I have always looked forward to the opening of school. When I look out at the fields behind the high school at the end of August and see students trying out for fall sports, or when I see parents come in to register their children for school, or when I walk through the halls in any of our buildings during the closing weeks of the summer and find teachers busily setting up their classrooms, I can't help but feel a thrill of excitement about the start of the school year and all of the promise that a new year brings.

As a school administrator, there is no greater sense of accomplishment than to see our preparations for the new year come to fruition. Over the summer, we had an outstanding summer academic program that has helped many youngsters become better prepared for their new grade. Members of our custodial and maintenance staff have worked incredibly hard on a whole range of repairs and improvements in every corner of the district. Our teachers have been writing curriculum and taking part in professional development. Our administrators and support staff have done everything possible to make our schools ready for learning from day one.

Last spring, I was pleased to present a budget for 2008-09 to the board of education that I believed was forward-looking and focused on education in a way that Roslyn has not been for a number of years. It was very gratifying to have the community come to polls in May and strongly endorse a budget filled with innovation, and even more fulfilling to see many of these changes now coming to life.

In our most important area, curriculum and instruction, the Roslyn Hilltop Academy, an alternative high school program, is set to open for the very first time. The Teachers College Reading and Writing Program will be in full swing this fall to improve literacy throughout the elementary grades. More foreign language offerings are in place at the middle school and high school. A professional development project with Harvard University on differentiated instructions is also under way. A new grading system is in effect at Roslyn High School.

In the area of technology, you probably already know that a new telephone system is now in effect, replacing an antiquated system that had been in use for decades. But the phone system is just the tip of the iceberg of the technological changes our students and staff will see, or feel the effect of, in the coming months. Electronic identification cards, an upgrade of the student management data system, digital copy center, network switching system upgrades and more SMARTBoards in classrooms are just a few of the changes that are designed to make Roslyn more efficient, cost-effective, secure and, most of all, an even better learning environment for students and teachers.

In addition to all of the work undertaken by our custodial and maintenance staff this summer, the district continues the long-term program of capital improvements that has been approved by the community's voters. The most visible project this summer was the resurfacing of the high school track. Many other less noticeable but equally important work on drainage, sanitary and fire alarm systems was also completed. In the coming year, we will see a long-awaited upgrade of the middle school auditorium and middle school athletic fields and replacement of the bleachers in the high school gymnasium.

A sense of renewal accompanies the start of almost every human activity. This week, as our staff welcomes about 3,400 students back to school, the Roslyn school family continues its educational journey with a sense of hope and possibility. I can hardly wait!