Happy New Year message from Superintendent Todd Cutler

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Dear LTUSD friends and families, As the holiday season comes to a close and a new year is upon us, I greet the opportunity to say goodbye to 2020 and welcome 2021. Happy New Year!!

2020 brought much challenge and adversity. Our District and community has stepped up to the challenges with a commitment to not let this crazy time break us. Though I am new to the District , I cannot be more proud of the work that our District staff has done to provide the best possible education for our students during this unprecedented time in our professional lives. Our staff and community have demonstrated resilience, optimism, and the ability to turn adversity into opportunity and I am certain it will continue into 2021. We have had to be flexible, learn, and grow to make this all possible. Thank you for your efforts!

I have never been more excited to celebrate the start of a new year. With the new year comes the promise of better days. I am certain that 2021 will bring us new found successes and we will find time to celebrate together. The end of this pandemic is in sight, and the vision of normalcy ahead.

I have been asked to report out regarding the quality of the learning experience our students have had during the first half of this school year. This is not an easy thing to report. If we base the report on previously identified learning targets, then we will most likely report stagnant growth, yet if we report on the new learning our students have had during this time we will report successes. I hear the term “learning loss” quite regularly when discussing this past nine months. I would like to highlight some of the “learning gained.” Our students have been asked to do things differently, this difference created new learning pathways and prepared our students for a bright future. It is my belief that the academic acquisition gaps that may have occurred during this time will be recovered quite quickly. Young people are resilient and will overcome this challenge.

I love the new year and the opportunity that January provides each of us to take some time and reflect on our lives and recommit to making changes and being better versions of ourselves. As the Superintendent of our District I am committed to continuous improvement and to always work on being the best version of myself. Thank you for allowing me to serve as Superintendent. I continue to tell everyone across California and beyond that I have the best job in the western United States.

On behalf of the Board of Education, and our entire District team, we wish you a happy new year and a year that we will focus our efforts on our commitment to be a District that truly stands at the “top” of the mountain. Please have a safe and relaxing New Year and we look forward to continuing the learning and growing on Monday, January 4, 2021.

Happy New Year! I hope all your dreams come true in 2021 — onward and upward!

Todd Cutler, Superintendent
Lake Tahoe Unified School District