Imagine Great Western Academy is in School Improvement Year 2 due to not making AYP for 2 consecutive years. Due to this status, we must do the following:
- Develop a School Improvement Plan
- Offer Public School Choice
- Spend no less than 10% of Title 1 funds on professional development
- Promptly notify parent's
All children are eligible for public school choice, however, at this time we have no transfer options.
If you have any other questions, please inquire at school or contact Ohio Department of Education
Dear Parent/Guardian:
The main goal of the NCLB act is to ensure that all children in this country receive a quality education so that they can be academically successful in a high-performing educational environment. Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 each state is required to assess all of the schools within their districts to determine whether each school has made adequate yearly progress (AYP), which means that they have met the academic testing standards set by the state. If the school has not made AYP for two consecutive years, it is considered “in need of improvement.”
To comply with the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, we are giving you timely notice that Imagine Great Western Academy has been identified as being in School Improvement (SI) for the 2008-2009 school year. School Improvement means the school did not meet Ohio's goals in reading or mathematics in all subcategories for grades 3, 4, 5 and 6. Although, Imagine Great Western Academy did not meet AYP, we would like to assure our parents that our Stanford testing scores have demonstrated academic gains are being made each year. Additionally, in order to assure your child is receiving a quality education, all of our teacher’s meet highly qualified teacher status.
Imagine Schools measures Imagine Great Western Academy through the Six Measures of Excellence: Academic Achievement, Shared Values, Character Development, Economic Sustainability, New School Development, and Parent Choice. All of these measures are of equal importance. Imagine Great Western Academy performed extremely well at the Imagine Schools National Conference this summer in Saint Louis; we were awarded Overall School of the Year Runner-up, Shared Values School of the Year, and Economic Sustainability School of the Year Runner-up. We were thrilled with our accomplishments, as we were competing with 55 other Imagine Schools nationwide.
Our Stanford testing scores demonstrated over a year’s growth in math and reading for all grade levels.
Our Local Report Card, which is located at the Ohio Department of Education's website, (http://www.ode.state.oh.us/report) shows how our school compares to other similar schools.
Following the federal guidelines regarding the school’s status, we are notifying you that you have the following options:
1. You may continue to have your child attend the same community school.
2. Students may return to their home public school. No Public School Choice no transportation is required to be offered for this option.
3. Students may be eligible to attend the public schools in your district. These schools may or may not be in School Improvement status and have entered into an agreement to accept students. Free transportation will be offered for your child. Public School Choice may be limited due to insufficient resources. See the attachment for information about these schools' staff qualifications, special programs and facilities.
To move our school out of School Improvement status, we have looked at our data and developed a plan to help us achieve higher levels of student performance. Our plan includes: Every effort is being made to provide the highest quality instructional program to best meet the needs of your child. We are confident that several of the interventions and exciting new programs that have been introduced citywide and at the school level will make this school year a successful experience for your child. Some of the interventions and programs that are being implemented are:
- Professional development opportunities for all teachers which will focus on new strategies to help struggling students;
- We will hire an OAT consultant to advise teachers how to prepare for the test. In addition, we are purchasing programs that are geared towards helping students pass the OAT;
- Tutoring before and after school will be offered beginning in January 2009;
- Literacy and mathematics coaches in our schools who will work with teachers everyday to improve the quality of their teaching;
- New teaching strategies for struggling students;
- Continued recruitment of highly-qualified and certified teachers to staff our classrooms;
- More classroom time devoted to reading and math skills;
- Strategies to increase daily attendance; and
- Expanded parental involvement programs.
We ask that you support your child by making sure that she/he comes to school every day on time. Make sure that all homework assignments and school projects are completed on time. We also invite you to participate in all school activities. Stay in close contact with your school’s Curriculum Coordinator and your child’s teachers to monitor your child’s academic progress. Tell teachers you want to hear from them as soon as problems occur so you can work together to find solutions. We also encourage you to become active in the school’s Parents’ Association and School Leadership Team. If you would like more information on how you can help us improve our school, please contact Jennifer Keller, Lisa Meuse, and Mona Milner at 614.276.1028
Sincerely,
Jennifer Keller
Lisa Meuse
Mona Milner
Attachments
Copies of our district's Public School Choice policy
Contact Information on the schools of choice including staff qualifications special programs and facilities.