No Child Left Behind update

The following information was posted by Supt. Dr. Mike Funk.  If you do not follow his blog, I wanted to be sure that all of those that look for my posts had this information.  It is a complete summary of some of the changes that the Minnesota waiver will have on schools with regards to NCLB and Annual Yearly Progress. 

Minnesota has recently received a waiver releasing schools in the state that receive federal Title I aid from many of the requirements of No Child Left Behind. Student performance will now be evaluated with multiple approaches. The new measurements include: Proficiency, Growth, Achievement Gap Reduction, and Graduation Rate.
Under the No Child Left Behind Act, students were tested at a specific point in time, and those results were used to determine if a school was making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) towards the goal of 100% proficiency in reading and math by 2014. This measurement of “progress” did not take into account any individual student growth during the year- it measured only proficiency. If a third grade student started the year at first grade reading level, and advanced a full year, they were labeled as not making adequate yearly progress, because they were only reading at the second grade level at year end.
Under the evaluation system devised in Minnesota, students will now be measured on growth, as well as proficiency. Students will now be expected to achieve a specific growth target to demonstrate gains that they have made throughout the year. The test results from the prior year will be used to predict the future target. This is a much more realistic measurement of the impact of the educational environment on the individual student.
The achievement gap between students is also a significant concern in Minnesota. Student groups will now be compared, as Minnesota attempts to reduce the achievement gap between sub-groups that score poorly and students groups that score better.
Graduation rates will now be analyzed using sub-group measurement. The target graduation rate will be the same for all sub-groups, not just the collective % of students graduating. Therefore if the target is 85%, then 85% of each sub-group of students must achieve it as well.
Using these measurement criteria, schools will be analyzed. Elementary and middle schools will be evaluated on proficiency, growth, and achievement gap reduction. The high school will be evaluated on these as well as graduation rate. From these scores a Multiple Measurement Rating will be developed. Schools will be given an MMR score that will compare them to other schools throughout Minnesota.
Schools in the state will potentially receive a label based upon their MMR score. The top 15% of schools will be designated as reward schools. The bottom 10% of schools will be designated as priority schools and the bottom 5% of schools will be labeled as focus schools.
So what does the waiver mean for Albert Lea? School Choice will no longer exist beginning in the Fall of 2012. Elementary students will no longer be allowed to transfer from a school not making Adequate Yearly Progress to a different school in the district.
The administration has determined that if a student moved because of school choice prior to 2012, then they can choose to remain at the elementary school they currently attend. However, all incoming students in the fall of 2012 will be required to attend their neighborhood school. This does not preclude a parent from moving a student back from their choice school to their neighborhood school so that they can be with siblings.

I Love to Read Month at Sibley

To conclude I Love to Read Month at Sibley, the following activities have evolved as a way to celebrate our love of reading.  In addition, we also will be having community leaders take part in reading to classes this Friday in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday.  It has been a great month.

Monday - Read a Shirt Day - wear a shirt with words on it so people can read it.
Tuesday - Favorite Book Character Day - students and teachers can dress up like a character from a favorite book.
Wednesday - Wacky Wednesday - to go with Dr. Seuss book of the same name, students are encouraged to dress wacky for the day.
Thursday - Crazy Socks/Hat Day - to go with Dr. Seuss books Fox in Socks and Old Hat, New Hat students and staff can wear fun socks and a hat for the day.
Friday - In honor of Dr. Seuss students can bring a small pillow, blanket, and comfortable wear for some of the independent reading time in classrooms. 

If it IS broken, . . . . Fix it! :)

Reading instruction has changed a great deal from when I was in elementary school. (I am 40.)  In 2000, The National Reading Panel report revealed a lot of research about reading.  Since that report, educators have revamped and tweaked their instruction to assure that programming and instructional strategies incorporate the "Big 5."  They are: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension.  As educators, we have also realized that we need to be very diagnostic in our assessments.  If we are not, and certain foundational elements in reading are missing, reading can be that much more challenging from a proficiency standpoint.  We need to know where students are and what strategically should be taught next, to provide for the best gains.  If it isn't proven effective, time should not be spent doing it.  That means, that as we gain new knowledge about the teaching of reading, we have to be willing to let go of things we were used to.  Round-robin-reading, is one such example.  This is where students would take turns reading a book or text as a class or group.  When this is used, the only students benefiting from the "eyes on text" is the student reading.  All the other students are not getting the same benefit and they need the practice too.  Read the article by clicking on this link to get the full story. As a parent, does this mean that you shouldn't read to your child? Not at all.  There is a great need for students to hear fluent reading and be exposed to more challenging vocabulary.  Just be sure to provide a variety of books so that students have selections they can read (at level) and you can read (above level) to them.  Ask your child's teacher for help if you are struggling to find good fit books for your child.

Kindergarten Registration

Kindergarten registration will be tuesday February 28th and thursday March 1st at Brookside School from 5PM to 7PM. Children have to be 5 years old on or before 9-1-2012 to register for kindergarten. Please bring birth certificate and shot records. You may also register at any grade school before that.


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Visiting Author - Doug Wood

On March 1, Sibley will have the opportunity to host Minnesota author, Doug Wood. Upon his visit, Doug will be sharing with Sibley students his inspiration for writing and its process, as well as songs about the earth and his books.  With the help of our PTO, Doug is able to come to Sibley to work with our students.  Hearing from a real author is an experience every student should have.  It gets many to think and be inspired to become writers, not to mention further promoting how great it is to get lost in a great book.  Research shows that the highest achieving students are those who devote leisure time to reading.  Are you making time for reading at home? You should be.  It is one of the single most things a parent can do to help build background knowledge and experiences for their children.  It also is a healthy and fast way to build vocabulary which makes the world around us come to life and that much more enjoyable.  Read and be read to, it works!

Prairie Fire Success

Once again, our 3-5 Prairie Fire Theater production of Jack and the Beanstalk was a success.  Two performances in two days after one solid week of rehearsing - AMAZING!  Great job students and thanks to our PTO for their continued support of this wonderful arts opportunity. 

Etiquette

This past Monday, Sibley students took what they had been learning about etiquette to their lunchroom where they had a "Fancy Lunch."  Complete with center pieces made in art, students were also treated to live music by three talented teachers.  Mrs Bergene, Mrs. Dawson, and Mrs. Hanson played the piano, sang, and played the violin respectively, during all student lunches.  It was a fun way for students to learn about appropriate manners and eating etiquette at school.  They were even served appetizers (mini pickles, cheese and crackers, and olives) by their Principal, Mr. Williams.  We will look forward to hosting an event like this again in the future and hope that parents will be able to join us in serving their children and enjoying a "fancy lunch" with them.