Accolades

· Howell Elementary was featured in the Erlanger Recorder last week for their Work Ethic Program with Mazak.
· Arnett was also recently featured in the Erlanger Recorder for their Buddy Reading Program.
· Lindeman Elementary, Tichenor and Lloyd recently held parent nights for all ELL students that were well attended and very informative and welcoming to parents and students. Thank you to the staff members that made these nights possible!
· Miles Elementary has been contacted by an educational author and their work on standards based report cards may be included in an upcoming book.
· The paraprofessional training on Friday of last week went very well. Thank you to all who attended.
· Thanks to the diligent work of Mary Burch, our District Health Coordinator, our School Based Health Centers will be partnering with the health department.

What’s up in the district this Week

· We intend start some district walk-throughs this week. Please continue with what you are doing if you see Mr. Palmore, Mrs. Hellmann or me enter a classroom. We are there to learn more about what students are learning and doing and do not want you to worry about stopping what you or doing or even acknowledging us. We hope that we will get to a point that everyone is used to having visitors in your classrooms from within your building and the district.
· The Lloyd Athletic Department will host their annual craft show on September 25 and 26. More details are located on the district website.
· State assessment results will be released at 12:01AM on Wednesday, September 23rd. The state will use percent proficient/distinguished to determine accountability for all schools at all levels. KASC and the Prichard Committee have put together indices for you to compare your subject content progress and an overall transition index. Your principals will be able to share more with you.
· The window for Explore, Plan and 12th grade On Demand Writing will close at the end of the week.

Looking Ahead

· All schools will now have Compass Odyssey which will automatically correlate with the MAP assessment results at the elementary and middle school levels. It will work differently at the high school. An overview of the program will be provided at the Erlanger Teaching and Learning Conference and separate dates have been scheduled for cadres at each school.
· Kentucky is joining approximately 45 other states in designing national content standards. More information will be presented to you as we learn more.
· State requirements we will be continuing to develop this year include a Literacy Plan and the RTI Model.
· School Site visits will begin in late October and early November. We are looking forward to meeting with everyone and learning more about all you are doing for our students.

Quote of the Week:

“If you find a pathway with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.” Unknown

Looking Ahead

· September 17^th will be Lindeman’s Parent Night for parents of ELL students. The Parent Night for parents of ELL students at Tichenor and Lloyd will be September 15^th. Parents will learn about our ESL Program and the individual 2009-ACCESS results for individual students that were an important part of our 2009-10 state accountability.

· September 18^th will be the next Early Release day

· Please review your MAP scores and start goal setting with students. Research shows that involving students in personal goal setting can have a tremendous impact on their achievements

· Please continue to focus on defining learning targets for our students.

· The Fall testing window for Explore, Plan and On Demand Writing is quickly approaching and will begin on September 14th

Quote of the Week

Personalization is not just “nice” for students; it is essential for serious teaching and learning.” -Linda Darling-Hammond, Stanford University

Accolades

· Thank you to all school personnel for your assistance in handling the controversy over the Presidential Address to the students. All schools are airing the taped broadcast to students tomorrow. One school is also showing it to students today. The timing of the numerous complaints and threats we received regarding the broadcast were both disappointing and surprising and required us to make a difficult decision over the weekend in order not to disrupt the school day. Hopefully, this option of showing the taped broadcast will allow teachers to use this situation as a teachable moment. Since the broadcast was shown live at noon, this taped option will also allow you to take the time needed to allow students to see the broadcast in its entirety without interruption. Students whose parents have opted them out of viewing the broadcast should be given an alternate option during the viewing of the broadcast. (The script of the President’s speech is on our district website. It is a link at the top of the letter we sent home.)

· Elaine Woolley, Tichenor Assistant Principal, has been selected to serve on the joint committee of KDE and the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, to plan and implement a comprehensive process for revising the academic content standards for mathematics.

· Miles Elementary experienced a break-in and some vandalism very early Tuesday morning before the school day began. The faculty and staff were required to keep all students outside of the school building that morning while police officers gathered evidence. The entire school staff along with support from maintenance and food service managed the situation positively and effectively. Students were able to have a positive school day in spite of the morning disruption. A great deal of professionalism and teamwork was displayed that morning.

· MAP testing went very well at all schools. Thank you for your work to make the testing situation a positive one for students.

· Lloyd has begun using a student feedback form with their students from that allows assists them in self-analyzing their errors and misunderstandings of specific learning targets.

· Howell Elementary personnel have effectively worked to make home visits to discuss work with parents as concerns arise.

· Arnett Preschoolers began school this week. Thanks to the Arnett staff and the transportation department working together on the start of preschool 2009-10 school year.

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What’s up in the district this Week

· The September School Board Meeting is this evening.

· The first home varsity football game is Friday, September 11^th. The Homecoming Court will be announced at the football game. It will be Miles and Lindeman night at the game.

· Planned viewings of the taped Presidential Message to Students: September 10^th- Miles, September 11^th-Arnett 9:15 AM, Howell 8:10 AM, Lindeman 2:00 PM, Miles, Tichenor-during study skills classes for grades 6-8, Lloyd-during Social Studies classes

· There will be a September 11^th ceremony at the Erlanger City Building from 7-7:30 PM

· Girls JV and Varsity Volleyball Teams play Dayton on September 10^th

· The Cross County Team competes in the Mason Invitational on September 12th