May 6, 2022
Ray-Pec Community,

This past week has been Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week. I have read stories and watched the outpouring of appreciation our community has for our teachers and staff. I have received several emails this week about how our community values our staff, and one stands out. I want to share some excerpts with you. I believe it speaks for all of the emails I received this week:

Dr. Slagle,

We moved to this district when my oldest son was 4. We researched school districts before even beginning the house hunt. We have two boys with Autism Spectrum Disorder, both of whom are very high functioning (HFA). We talked to school officials, asked other special needs parents, and did research before deciding to narrow our search to Raymore. The reason we chose this school district over some other great districts in the metro was simple: they see the WHOLE child. We love that philosophy, especially with HFA….We have been through this with both of our boys before so we knew that it might be a rough transition and we were right. We spoke to the coordinator and assembled the special needs DREAM TEAM to find out how to support our little boy. They came with creativity, ideas, interest, and support. The most important thing is that they LISTENED to what my family thought would help….. What stands out though was how the staff see him, care for him, and want the very best. You can train people to become educators, but you cannot train them to care…not like this….. We could not ask for a better district, a better principal, or a better team…..As this week wraps up teacher appreciation week, I want you to know the amazing group of people who make up part of the Ray-Pec school district.


I believe we all know how difficult the last two years have been for everyone. This is especially true for all of our educators and staff members. But when you have an organization that cares for students like this story testifies to, only good things can happen. 

This is our WHY.

These are the kind of educators and staff members we are blessed with.

Thank you for entrusting your children to the Ray-Pec School District.
 
Mike Slagle