May the peace of God that surpasses all understanding guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

             4-27-10

   Dear Parents,

Questions about the future arise when we find ourselves in a climate of change.  With our parish merger in process, people have asked what the changes will mean for the education we provide. My response is to point to the work of our teachers and the achievement of our students.  I want to share some information that indicates where we are today and the course we are on for the future.

We recently received our ITBS achievement test results for grades one to seven.  Our scores are high, as we expected, and are on par with our past performance.  The scores are typically shared in detail in the fall at the “Coffee with the Principal” PTC meeting, but I am planning this year to present a summary of the results in an upcoming school newsletter.

One of the strengths of our school is the frequent and thorough assessment of student progress.  Grades that the students earn reflect accurately their work and achievement. Students who actively involve themselves in the learning process do achieve excellent outcomes.  This results in admission and success at the most demanding high schools.  This year 93% of our graduating eighth graders will go on to Catholic high schools.

Please take the opportunity to view the work produced by our students that is displayed in the school.  The work gives an indication of the content and the skills being emphasized at this time of the year in each grade.  Some of the writing projects that are on display will be saved in portfolios to track student growth in writing skills.  The portfolios were developed by the teachers in response to the goals we set for academic excellence for our state accreditation two years ago.

Our accreditation progress report that we are submitting to the state accrediting body this week shows that we have successfully accomplished every step on our timeline over the last two years.  We have completed the professional development that we planned.  In our Catholic Identity target area we have used three new programs to teach and foster Catholic Social Justice principles, we have instituted the use of faith journals, and we have strengthened student participation in prayer and worship opportunities.  In our Academic Learning target area, we have established the use of rubrics to assess writing, we have completed curriculum maps of the English Language Arts content and skills, and we have established a sequence of writing projects through the grades that cover all the genres in our curriculum. 

We are evaluating new workbooks in phonics and vocabulary for use in some grades.  New textbooks in social studies are being selected in the grades that are most in need of updated materials.  While state funds for these resources are shrinking, we are choosing carefully the best available resources for our classes.

When specific questions arise about our curriculum, our teaching strategies, our student achievement, or the success of our graduates, I hope you will consider some options for bringing forward the topic you would like to discuss.  One choice that parents use at times is to arrange a group meeting with me along with other parents who wish to discuss a common area of interest.  If you would like to arrange such a meeting, please contact me to set a time.  Another good venue for discussion is the monthly meeting of the School Advisory Board.  The meetings are always open.  Discussion topics for the board can be submitted online at advisoryboard@stgregoryonline.org.

Peter Wilson