Mrs. Straatman grew up her in the West Valley area her whole life and went to Cyprus High school before Hunter was even built. She has had many experiences in the education area and is now the new principal of Hunter.  During her interview with me she said “ I want to stay in West Valley and be a part of the community.” and being part of the community means that there are changes and improvements to come to make things better not only within our school but in people’s lives. Which also indicates that she wants to stay at Hunter for as long as possible. 

In the future years here at Hunter there are going to be many improvements and changes made such as improved freshman academy, more support for the incoming ninth graders which, Mrs. Straatman ended up stating that “Once the ninth graders are off to a bad start it’s hard for them to get back up from that”.  When she said this she also explained that this is one of the reasons that she wants more support for the transition to high school and during high school for incoming ninth graders. Starting with next year’s ninth graders the Gear Up grant will also become a part of Hunter and follow kids through their schooling years. The gear up community will also help Hunter with donations and college, career readiness. She is also hoping to look at data for the ELA (English Language Acquisition) or ELL (English Language Learner) students to get them more help that they need. 

Another topic of change is the community center. Hunter High has now partnered with the food bank to bring kids after school snacks but also, hunter will be getting busing for the afterschool programs as well. The Hunter Den will also be bringing the community closer by providing for any kids who need it and it is a safe space to get those things for you or your family. Along with all these helpful opportunities there is also something at Hunter called the SST or student support team which works with kids to keep there graduation on track no matter the circumstances. Mrs. Straatman is hoping that with the more help we have for everybody in the community at Hunter that the tardies and absences will go down and the graduation rates will go up. 

Aside from the changes in the building there will also be changes coming outside of the building such as the new wing that will be done in the summer of 2020 but also there will be an “A Hall” project that will give coaches new offices and turn the old ones into all gender conforming bathrooms. Hunter is becoming a school that supports everyone and this is just another step to doing so. Over the years Hunter will become a community oriented school for everyone to go to.