Positive, exciting, cohesive, caring, extraordinary, and family are just a few of the words that people at Shepard Elementary use to describe their amazing school community. This small elementary school has had a big impact within its walls and in its larger community. Dr. Kathleen Hoeker, the former principal, started her journey as school leader in 2001 by focusing on ways to combat bullying. From there, the school underwent a district-wide redistribution of students and in 2004 adopted the Character Counts six pillars as the foundation of its character initiative. Today all students are involved in creating the caring climate that permeates the building. An inclusive school, Shepard has a mission to provide the same educational opportunities to children with disabilities as they do to their able-bodied peers. Having one student whose recess activities were limited because of his disabilities led to the building of Shark Park, a playground that enables students with disabilities to play side-by-side with their classmates.

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