As we head into summer break, I want to extend my deepest appreciation to our students, staff, and families for their incredible dedication throughout the 2025-2026 school year.

Learning doesn't stop when the school doors close in June; it's a lifelong journey. Summer offers us a wonderful change of pace to explore new interests, pick up a great book, and grow outside the classroom.

Personally, I'm looking forward to practicing what we preach this season. My summer plans include diving into a few books I have on my list and spending plenty of quality weekend time outdoors with my family enjoying everything our beautiful region has to offer. I encourage each of you to find your own ways to stay curious, active, and sharp.

Have a safe, wonderful, and fulfilling summer!

Hi, my name is Kala Wofford and I am the current principal at Orin Smith Elementary. I am so excited to be transitioning July 1 to the position of Executive Director for Student Achievement. This district's student achievement goals are something that drew me to Chehalis, and I am looking forward to working even more deeply with this mission - to help prepare our students for a purposeful future and reach our goal of 75 by 35.

Ask any educator and they will tell you, keeping kids' brains active during the summer is essential for academic achievement. Have you ever heard of the term Summer Slide? This is the very-real phenomenon where students lose learning over the summer because they aren't practicing academic skills. In the fall, students and teachers must then regain up to 20% of last year's skills before they can begin the new school year's learning.

But the great news is, the summer slide is really easy to prevent - learners can grow all year long! Studies have shown that just reading a few minutes each day, or about 5 books over the summer, keeps students' brains sharp and helps them retain and grow the knowledge they gained this year. So, this year I'd like to invite all students in grades K-12 to join me in the Strive for 5 Challenge. We're challenging every Chehalis School District student to pick any 5 books in their reading level to read over the summer. Once your student has read their 5 books, please fill out a quick form telling us a little bit about what they read, and your learner will be recognized and be entered in drawings for some fabulous prizes. We can't wait to see how many of our students will participate!