No Child Left Behind – SINA Designation
Date: July 28, 2011
To: Harrison Elementary Families
Subject: Notice of Adequate Yearly Progress –
School Choice Options
Many of you are aware of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, which requires schools to assess students annually and to meet student achievement goals. If a school does not meet those assessment and achievement goals (termed “adequate yearly progress” or AYP) for two consecutive years, and if the school receives federal Title 1 funds, then it is placed on a federal “Schools in Need of Assistance (SINA)” list and subjected to federal sanctions. Schools or districts are cited if they a) don’t meet 95% participation rate for assessments, b) don’t meet student achievement goals, or c) don’t meet attendance rate for elementary and middle schools or graduation rate for high school.
Harrison Elementary has been designated as a “School in Need of Assistance,” or SINA, under these federal guidelines because a portion of our students did not reach proficiency goals on their reading tests. As a result of this designation our district is required by law to offer your child school choice to transfer to another school within the district that has not been designated as a school in need of assistance.
Also, according to NCLB, the school must offer free supplemental educational services, such as tutoring to eligible Harrison students. Families must receive free or reduced priced meals to be eligible. A list of approved supplemental educational service providers is enclosed.
Please know that the SINA designation refers to federal criteria. Harrison Elementary remains a fully accredited school in complete compliance with the State of Iowa regulations.
Why Harrison didn’t make Adequate Yearly Progress:
Schools don’t make AYP when they don’t achieve one of the measures listed above. NCLB requires that all students in grades 3-5 meet Adequate Yearly Progress targets. In 2010-2011 Harrison students did not meet AYP goals in the following area:
· Reading comprehension- 64.9% proficient
As you may be aware we were designated for math last year, however, because our students made adequate growth for two years in a row in the area of math we have been taken off the list for math. We will continue to implement our plan to ensure continued growth.
How Harrison will improve:
We know that continuous improvement is important to ensure all of our students are reaching their highest potential. Using data about the students and their achievement, our staff already has begun to identify areas for improvement. For example:
· The staff has received extensive training at the building and district level in reading strategies and incorporates those strategies into their daily work with Harrison students.
· Harrison is also going into its fourth year of implementing a new reading curriculum to support the development of reading skills for all children.
· Every student will participate in thirty minutes of small group reading intervention daily to address specific academic needs
· Harrison teachers will meet in Professional Learning Communities weekly to review data, discuss best practices in teaching and share curriculum and teaching ideas.
· A full copy of the School Improvement Plan is available upon request. Please contact the office if you are interested.
Some student groups may require additional instructional interventions, pending a review of our current programs and services. In addition, the Iowa Department of Education, the Grant Wood Area Education Agency, and the Cedar Rapids Community School District already have begun providing technical assistance to Harrison School as required by NCLB law.
How parents can help:
Parent support is essential to help your student reach his or her highest academic success, but parents may need ideas about the best way to be involved. A few suggestions include:
· Communicating regularly with teachers
· Making sure children attend school every day
· Helping children with their homework
· Volunteering at school
How to request a school choice:
If you do not wish to transfer, you do not need to do anything at this time. You may apply for school choice by requesting a choice form from our district office at 558-2247. You must apply for school choice before August 15, 2011. Your transfer options are Hoover and Taylor Schools. Transportation for choice will be provided by district bus from Harrison to the choice school. The chart below outlines the achievement level of Harrison, Hoover and Taylor as well as some programs available at the respective schools.
Academic performance
Building Name % of All Students Proficient in Reading % of All Students Proficient in Math
Harrison 64.9% 67.6%
Hoover 60.6% 62.8%
Taylor 55.6% 58.3%
Programs and services offered
Identified Building Choice School Choice School
Harrison Hoover Taylor
Title 1 X X X
Special Education X X X – Level 2__
English Language classes for ELL students _____
Other: _____________________________________________________________
How to request supplemental education support services:
Supplemental education services, such as tutoring before or after school, will be offered to students receiving free/reduced meals per NCLB requirements. A list of approved supplemental education service providers is enclosed. The Supplemental Education Services meeting will be held Monday, August 29th beginning at 6:30 in the Harrison Library. If you have questions about whether your student is eligible or not, or about which service might best meet the needs of your child, contact Mrs. Linda Reysack at 558-2269. The district is not required to provide transportation to off-site supplemental educational service locations. Transportation to these sites will be the responsibility of the parent.
As parents, you can be assured your students continue to receive a high quality education at Harrison School. The assessment results cited by NCLB are one useful measurement for us, but we also have many other indicators to demonstrate our students’ achievement.
There will be a parent meeting hosted by the district in the Wilson School Auditorium on Wednesday, August 10, 2011 at 6:00 pm. This meeting will give parents an opportunity to learn how the District plans to meet the needs of students, address the progress of students, and what parents can do to help in meeting the achievement needs of our students. Please join us for this meeting. We appreciate and depend on your ongoing support and assistance.
We are proud of our students and of the education they receive from the staff at Harrison School. We also are committed to continuous improvement, and we will continue to seek new data and make any changes necessary to benefit student learning. We appreciate and depend on your ongoing support and assistance. Feel free to contact Harrison’s main office if you have any additional questions at 558-2269.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Reysack
Principal
To: Harrison Elementary Families
Subject: Notice of Adequate Yearly Progress –
School Choice Options
Many of you are aware of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, which requires schools to assess students annually and to meet student achievement goals. If a school does not meet those assessment and achievement goals (termed “adequate yearly progress” or AYP) for two consecutive years, and if the school receives federal Title 1 funds, then it is placed on a federal “Schools in Need of Assistance (SINA)” list and subjected to federal sanctions. Schools or districts are cited if they a) don’t meet 95% participation rate for assessments, b) don’t meet student achievement goals, or c) don’t meet attendance rate for elementary and middle schools or graduation rate for high school.
Harrison Elementary has been designated as a “School in Need of Assistance,” or SINA, under these federal guidelines because a portion of our students did not reach proficiency goals on their reading tests. As a result of this designation our district is required by law to offer your child school choice to transfer to another school within the district that has not been designated as a school in need of assistance.
Also, according to NCLB, the school must offer free supplemental educational services, such as tutoring to eligible Harrison students. Families must receive free or reduced priced meals to be eligible. A list of approved supplemental educational service providers is enclosed.
Please know that the SINA designation refers to federal criteria. Harrison Elementary remains a fully accredited school in complete compliance with the State of Iowa regulations.
Why Harrison didn’t make Adequate Yearly Progress:
Schools don’t make AYP when they don’t achieve one of the measures listed above. NCLB requires that all students in grades 3-5 meet Adequate Yearly Progress targets. In 2010-2011 Harrison students did not meet AYP goals in the following area:
· Reading comprehension- 64.9% proficient
As you may be aware we were designated for math last year, however, because our students made adequate growth for two years in a row in the area of math we have been taken off the list for math. We will continue to implement our plan to ensure continued growth.
How Harrison will improve:
We know that continuous improvement is important to ensure all of our students are reaching their highest potential. Using data about the students and their achievement, our staff already has begun to identify areas for improvement. For example:
· The staff has received extensive training at the building and district level in reading strategies and incorporates those strategies into their daily work with Harrison students.
· Harrison is also going into its fourth year of implementing a new reading curriculum to support the development of reading skills for all children.
· Every student will participate in thirty minutes of small group reading intervention daily to address specific academic needs
· Harrison teachers will meet in Professional Learning Communities weekly to review data, discuss best practices in teaching and share curriculum and teaching ideas.
· A full copy of the School Improvement Plan is available upon request. Please contact the office if you are interested.
Some student groups may require additional instructional interventions, pending a review of our current programs and services. In addition, the Iowa Department of Education, the Grant Wood Area Education Agency, and the Cedar Rapids Community School District already have begun providing technical assistance to Harrison School as required by NCLB law.
How parents can help:
Parent support is essential to help your student reach his or her highest academic success, but parents may need ideas about the best way to be involved. A few suggestions include:
· Communicating regularly with teachers
· Making sure children attend school every day
· Helping children with their homework
· Volunteering at school
How to request a school choice:
If you do not wish to transfer, you do not need to do anything at this time. You may apply for school choice by requesting a choice form from our district office at 558-2247. You must apply for school choice before August 15, 2011. Your transfer options are Hoover and Taylor Schools. Transportation for choice will be provided by district bus from Harrison to the choice school. The chart below outlines the achievement level of Harrison, Hoover and Taylor as well as some programs available at the respective schools.
Academic performance
Building Name % of All Students Proficient in Reading % of All Students Proficient in Math
Harrison 64.9% 67.6%
Hoover 60.6% 62.8%
Taylor 55.6% 58.3%
Programs and services offered
Identified Building Choice School Choice School
Harrison Hoover Taylor
Title 1 X X X
Special Education X X X – Level 2__
English Language classes for ELL students _____
Other: _____________________________________________________________
How to request supplemental education support services:
Supplemental education services, such as tutoring before or after school, will be offered to students receiving free/reduced meals per NCLB requirements. A list of approved supplemental education service providers is enclosed. The Supplemental Education Services meeting will be held Monday, August 29th beginning at 6:30 in the Harrison Library. If you have questions about whether your student is eligible or not, or about which service might best meet the needs of your child, contact Mrs. Linda Reysack at 558-2269. The district is not required to provide transportation to off-site supplemental educational service locations. Transportation to these sites will be the responsibility of the parent.
As parents, you can be assured your students continue to receive a high quality education at Harrison School. The assessment results cited by NCLB are one useful measurement for us, but we also have many other indicators to demonstrate our students’ achievement.
There will be a parent meeting hosted by the district in the Wilson School Auditorium on Wednesday, August 10, 2011 at 6:00 pm. This meeting will give parents an opportunity to learn how the District plans to meet the needs of students, address the progress of students, and what parents can do to help in meeting the achievement needs of our students. Please join us for this meeting. We appreciate and depend on your ongoing support and assistance.
We are proud of our students and of the education they receive from the staff at Harrison School. We also are committed to continuous improvement, and we will continue to seek new data and make any changes necessary to benefit student learning. We appreciate and depend on your ongoing support and assistance. Feel free to contact Harrison’s main office if you have any additional questions at 558-2269.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Reysack
Principal
