January 4, 2016

Dear families,

            Before we left for the holidays, we got the scores of the SAGE test the students took in October. Granted, this was during the first quarter so I shouldn’t expect super high scores, but  when I saw that only 26% of the fourth graders in the district scored at proficient, I was quite taken aback. Proficient translates as a score of 3 or 4, an A to a Ct. Three fourths of our students scored at a 1 or 2, a C- to an F. I don’t know about you, but these are the kids I am working with and I would very much like to see more students succeeding.

            So I’ve come up with a plan of sorts. I am open for your ideas, too, so we can help our children understand the importance of putting effort into their learning.

Teacher Goals and Purpose

Parent Goals

1. Create weekly spelling lists. Spelling is a portion of what students are expected to know and display on the test. 2. When children hand in book reports that don’t meet the criteria, I will return them to the students to complete according to directions. This will help children realize there is a standard they must reach and work towards that. 3. On writing assignments, according to the areas we have studied and practiced, if the children are not trying to employ those strategies because of lack of effort, I will reinstruct the strategies, then have the children rewrite until they show the usage of that strategy. This will help them internalize what they are learning and use it. This will help them to learn to think and not speed through things. 4. In daily bell work, some children are just speeding through as fast as they can in order to get to the extra activities. If children get less than ¾ correct, they will redo the incorrect answers at lunch recess when I can give them individual help. The students will learn to think while doing their assignments instead of randomly putting answers. Also, those who aren’t getting a concept will get extra instruction. 5. Homework is so important. It helps cement the concepts learned in math lessons each day. Children who habitually don’t do homework will now go to the skills room during break to complete it. Those children who forget every now and then are exempt because I know they will bring it in the next day.  Math builds concept upon concept. You have to have each building block in place or the next concept added makes no sense.

1. Make sure your child reads between 20 and 30 minutes each day. Ask them comprehension questions to make sure they are getting the meaning and not just reading words. Have them read chapter books. Small picture books should now just be for fun. 2. Each day, Monday through Thursday, your child will bring home homework. Showing me they have their homework paper is how I dismiss them. Have them do it. I don’t send home anything we haven’t studied at school. If they say they don’t know how to do it, tell them to get out  the day’s practice pages. The first page has step by step instructions so they can review the process as needed. If they don’t have those pages, question them on where they are. We tear them out of the book every day to work on them and take home. I see so many of these pages thrown in the garbage, but if you ask for them each day, the kids will soon learn to take them home. 3. MAKE your child memorize their multiplication tables. They can no longer fake their way through without this knowledge. Multiplication comes before division. We are using both, plus adding fractions, common denominators, etc. into the mix. Those children who still don’t have this third grade skill are SO LOST! They are floundering badly. 4. Get your child to school on time. These first minutes in the morning are when bell work is done. When they miss this work time, it puts their whole day behind schedule. They are trying to play catch-up with all its frustrations.

            I hope these goals and follow-through at home and at school will help our children work and learn on the level that will lead them to success in their education. I promise to do my part at school. Education can take the children to a great life if we show them how to succeed and expect them to do so.