One of the most beautiful aspects of living in our wonderful community is the change of seasons.  In summer we experience cool and comfortable temperatures thanks to Lake Erie acting as Mother Nature’s air conditioner.  Fall ushers in a rainbow of colors through spectacular foliage as forests became nature’s canvass, bright leaves her brush.  The steady snowfall of our winter season affords us the opportunity to enjoy, celebrate, and appreciate family friendly outdoor activities like skiing, snowboarding, and sledding.  Hope springs eternal as flowers bloom in spring, the air warms, and we look forward to summer once again.  We are fortunate to live in an area where we experience beautiful, inspirational, and consistent change.  No question we are a more resilient community because of our transitional seasons and the sometimes unpredictable climate we live in.

In the same respect that our changing seasons provide numerous opportunities to experience great growth and joy, we as educators look forward to the academic and social growth of your children throughout our school year.  Every year gives us a new opportunity to make a positive impact on the growth of students throughout the Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda Union Free School District.  This will be my fourth year leading our district as your Superintendent and I am more excited to begin this new year as I was when I first stepped into the classroom as an English teacher many, many seasons ago.  This is an exciting time to be a part of our district, to be a part of our family, to experience the strong growth in student achievement.

Mathematics and English Language Arts test scores are rising district-wide.  Our Business First ranking was the best overall ranking received by our district in six years, the second straight year of advances, and marks the first time in the history of the 19-years of the list that the District’s ranking has held steady or improved over four consecutive years.  We are a district on the rise and moving in the right direction.

The most recent New York State Education Department’s Report Card shows we are “In Good Standing,” the annual average attendance rate remain strong at an impressive 95%, and class sizes remain low at an average of 20 students per class across the District. Academics will be further strengthened when the prestigious “International Baccalaureate” Program is implemented at Kenmore West High School in September of 2011. 

Thank you for your continued support of our efforts to strengthen academics in our district and for helping us achieve the noble goal of providing children the best education possible.  We are poised to become one of New York State’s premier school districts by the year 2020.

Mark P. Mondanaro

Superintendent