On behalf of our faculty and staff, I welcome you to the new school year and wish you a positive and successful experience this year at Southside! As the leader of the school, I value and try to maintain a caring heart, a listening ear, and a forward-facing approach to our work. My mission as your principal is to continue to cultivate a culture of academic excellence and high expectations. Southside’s enduring success is a direct result of the quality of our teaching staff and the preparedness of our students.  Our teachers provide safe, structured, and nurturing learning environments in which standards-based instruction and critical thinking are fostered, and our students continue to perform at the highest levels on standardized assessments as a result.

We warmly welcome parent involvement and encourage parents to be actively engaged in partnering with the school.  We have diverse opportunities for parents to participate in their child’s school experience, beginning at the classroom level.  Teachers enjoy having room parents who assist directly within the classroom.  Our Fathers Being Involved (FBI) provides support for social activities at school, such as our annual Spring Fling dance.  We have a strong and dedicated Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) which is incredibly involved throughout the year in school-wide improvement projects, including academic and enrichment support for teachers and students.  Finally, we have the Southside Foundation for the Arts (SFFA), whose mission is to ensure cultural and enrichment learning opportunities to all Southside students at every grade level and fully fund the dance program at Southside.

As we begin the new year, my goal is to maintain clear, collaborative, and transparent communication with Southside families and community members to collectively meet the needs of the school and chart a successful path for all.  I send home a weekly email, through the Community Engagement Platform with important school information, so ensure your email is current. We also have a Facebook page, which we update regularly. Please stay connected! Please also take time to peruse our school website and read through our Student and Parent Handbook.  It is a helpful resource which outlines our school expectations and policies, including our mandatory uniform policy. There have been a few updates to the uniform policy with which you and your child/children will need to be familiarized before starting school. If you have questions about school-related policies or activities, please feel free to contact me at the school.