Watchdog

Students, Staff, Parents, and Community Members: 

Welcome to the 2021-2022 school year! 

We are looking forward to the upcoming adventures we get to have. More so, I look forward to the opportunity to help our students and staff live out our mission and vision. Our mission is "Together, We Aspire, Act, and Achieve," and our vision is "Creating servant leaders through quality academic and activity programs." Successful educational experiences inside and outside the classroom require coordinated efforts between staff, students, and parents. We live our excellence by being empathetic, being accountable, and with a commitment to continuous improvement. This year will be the start of my 17th year in education. I am thankful I have had the opportunity to be a Watchdog middle school science teacher for five years and a Watchdog 6-12 principal for nine years. I am excited and grateful for the opportunity to be your next superintendent of schools for Watchdog Nation! 

The Beresford School District is planning for "Normal Learning" during the 2021-2022 school year. Academic classes will begin on Wednesday, August 18, 2021, with in-person delivery of instruction. The "First Day of School" for all students will be August 18, 2021. Middle and high school students will start at 8:15 a.m. and end at 3:17 p.m. Elementary students will begin at 8:20 a.m. and end at 3:28 p.m. Open houses for elementary, middle, and high school learners will occur on Monday, August 16, 2021. Mr. James (Beresford Elementary School) and Mrs. Miller (Beresford Middle School & Beresford High School) will share additional details regarding the first day of school, orientations, and open house. We will share information via email and post it to our website. In addition, Mr. Gross will share upcoming activities information through the same avenues. To review our Return to Learning Plan/Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan and our American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Requirement for ARP ESSER School District Plan, please visit the following hyperlink: https://www.beresford.k12.sd.us/page/arp-esser. On Monday, August 9, 2021, we will conduct our second reading and adoption of both plans.

Our custodial team, maintenance staff, grounds crew, and contractors diligently prepared our facilities for the upcoming school year. On behalf of the Beresford School District, I want to thank them for their efforts. 

The Beresford School District strives to communicate timely and relevant information regarding our efforts. We utilize a mobile platform, Apptegy, to manage all of our communications from a single location. Once we share a message through Apptegy, it updates our website, the iPhone app, the Android app, our Live Feed stream, Facebook, and Twitter (e.g., character dependent). We will also use our parent communication and email systems to disseminate information. 

Please feel free to contact your child's school directly for additional details, or you can call the district office at 1-605-763-4293. 

Respectfully,

Dr. Dustin Degen
Superintendent
Beresford School District