EGLIN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Mr. Dennis M. Samac, Principal

Mrs. Katie S. Gunderson, Assistant Principal

200 Gaffney Road, Eglin AFB, FL 32542

(850) 833-4320 ph. (850) 833-3671 fax

It is my privilege to welcome you to the 2015/16 school year. We are excited as we look back to last year’s success and ahead to this year’s challenges and future accomplishments. First of all, we welcome all of our returning students and their parents back to Eglin Elementary School. We also welcome our new students, parents and staff to one of the highest achieving schools in Okaloosa County and a school with an exceptional learning environment.

Academically, the DEA results were outstanding last year and Eglin continues to be the “Shining Star” for the school district. The kindergarten students “Rocked the Test” and led the way in district rankings (#1 ranked elementary school in both ELA and Math), with the 1st grade (#4 in ELA and 95% proficiency in math), 2nd grade (#1 in ELA), 3rd grade (#3 in Math) and 4th grade (#2 in ELA and #3 in Math) not far behind. As principal, I could not be prouder of our students, staff, parents as well as the instructional support led by our Assistant Principal, Mrs. Gunderson. The results of targeted/intentional Professional Development along with rigorous classwork and assessment have us near the top in almost every academic category.

Environmentally, the OCSD Climate Survey results showed the trust, support and confidence that parents have in our leadership, services and academics. We will continue to fulfill our vision of “Serving Those Who Serve U.S.” by going above and beyond to support our military families. We are fortunate to have both our Military Family and Life Counselors (MFLC) representatives back to work with our military families this year.

There were staff changes during the summer as we welcome five new teachers and four new staff members to our school. During the summer, we lost Mrs. Smith to a military move, Ms. McArdle and Mrs. Agnew to another school in the district and Mrs. Seegars accepted the Assistant Principals job at Davidson Middle School (CONGRATS). As sad as we were to see these teachers go, we are excited about our new teachers, all young, well qualified and energetic.

Lauren Thompson was rehired, Trisha Thompson joins our 4th grade team, Courtney Compton joins us from Kentucky and two of our teachers, Karen Starnes and Mallory Joseph, are recent college graduates and are excited to begin their first year of teaching. We are proud to announce that three of our new teachers are military spouses.

We also welcome Debby Gardner, Instructional Coach, Debra Bryant, Day Custodian, Melissa Castro, lunchroom monitor and Makayla Elkins as our new Health Tech.

Once again, welcome to Eglin Elementary School and let’s get these Eagles, new and old, off to an excellent start to the new school year. Please feel free to communicate with us any questions or concerns you might have in order to ensure an exceptional school year.

Dennis Samac, Principal

Serving those who serve U.S.