Spring Break Monday, 3/26 - Monday, 4/2. Students Return on Tuesday, 4/3.
Upcoming PARCC Assessment Apr. 3–20
The PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) assessment will be administered to our students during the window of April 3–20.
CLICK HERE for more info about why we administer the PARCC, what it from other assessments, and links to additional resources for parents.
Celebrate & Donate = Smashing Success!!!
Our Celebrate & Donate evening was truly amazing. I’m afraid I’m sounding redundant because I keep saying this, but it really was! Please click HERE to see for yourself if you weren’t able to make it. Thank you to all the families who put in so much time and effort to make the evening the smashing success that it was and to our PTO for growing the idea and making it a reality for our school community to enjoy.
In District 96, we are highly focused on increasing our depth of knowledge and application of interculturalism. We strive to continually grow staff and students’ acceptance of others with different cultural variables such as age, race, ethnicity, religion, and disability who are different from ourselves. We want to foster the understanding that we all have similar needs.
Our Celebrate & Donate event allowed all of us to express curiosity around each other in the ways that we are similar and different. Watching everyone interact during the evening was one of my most treasured takeaways; people simply bonding and asking questions of each other in true appreciation for what each person has to offer. My other treasured takeaway was all the pride in “our house” last Friday. I have heard the same feedback from many of you and our kids too.
Thank you again to all our families!!!
Creating Balanced Class Lists - Parent Input for Class Placement
Creating balanced class lists that meet the needs of all students is a tremendously difficult job that takes many hours of thoughtful dialogue between classroom teachers, administrators, and specialists. We at Prairie School take this process very seriously. The process for class list creation is as follows:
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Teachers think about the social and academic needs of each of their current students while recording pertinent information to assist in the decision making process.
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Grade level teachers, the principal, specials area teachers, and specialists meet together to form class lists that are balanced in terms of academic, social, and emotional needs as well as considering friendships. This is no easy task and often takes several meetings. This team of educators considers each child’s personality, academic needs, friendship patterns, etc. as they make a match for each individual child.
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This team of educators creates a draft set of class lists taking into consideration parent input.
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Class lists are then revised in August with summer changes for students who move in or out of the district.
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Class rosters are never final until they are released to families in August.
This process happens at grades 2-5. Willow Grove creates the class lists for our incoming 1st graders. Our 5th-grade team actively works with Twin Groves to provide data and input related to placement decisions as well.
We strongly believe that this detailed and collaborative process creates learning environments that benefit all students. It is a delicate balancing act which takes much consideration and thought by professionals who know and care about your children. Our goal is to create balanced class lists that promote the success of each child. Please know that your child is placed in a classroom for very specific reasons. The process benefits all students. Because of the input and thought given by teachers, specialists, parents, and the principal, we are very reluctant to make changes once this process occurs, as removing or moving one child can disrupt the balance of an entire class, impacting all students.
I welcome any insight you wish to share about your child’s strengths, needs, and learning style. I will take into consideration pertinent information received on or before FRIDAY, APRIL 27th. Please remember, while we welcome your input, specific teacher requests will not be honored.
I cannot express enough how important it is that your thoughts are in provided through the Prairie Class Placement Input 2018-2019 Survey. As you can imagine, we receive a lot of parent input, and verbal information is impossible to track. The information you provide in the survey will remain confidential between you and me.
PTO News
Please see your updated March 2018 PRAIRIE PTO BLOG