Newkirk Public School
Parent
Notification Letter
Dear
Parent/Guardian:
The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) federal law is
designed to ensure that all students will meet performance goals on the state’s
high academic standards. The Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE)
provided the following United States Department of Education guidance
documents:
·
LEA
and School Improvement Non-Regulatory Guidance
·
Public
School Choice Non-Regulatory Guidance
·
Supplemental
Educational Services Non-Regulatory Guidance
·
Parental
Involvement Title I Part A Non-Regulatory Guidance
NCLB
requires schools to notify parents of eligible children of the option to
transfer their child to another public school not identified for improvement
and provide details about the available options as far in advance as possible,
but no later than 14 days before the start of the school year. Parents must be
notified of a school’s academic progress called Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)
status. The Oklahoma Core Curriculum Test (OCCT) scores are reported in four
performance levels: advanced; satisfactory; limited knowledge; and
unsatisfactory. If a certain percentage of students do not score at the
satisfactory or advanced level, then the school is identified as not making AYP.
By 2013-2014, all students are required to score at the satisfactory and
advanced level. The scale for Academic Performance Index (API) scores ranges
from 0-1500. Performance goals are measured for math, reading, percent of
students tested, attendance and graduation rate.
1.
How Our School Compares in Terms of Academic Achievement:
Our
Middle school did not meet the state’s performance goals in Math, but did meet
goals in
2.
School Improvement Identification and Reason for Identification:
Based
on the state assessments, our school has not met the required performance goals
for MS Math and is identified as a school in Need of Improvement year 1.
3.
Explanation of what the school is doing to help address the problem(s):
·
We
will be reviewing our curriculum and how it relates to the PASS skills being
taught.
·
We
will be exploring options for remediation.
·
We
will also be using new resources that are aligned with PASS Objectives.
·
We
are providing professional development using research-proven methods to all
teachers.
4.
Explanation of what the district and the Oklahoma State Department of Education
(OSDE) are doing to help address the problem(s):
The
district must develop and implement a Plan of Improvement with the assistance
of OSDE. We will add extended learning
time for identified students in Math. We
will provide quality professional development to our teachers to improve teaching
methods, and we will promote parental involvement in this year long process.
5.
How parents can become involved to help address the academic problems:
·
We
are providing professional development using research-proven methods to all
teachers.
·
Speak
to their child regularly about the value of education.
·
Make
sure their child attends school every day.
·
Monitor
their child’s progress in school. By requesting progress reports or using the
online parent portal.
·
Make
efforts to attend school events such as parent-teacher conferences. Open House
or Back to School Night.
·
Ensure
that their child receives adequate sleep, medical attention and proper
nutrition.
Public
School Choice: Option for Transferring Your Child to Another School in the
District: When
a school is identified as Needs Improvement Year 1, students in that school are
eligible for Public School Choice. This means that parents may choose to send
their child to another school in the district that is currently making adequate
academic progress. If you would like to transfer your child to another school,
please contact the school. Please
contact the school principal if you have questions about AYP or any of the NCLB
requirements. Newkirk Middle School 580-362-2516
Sincerely,
Jeff
Wilson
School Principal