New 88 MPH Framework Will Unite Students, Staff, Families, and Community Around One Powerful Message: “The Future Changes When We Do!”
Sacaton Elementary School District #18 is getting ready to go Into the Future!
Coming soon, our District will introduce the Into the Future — 88 MPH Framework, a districtwide initiative designed to connect students, staff, families, and our community around a simple but powerful idea:
THE FUTURE CHANGES WHEN WE DO!
The framework will officially be presented to students and staff during our Must Be Present to Win Assembly on Thursday, September 17, 2026, at 9:00 AM in the Sacaton Middle School Gym.
Why 88 MPH?
Many of us remember the story told in the classic movie Back to the Future. In the movie, the DeLorean cannot travel through time simply because someone wants to go somewhere different. The flux capacitor must be activated, tremendous energy must be generated, and most importantly, the car has to reach 88 MPH.
It has to get Up to Speed before anything changes.
That gives us a powerful analogy for education.
Our students have dreams. Our families have hopes for their children. Our teachers and staff have goals for student achievement. And our community wants a strong future for the next generation.
But simply wanting a different future does not create one.
We have to do something.
That is the heart of the Into the Future — 88 MPH Framework.
We are taking the familiar ideas from Back to the Future and giving them a Sacaton educational meaning.
THE DESTINATION = OUR STUDENTS' FUTURE
Every child has a future ahead of them. Our responsibility is to help prepare them for that destination.
THE FLUX CAPACITOR = CHANGE
The future begins to change when we make the decision to do something differently. Improvement requires change—from students, employees, families, and the District itself.
1.21 GIGAWATTS = OUR POWER
Our power comes from the people around our children: Students + Families + Teachers + Staff + Culture + Community + Encouragement + Effort.
When those forces work together, we create tremendous energy for change.
88 MPH = ACTION
This may be the most important part of the framework.
Change does not happen because we talk about it. We have to Get Up to Speed through consistent action—being present, learning, practicing, communicating, setting expectations, getting involved, encouraging one another, accepting accountability, and working together.
THE ROAD = THE EDUCATIONAL JOURNEY
There will be bumps. There will be wrong turns. There will be setbacks and challenges.
We don't stop the car.
We make adjustments and keep moving forward.
88 MPH and Learning
The framework also connects directly to what we know about learning.
For learning to last, students need more than exposure to information. We want students to make learning meaningful, practice it purposefully, and connect new learning to what they already know.
Our 88 MPH learning message focuses on three important concepts:
SIGNIFICANCE — MAKE IT MEANINGFUL
Create meaningful learning experiences that capture attention, create relevance, and give students a reason to remember.
REPETITION — BUILD IT THROUGH PRACTICE
Purposeful repetition, practice, retrieval, feedback, and application strengthen learning and help students retain knowledge.
CONNECTION — MAKE POWERFUL CONNECTIONS
Connect new learning to prior knowledge, culture, experiences, real life, other subjects, and the world around us.
When learning is meaningful, practiced, and connected, we increase the likelihood that today's lesson becomes knowledge students can carry into tomorrow.
That is what moving Into the Future is all about.
An 88 MPH Framework for Everyone
This initiative is not just for students.
There will be an 88 MPH Framework for Students, defining the qualities and daily actions that help students become successful learners.
There will be an 88 MPH Framework for Employees, connecting professionalism, responsibility, collaboration, accountability, compassion, and continuous improvement to the work we do every day.
And there will be an 88 MPH Framework for Families, because parents and families are essential partners in attendance, learning, expectations, encouragement, communication, and preparing children for their futures.
The message is intentionally the same for everyone:
We all have a role.
If we want different outcomes, we must be willing to take the actions necessary to produce them.
Into the Future
As Superintendent, I want our students to understand something very important: their future is not simply something that happens to them.
The decisions they make today matter.
Being present matters.
Effort matters.
Learning matters.
Character matters.
Asking for help matters.
Getting back up after a setback matters.
And the adults surrounding our children must demonstrate that same commitment.
Our responsibility is not simply to tell children that they can have a better future. Our responsibility is to help them develop the knowledge, character, confidence, relationships, and habits necessary to build one.
So we are going Into the Future together.
Students. Teachers. Staff. Families. Culture. Community.
All generating the power.
All moving in the same direction.
All getting Up to Speed.
Because at Sacaton Elementary School District #18, we believe:
INTO THE FUTURE
THE FUTURE CHANGES WHEN WE DO!
Be Brave. Be Kind. Be Present. Get Up to Speed — 88 MPH!