Superintendent Sharon L. Contreras

Welcome to the 2012-2013 school year. As Superintendent of Schools, I eagerly look forward to the start of the new school year. Over the past year I've been privileged to discover the tremendous strengths of our district, the dedication and commitment of our staff, the willingness of our students to learn and the warmth and generosity of our community.

It is an honor to serve as the leader of an organization that has made great strides in developing and implementing groundbreaking initiatives that are intended to break the cycle of underachievement among our students and to help our high performing students excel at even greater levels. We have worked
collectively with the Syracuse Teachers Association (STA) and the Syracuse Association of Administrators and Supervisors (SAAS); we've engaged our corporate and not-for-profit partners, as well as our higher education partners. Hundreds of parents and students have participated in task forces and/or forums. As a result, we have:
* developed new performance evaluation systems for teachers and building leaders
* aligned our curriculum to the New York Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts and mathematics
* created an Innovation Zone to address the unique challenges of chronically failing schools in the west quadrant, and
* developed a Parent University that will provide opportunities and support for families to achieve their personal academic and non-academic goals.

We are proud to implement the You Can Finish High School Graduation Initiative campaign which targets students who are at-risk or have already dropped
out of high school. And our Say Yes to Education partnership, which has allowed nearly 2,000 of our students to enroll in two- and four-year colleges
(public and private), supported 5,100 SCSD students through extended day academic programs and provided more than 2,000 students the opportunity to
participate in extended year summer programming, continues to show promising results.

We endeavor to become an educational community that graduates every student as a responsible, active citizen prepared for success in college, careers and
the global economy. Our newly developed five-year strategic plan, Great Expectations, will serve as the roadmap. We have ambitious yet attainable goals:

1. Provide all students with equitable access to rigorous curriculum with aligned instructional materials and assessments in all subjects and
all grade levels.
2. Recruit, develop, support and retain effective teachers and school leaders.
3. Develop infrastructure to support student success.
4. Build a district culture based on high expectations, respect and co-accountability for performance that recognizes and rewards
excellence at all levels of the organization.
5. Communicate effectively with all district stakeholders.

We fully expect our students to achieve great things - academically, socially, emotionally, artistically and athletically.

Our accomplishments within the past year are substantial, yet there is much work to be done. The year ahead will be both productive and
challenging. I am certain that the Syracuse City School District family is up for the challenge. We must continue to work collectively if we are to
become the most improved urban school district in America.