Letter from the Superintendent

May 3, 2012

Dear Lake Hamilton Parents, Patrons, and Students:

As we approach the end of this school year, it is really a time of reflection for me professionally and personally. Professionally, this has been a pretty normal school year.  Once again Lake Hamilton High School received word that it had been recognized as one of "America's Top High Schools" making the list in the Washington Post Newspaper as being placed in the top 5% of the nation's high schools based on their scholastic criteria.  The National Center for Educational Achievement, a department of ACT Incorporated, recognized Lake Hamilton Elementary School and Lake Hamilton Middle Schools as Higher Performing Schools for 2011.  Higher Performing Schools, formally known as "Just for the Kids Schools," are chosen for having a high number of students scoring Advanced on the State Benchmark Examinations.  Our athletic, band, music, art, and other programs performed extremely well in conference, regional, and state competitions.  Lake Hamilton's teaching staff continues to expand the number of educators being awarded National Board Certification.  Finally, I was very humbled and honored to have been nominated by the Lake Hamilton High School Student Council and named as the 2012 Arkansas Administrator of the Year from the Arkansas Association of Student Councils.  The fact that this award came from students made it very meaningful and special to me.  Now, as the year is coming to a close, we are working on plans for next school year.  Building on our successes and learning from things that did not go so well.  While we have had a great year, we always are looking to improve the education we can provide to our students.

On the personal level, I am the parent of a member of the 2012 Senior Class.  My wife and I have watched this year fly by!  In fact, as I look at it, the past 13 years have gone by way too fast.  Not only have I watched my son, Cameron, grow up at Lake Hamilton, but I have seen his classmates move from Kindergarten children learning their ABC's and their numbers, to taking Advance Placement Classes in high school.  For over 30 years, I have been involved with seniors in public schools.   Each class seems to have their own character and special identity.  Some classes were truthfully more challenging than others, but for the most part most classes were very good.  However, there are a select few groups of seniors that were very special and easy to work with.  I must say that the LHHS Class of 2012 will go down as one of the best groups so far.  To each of these young men and women I say, "Congratulations and Good Luck in the future."

Contrary to what this group of seniors might think right now, while they will be missed, things in the Lake Hamilton School District will continue much as it has for the past several years.  We will continue to strive for excellence in education.  We will continue trying to make "Customer Service" a major focus in our dealings with students and parents.  Changes on the state and national level will continue having an impact with the way we carry on the business and practice of education.  While the names and faces of students, parents, and staff may change; Lake Hamilton will continue to offer a safe educational environment for our students to learn.  We will continue to focus on Academics, Arts, Athletics, and Atmosphere and we will continue to offer a quality education to all of our students as we prepare them for their future in college and careers of the future.

Sincerely,

Steve Anderson
Superintendent