Druid Hills Elementary : Principal's Page

Principal's Page

Principal's Weekly Newsletter and Archived Newsletters:

Welcome Back Newsletter

gen-apple: Welcome Mrs. Beverly Newsome

" Maximizing every student's academic potential and personal responsibility"

Mrs. Newsome latest newsletter

The Panther Express

November 30, 2009

(Click here)

Please check out the school calendar.

100 % on Safe School Audits

Our school earned 100% on both of the safe school audits that were held this year! Great job students and Staff !!!

Parents can access the CMS Parent Student Handbook by clicking here.

Dear Parent/Guardian

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires that parents be notified in writing of the School Improvement status of their child’s school. That law requires that the letter be sent at the beginning of each school year.If you have any questions about this, please contact your child’s school

September 10, 2009

Dear Druid Hills Elementary Parent or Guardian,

I am writing to let you know that Druid Hills Elementary is a Title I School Improvement school for 2009-10 under the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). As a parent at Druid Hills Elementary, you have options for your child in the 2009-10 school year that require careful consideration. Please read this notice, taking special note of deadline dates and contact names and phone numbers you can access for additional information.

According to 2008-09 student assessment results, Druid Hills Elementary did not make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for two years in reading and math. Druid Hills Elementary has offered public school choice to all parents of students enrolled at the school. Also, the school system must offer free tutoring services to students receiving free or reduced-price lunch. (Eligible families may transfer to another school or receive free tutoring services, but not both.)

Druid Hills Elementary receives federal funds from the Title I program. These funds help students who are not achieving at grade level in high-poverty schools. As a school receiving these funds, we are required to make AYP in improving student achievement or face increasingly serious consequences. 68.7% of schools in our district made AYP for 2008-09.

Your child's options for the 2009-10 school year are to:

1.   Remain at Druid Hills Elementary; or

2. Enroll in another designated school of choice using the Choice process available in January 2010 for the 2010-11 school year; or

3.   If eligible, remain at Druid Hills Elementary and receive free tutoring services.<o:p></o:p>

More information on each of these options is below.

1.      Remain at Druid Hills Elementary

The staff at Druid Hills Elementary has a relationship with your child and wants to continue serving your child all the way through Druid Hills Elementary. If you want your child to remain at Druid Hills Elementary, you don't need to take any additional action.

The many successes at Druid Hills Elementary cannot be measured in one test and we appreciate your past and continued support. I am pleased that our reading scores increased by 15.4 percentage points and our math scores increased by 23 percentage points.

However, we are concerned about the academic progress of all of our students. We've identified the following instructional strategies in which to focus, with district and state assistance: School-wide focus on fluency, the implementation of our district’s newly adopted math program, Math Investigations, and the use of data to drive instruction.

The school district is developing a plan for Druid Hills Elementary corrective action to:

Restructure the school’s internal organization.

We welcome your involvement at Druid Hills Elementary. There are many ways to participate including becoming a member of the Parent Teacher Association, offering your input to the School Improvement Team, volunteering, attending parent conferences with your child’s teacher(s), making sure that your child is prepared and attends school each day, and monitoring your child’s homework.

Druid Hills Elementary held its annual meeting to develop our parent involvement policy and to review parent rights under Title I and other information on Thursday, September 3, 2009. The Title I district-wide parent involvement policy will be reviewed this fall and you may want to be a part of that review process. If you have questions about these opportunities, please call Druid Hills Elementary at 980-343-5515.

2.      Enroll in another designated school

If you want to enroll your child in another school, you will have the opportunity to make the choice through the lottery application process in January. A list of applicable schools will be provided to you through this process.

The district will respond to your request by written notice regarding your child's school assignment and transportation availability. You then will have an opportunity to communicate whether you accept the approved choice or want your child to remain at Druid Hills Elementary. If a requested transfer is approved, your child will be allowed to attend the choice school through the fifth grade. If the request for transfers exceeds available funding, priority must be given to the lowest-achieving students from low-income families.

If you are the parent of an exceptional child please call the Exceptional Children Department at 980-343-6960 for the available public school choices that best meet the needs of your child. If you are the parent of an English language learner please call the English as a Second Language Department at 980-343-0432 for the available public school choices that best meet the needs of your child. (Educational records are confidential and access is limited to school officials having a genuine need to know.)

3.      Remain at Druid Hills Elementary and receive free tutoring services<o:p></o:p>

The free tutoring program for students who receive free or reduced-price lunch and choose not to transfer from Druid Hills Elementary will be offered at Druid Hills Elementary after the school day or at a specific provider’s site outside of school hours, by several providers during the 2009-10 school year. If there is not enough funding for every child requesting services, eligible students with the greatest academic need will receive first priority.

You will be provided with a brief description of tutoring providers and their services at the beginning of each semester.

If your family is eligible and you have completed the “Student Enrollment Form.” After receiving your request for services, the district will confirm your request. Next, an agreement with the service provider, including specific achievement goals for your child, will be established. (The public identity of any child who is eligible for, or receiving, these free tutoring services remains confidential until the child's parent(s) or guardian(s) gives written permission.)

If you have questions about any of these options, please call the Title I Office at 980-343-6950. In addition, more information about public school choice and free tutoring services, also known as supplemental educational services, can be found on the Web at www.ncpublicschools.org/nclb. We are looking forward to a year of educational success and continuous improvement for all of our students. Please continue to work with us to make sure that we achieve success for each student.

Sincerely,

Beverly Newsome

Principal

cc: Superintendent, Title I Director

Information regarding (School) NC School Report Card can be found at http://www.ncreportcards.org/src/. Information regarding Choice, SES, and Corrective Action can be found at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/nclb/.

Last update: Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 2:39:24 PM