It is a personal and professional reward to have been selected by the Onion Creek Directors to serve as the district’s superintendent and principal.  As a former teacher, reading specialist and superintendent/principal in a small district, I have enjoyed unmatched support by the community, board of directors and faculty of a rural area while working collaboratively to inspire and challenge people to work toward their potential.

The Onion Creek School District is nestled in a breathtaking, high mountain valley,which borders Lotze Creek.  Our faculty, students and surrounding community offers truly unique teaching,learning and living experiences. Our students and their families are resourceful and resilient!  Living in beautiful, rural and remote areas, far from day to day conveniences that most take for granted, many of our students have learned creative ways to solve problems.  Our students astound us with their ability to create and invent everything from their own tools to winter sleds!  This creative spirit comes together in the classroom as our “highly qualified” and National Board Certified teachers work in tandem with students to apply new concepts to real life applications.  With only 40 students from preschool through grade eight, our teachers, support staff and students peer tutor and collaborate much like a close knit family.   

Our facilities have improved along with our curriculum and achievement.  We have been fortunate to pass tax levies consistently over the years offering the ability to provide excellent programs and hot meals as well as to give our buildings and grounds a facelift.  We have replaced or remodeled worn essentials, including sidewalks and landscaping which were accomplished with the help of our community.  Our small campus boasts a turn-of-the-century one-room schoolhouse (middle school), teacher’s cottage (preschool) and a newer building equipped with modern technology. 

Our teachers are masterful in maximizing the potential of students in multi-age classrooms with an average teacher-to-student ratio of 10:1.  By the time our students transition to high school, we are proud of the fact that they are achieving well above the state average!

As an individual who attended large schools as a young student, I feel extremely fortunate to be a part of this small district.  While the campus setting will take you back to the nostalgic, by-gone days when life was slower-paced, the quality and pace of education occurring in the classrooms is nothing short of personalized and progressive!

Sincerely,

PatsyGuglielmino

Patsy Guglielmino

Superintendent and Principal