Dear Rocket Family,

BELIEVE. Children believe in the magic of their youth. Parents and loved ones believe in their children. Musicians like Journey and the Beatles have made the word “believe” a centerpiece of their lyrics. It’s a simple word, whose meaning is anything but. When we truly believe in something, though, it profoundly influences our actions and can lead to a shared vision, a shared mission, and ultimately, shared success.

Crittenden County Schools has created #BelieveInBlue as our theme this year, and we feel that it perfectly captures our dedication, our trust, and our commitment to the students, staff, parents, and community that we collectively call our Rocket Nation. 

We believe in relationships. To further those relationships with students, we are excited to bring Capturing Kids’ Hearts, a character-based curriculum that focuses on social-emotional wellbeing, student connectedness, and relationship-driven culture. We continue to expand our relationships with the many businesses and organizations in our community who invest in our students, whether that’s monetarily or by giving of their time and support. From our Rocket Business Partner of the Month program to school supply drive, guest speaking in our classrooms, and bringing job fairs and events to our schools, we realize the impact our community partners, and we look forward to growing it. 

We believe in individualized growth and success. This summer, we were happy to complete our Strategic Plan, which outlines our vision for launching our students, our staff, our community, and our organization. Work continues on our Profile of a Graduate, as we outline and execute the 21st century skills that all of our students need to be successful. We believe that each of our students is capable of success, and our staff is committed to helping them achieve that. Likewise, we believe that success looks different for each student, and we aspire to help them discover their strengths, talents, and interests. Two of our community partners, Riley Tool & Machine of Marion, and Saturn Machine & Welding of Sturgis, have partnered with us to bring an on-site welding course to our high school students that, upon successful completion, can lead to work-based experiences for our students.

We believe in the safety of our students. At the end of last school year, we were proud to introduce Open Gate, portable metal detectors, at each school. Our friends at Crittenden County Tomorrow graciously assisted with the purchase of the six devices to further enhance safety for students and staff, along with the continued presence of our district school resource officer (SRO). 

We believe in Crittenden County Schools. Every member of our Rocket family is dedicated to helping our students learn, grow, and become contributing members of the community. We ask each of you--students, parents, staff, and community members--to join us as, together, we #BelieveInBlue. 

Superintendent Tonya Driver