Primary Level Board Report

February 15, 2011

Heidi Critchley

FEBRUARY IS “I LOVE TO READ” MONTH

February is “I Love to Read” month. We kicked off the celebration of reading with Mrs. Critchley dressing up as a “cheerleader” to cheer on reading. The students did cheers and we all werevery excited about reading.

We have had many guest readers in our classrooms and the students just love it! Parents, community members, and staff have all volunteered to read in the classrooms. Every Friday is a theme dress up day.

The teachers and staff are doing a wonderful job stressing the importance of reading to our students. Take out a book and read this month! If you would like to read at Park Side or West Side, please contact Mrs. Critchley. We would love to have you!

THE 100TH DAY OF SCHOOL

We celebrated the 100th day of school on January 27, 2011. At Park Side, the students received certificates for perfect attendance for the first 100 days of school, sang 100 day theme songs, and were provided with an appearance from “Zero the Hero” (aka Mrs. Critchley). It was a wonderful celebration. Mr. Fenske lead the students in 100 exercises. Every 100 minutes, we announceda name for a student to come to the office to get a 100 calorie snack. The students really enjoy this celebration! Just a note, last year our 100th day of school was celebrated on February 17th!

EARLY CHILDHOOD: SELECTED AS A TACSEI SITE

The Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention for Young Children (TACSEI) is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. TACSEI has taken research showing which practices improve the social-emotional outcomes for young children with, or at risk for, delays or disabilities and has createdresources to help decision-makers, caregivers, and service providers apply these practices in the work they do every day.

Minnesota is one of two states selected in the first round to partner with TACSEI as part of their five-year grant. The goal of the State/TACSEI Partnership is to plan, implement and sustain a professional development system to enhance the knowledge and skills of the early childhood work force in meeting the social emotional needs of young children, particularly those with or at risk for delays or disabilities in inclusive and natural environments.

To meet this goal, the specific objective of the state/TACSEI Partnership is to build state capacity to foster professional development of the early care and education workforce that:

  1. enhances knowledge and skills
  2. supports the implementation and sustainability of evidence-based practices
  3. increases the size of the workforce skilled in supporting the social-emotional development of young children (birth–5 years) in inclusive, natural environments

Heidi Critchley and Jennifer Hanson, in partnership with Gail Goltz of Head Start, applied to serve as one of Minnesota’s TACSEI expansion sites. An expansion site may include multiple sites operated by a single program or may be a single classroom or a Part C program that serves children through a home based model and consultation with child care, Early Head Start or ECFE.

We are excited to announce Marshall Public Schools Early Childhood Education and Head Start were selected as an expansion site. We will receive two years of training and technical assistance to support understanding and implementation of this model valued at around $10.000.00. We are honored to be receiving this cutting edge professional development for the school readiness of our children. For more information on the TACSEI Pyramid Model, please visit the following site:

Marshall Primary Level Receives AmeriCorps Reading Program Assistance:

Park Side and West Side Elementary schools have been selected to be part of the Minnesota Reading Corps program for the 2011-12 program year. The award is the following:

  • Full-time, Elementary Literacy Tutor(s): 1 (Park Side)
  • Part-time, Elementary Literacy Tutor(s): 1 (West Side).

Minnesota Reading Corps is a statewide initiative to help every Minnesota child become a successful reader by the end of 3rd grade. Reading Corps assists schools in implementing research-based early-literacy programs to help struggling readers in preschool settings and elementary schools. Kelly Konietzko, K-1 Looping Teacher and RtI Coordinator, applied for this program for our schools. This is a competitive process and we appreciate Mrs. Konietzko’s effort, time, and commitment in bringing this service to our students. To learn more about MN Reading Corps, please visit

NAEP: A Common Yardstick

Randomly selected West Side fourth graders will participate in NAEP testing on February 17, 2011. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subject areas. Assessments are conducted periodically in mathematics, reading, science, writing, the arts, civics, economics, geography, and U.S. history.

Since NAEP assessments are administered uniformly using the same sets of test booklets across the nation, NAEP results serve as a common metric for all states and selected urban districts. The assessment stays essentially the same from year to year, with only carefully documented changes. This permits NAEP to provide a clear picture of student academic progress over time. Although we will not receive individual student or West Side school results, we are contributing to the overall picture of Minnesota’s education “report card” through this assessment.

LOOPING INFORMATION for the 2011-12 School Year

As Mrs. Konietzko and her class are finishingup their second year of the K-1 looping initiative at Park Side Elementary, we look forward to continuing this in the pilot stage for the 2011-12 academic year. Next year, Mrs. Konietzko will teach Kindergarten with Mrs. Strautz moving to first grade. Mrs. Critchley shared information through a letter to all of Mrs. Strautz’s parents. Additionally, an informational meeting was held for parents of students currently in Mrs. Strautz’s classroom. Those students and parents in Mrs. Strautz’s room will be offered the opportunity (not a requirement) to continue to first grade with Mrs. Strautz. Logistically, Mrs. Strautz and Mrs. Konietzko will “switch” rooms for the year. This way our first graders are in the hallway with the other first graders and our kindergartners are in a kindergarten designed room. We are very pleased with the looping program and hope to continue/expand in the future.

DonorsChoose.org

Mr. Kevin Dubs of Horace Mann shared information about this program at February staff meetings in the elementary schools. DonorsChoose.org is a nonprofit organization that connects public school teachers in need of classroom materials and experiences with individual donors who want to help. At DonorsChoose.org, public school teachers submit project requests for the specific materials their students need to learn. Donors from across the country brows the website and fund the project they find most compelling. Horace Mann will match donated funds up to $200.00. We appreciate Mr. Dubs bringing this wonderful opportunity to our teachers and Horace Mann for matching funds. The website for this opportunity is

SMART BOARDSAT THE PRIMARY LEVEL

We are almost there! I am proud to report all of West Side Elementary School’s thirteen core classrooms along with one special education classroom house Smart Board technology. At Park Side, twenty of our twenty-two core kindergarten through second grade classrooms have a Smart Board. We only have two remaining classrooms to provide a Smart Board with. Also, our two early childhood special education classrooms and one first/second grade special education classroom have Smart Boards. We are excited to provide this technology to our little people and cannot wait until we have all of the classrooms completed!

MINNESOTA SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE VALIDATION

Mark your calendars Board Members! On Wednesday, May 4th at 12:45 p.m. at Park Side Elementary, Marshall Primary Level will host a community wide celebration for Marshall Primary Level (Park Side and West Side Schools) receiving the Minnesota School of Excellence Award. The leadership team along with teaching staff has been busy preparing for the event. Marshall Primary Level receiving recognition as a Minnesota School of Excellence celebrates our quality staff, dedicated parents, and supportive community. This validation is a reflection of their efforts in providing our students with the high quality education they deserve. We would love to have you attend!