Forrester: Baldwin Community Schools welcomes back students, staff for new year
On Monday, the halls and classrooms of Baldwin Community Schools were once again filled with
excitement and anticipation as we kicked off the 2022-2023 school year.
I hope our students, staff and families enjoyed the longer summer break as we returned to a
traditional school year calendar. We were happy to see many familiar faces on campus in June
and August at our revamped summer school that culminated in a field trip to Double JJ Resort in
Rothbury.
Baldwin staff is energized and excited for the new year after taking part in orientation,
professional development and team building exercises last week. This included Crisis Prevention
Institute (CPI) Training to equip staff with ways to intervene during behavior situations. On
Thursday, our staff explored our local community and learned about local history through a
scavenger hunt.
I would like to welcome Diane VanAntwerp as the new principal of Baldwin Elementary School.
VanAntwerp has worked with the district for 27 years, including 26 years as a kindergarten
teacher.
Stewart Nasson took over as interim principal of Baldwin Junior-Senior High School in August
2021 and was named permanent principal in January 2022. This school year will be Nasson’s
18th year at Baldwin.
I am confident this year will be a great one as we have been working hard to promote student
growth and academic success as well as strengthen our connection with our community. One of
my top goals for the district has been to communicate with our parents and our community so
people are well-informed so they can get involved in our district.
We have been sharing regular updates with articles in the Lake County Star, letters to families
and social media updates. We are also excited to launch a new district magazine, the Panther
Press, which should hit your mailboxes this month. Look out for our first issue, which has
information on district programs, a calendar of events and other news.
David Forrester is Superintendent of Baldwin Community Schools.