to sharing this information publicly. This is the eighth report in the last four years on the State of the Hastings Public Schools. (Summer 7.11.23, Mid-Year Report-2.2.22, End of Year Update-6.30.22, Mid-Year Report-2.28.23, September 2024, September 2025: Part I.)

We examine quantitative indicators and outcomes in three essential areas:

• Academic Performance

• Behavioral Performance

• Social-Emotional Screening

We present the data and analysis in two parts. Academic data will be presented on October 6 (Part I), accompanied by an explanation of the data sources and notable findings. We now benefit from five years of data (Spring 2022 - Spring 2026), providing a longitudinal view of student performance and growth. We will follow on November 17 (Part II) with a comprehensive presentation on behavioral data and an overview of social-emotional diagnostic screening.

There are several big takeaways from the extensive analysis of academic data:

• Overall, Hastings has strong academic performance based on multiple measures.

• Content area performance reflects stable, strong performance and/or growth over the past five years.

• By the time students exit each building (grades 4, 8 and 12), performance is strong and reflects continuous growth.

• At the same time, we need to redouble our focus on groups of students where variations in performance and growth are evident.

• We will enhance implementation of the Data Review Cycle, which ensures we are continuously reviewing and reporting on evidence of student learning, going beyond the annual reports of the past several years.

The report will be publicly available at Tuesday night’s BOE Meeting. It will be posted in BoardDocs (Diligent Community) and distributed widely as a link following the meeting.

Please take time to review the report, so you are familiar with the measurable educational impact of Hastings teachers and staff on our students. We have a great deal to applaud, while also recognizing, as reflective educators do, that we have targeted areas for improvement.

 

Be well.

 

Bill

 

William S. McKersie, Ph.D.

Superintendent of Schools