Charger Update- October 21, 2022
Early Dismissal- Tuesday, October 25, 2022
Tuesday, October 25 is a two hour early dismissal to give our teachers time for end-of-quarter activities and allow them to prepare for the start of our second quarter.
Inclement Weather Plan-
As we see our temperatures drop this past week, I wanted to inform families of our process of closing schools in the case of inclement weather. The following plan was discussed and developed during our October administrative/department meeting. The purpose of this plan is to communicate a clear process to address early outs, late starts, and the cancellation of school.
Decision Making Process
Superintendent will drive to check road/weather conditions.
Transportation directors will drive to check road/weather conditions.
Area school superintendents will collaborate on road/weather conditions
Des Moines Weather Service briefings and alerts are used to help make decisions.
Collaboration with County Engineers and Adair-Guthrie County Emergency Management.
Notifications-
Infinite Campus- text, email, and phone.
Social Media- sent out by building principals through school social media accounts
Website- posted by technology coordinators.
Media Outlets-
Stuart- KKRF- 107.9
Atlantic- KSOM- 96.5
Des Moines television stations
Timing of Notifications-
5:30 - 5:45 am
National Principals Month
October is National Principals Month. As we enter the last week of October, I would like to thank each of our principals for the work they do on a daily basis. Mrs. Diane Flanery- GC Elementary, Mr. Ethan Lensch- AC/GC High School, and Mr. Chris Douglas- A-C Elementary and AC/GC Junior High. The hard work and leadership our principals provide for our staff and students is a vital component to staff and student success. Be sure to thank our principals for their dedication to our students and families of AC/GC!
Parent-Teacher Conferences
November 7th and 10th will be parent-teacher conferences for A-C and GC elementary, along with AC/GC Junior High. I hope everyone has a chance to schedule a parent-teacher conference and visit with each of your student's teachers. This is a great opportunity to see the progress of your son and/or daughter, along with addressing any questions you may have at this time.
As we finish up our first quarter of school and send home end-of-quarter progress reports, I would like to remind you of the change in grading and reporting as outlined in the standards-based approach below. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your building principal or Karla Mahaffey, AC/GC Curriculum Director. We appreciate your vested interest in your child's education!
What is a Standards-Based Approach?
A standards-based approach focuses on what a student knows, not how long it takes to get there. It measures how well a student understands the material and how they are progressing on their learning goals. It is based on the Iowa Core standards that students need to meet for each grade level. Teachers gather evidence to determine what each student has learned and how that student is progressing towards end-of-year expectations. This approach builds consistent grading practices throughout the district K-8.
The standards-based approach allows teachers to design instruction to give students multiple opportunities, if necessary, to demonstrate success, or provide enrichment if students are already meeting learning goals.
A standards-based approach also allows parents to understand more clearly what is expected of students and how to help them be successful in their learning. It provides better feedback to students, parents, teachers and administrators on what each student knows and is able to do based on academic standards and separately assesses the influence of work habits on student learning.
Purpose of the Report Card
The purpose of this report card is to describe academic achievement and student skills based on our district's grade level learning expectations. It reflects student successes, guides improvements, and provides students opportunity for self-evaluation and reflection.
Although teachers are responsible for teaching all of Iowa Core Standards, there are specific standards that teachers will be reporting to parents on a regular basis. These are referred to as Priority Standards and reflect the standards that are critical for student success at that particular grade level. These standards tend to cross content areas, span grade levels and/or are skills that are considered as crucial building blocks for future lifelong learning.
Parents/Guardians will be able to access progress reports at midterm of each quarter. There will no longer be semester grades with SBL&G.
These ratings are not a comparison of one student to another, but are a measure of the student's work toward mastering the end-of-year standard.
Performance descriptors will replace the traditional A, B, C, D, F grading system. For each standard listed, students will be graded using the 1, 2, 3, 4 scale. Many students may start the year with a 1. This does not convert to a D or F in a traditional grading system. It simply shows student progress toward end of year expectations.
4 Exceeds proficiency: The student exceeds grade level proficiency.
3 Proficient: The student understands and applies grade level concepts and skills.
2 Developing: The student demonstrates partial understanding and application of skills and concepts taught in class.
1 Emerging: The student demonstrates a limited understanding and application of skills and concepts even with teacher support. This could potentially indicate an area of concern.
NA Not assessed this quarter.
IS Insufficient evidence: The student did not show or provide evidence of a skill or concept; therefore the teacher can not determine what the student knows.
Yours in education,
Mr. Josh Rasmussen
Superintendent
AC/GC Schools