Principal's Message

Dear Smoky Hill Community,

Welcome to 2023-2024 school year! I am honored for the opportunity to lead The Herd as we celebrate our 50^th anniversary as a school. We are excited for your students’ return, and we anticipate having a great school year!     

This year, we will focus on identifying Smoky Hill’s core values, implementing school-wide restorative practices, increasing math and literacy proficiency through intervention, and continue to improve student attendance. We must continue to actualize our urgent collective desire to move forward towards sustained excellence. Excellence in equity; excellence in inclusion; excellence in school-wide culture; excellence in post-secondary preparedness; and excellence in teaching and learning. It all starts with believing that our students can achieve the high expectations set before them.           

Our mission is to provide ALL our students with an equitable and inclusive learning environment that cultivates the necessary knowledge, skills, habits of mind, and societal competence to thrive and contribute to a dynamic 21st century world. To achieve this mission, we must continue to work collaboratively to effectively meet the needs of ALL learners—from those with disabilities, to those who are multilingual, to those who benefit from more independence, and all in between. Addressing and overcoming long-standing inequities and disparities so that we may promote and ensure healthy civic participation for ALL our students remains the collective responsibility we share. These challenges require us to consider our role in ensuring the success of our students and being active, unrelenting participants in this effort.

I am thrilled to embark on this exciting journey with you in my second year as Principal.

Thank you for your support

HERD Forward

Sincerely,

Andre Bala

Principal

Smoky Hill High School

School Motto: Pride in the PRESENT. Success in the FUTURE. The BUFFALO WAY.

School Vision: HERD Forward

School Mission: To provide ALL learners with an equitable and inclusive learning environment that cultivates the necessary knowledge, skills, habits of mind, and societal competence to thrive and contribute to a dynamic 21st-century world.