Dear Robertsdale Elementary Family, 

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome everyone as we begin the 2023-2024 school year!  I am very excited about the work we were able to complete last year as a school community and can’t wait for the wonderful times ahead this year!

As you know, I joined the Robertsdale family during the year (September, 2022) and didn’t get a chance to start the year with everyone.  As a result, I would like to take this opportunity to properly introduce myself.  I was born and raised in Baldwin County and am married to my wonderful wife, Amy.  Together we have two daughters, Celi and Grace, who will be entering the sixth and seventh grade this year, respectively.

I graduated from Daphne High School and received a bachelor of science degree in music education from the University of Southern Mississippi and later earned a master’s degree in music from the University of Delaware.  After teaching band in Mississippi and Alabama for 15 years, I entered the administrative world and worked as an assistant principal for 5 years at Summerdale School and Spanish Fort High School.  Upon the completion of my Educational Specialist (Ed.S.) and Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degrees from the University of South Alabama, I served a three-year stint at the district office as a Secondary Curriculum Supervisor before becoming the principal at Robertsdale Elementary.  

While I have very much enjoyed all of the opportunities afforded me in my educational journey, I have enjoyed my time at Robertsdale Elementary as much, if not more, and I am extremely excited to begin a new year of learning to fully support the students, parents, staff and community of Robertsdale.

I would like to invite you to join us as we focus on our three main goals for the 2023-2024 school year:

• Collaboration

• Student Engagement

• Response to Intervention (RTI)

 It is through these goals that I believe we will continue the wonderful growth we have seen in our students and our school.

Collaboration: By effective collaboration and communication we will be intentional about working together as a faculty and staff as well as with parents to effectively meet the needs of all students.  We will focus on any learning deficiencies that may be present as well as provide extension activities for all students to help them perform to their full potential.

Student engagement: All efforts of the Robertsdale Elementary faculty and staff will be to promote maximum student engagement so that students are able to receive the maximum benefit of all lessons provided.  Parents can particularly help with this goal by promoting consistent attendance of all students.  Many of our learning deficiencies can be traced to inconsistent attendance and it is my hope that we can work together to make sure students are present as often as possible - every day matters.

Response to Intervention (RTI): Focusing on data collection and disaggregation will help all faculty and staff determine what learning needs each student has and how to most efficiently intervene.  The Robertsdale Elementary team will take an intentional focus on the RTI process and how to efficiently identify and support the learning needs of each student.  I can’t wait to see the growth we will achieve in the coming year!

Lastly, I would like to thank you for welcoming me into the BEAR family and for entrusting our school with your children each and every day. We will continue to work hard to provide all Robertsdale Elementary students with the best education possible.

Thank you and GO BEARS!!

Will Duncan

MISSION 

At Robertsdale Elementary, we will be effective collaborators and positive role models whose purpose is to inspire, encourage student engagement, and grow leaders in others.

VISION 

To effectively collaborate to promote student engagement supported by the RTI (MTSS) process.