Dear Parents and Students,

It has been a wonderful first month of school!  Classroom routines are established, students are focused on learning and families are adjusting to new schedules and procedures.  We have had a very successful school opening and are looking forward to working with the students and families in the months ahead.

Back to School Night

Thank you for attending Back to School Night.  This event was the first step in creating a partnership with your child’s classroom teacher.  I’m sure the information you received that night provided insight as to what your child will be learning and the expectations we have for our students at Lobo Elementary. 

Parent-Teacher Conferences

The next step in fostering a partnership with your child’s teacher is to attend parent-teacher conferences.  This year, conferences will be scheduled from October 28-October 31.  This is valuable time to hear about your child’s academic and behavioral progress.  Please be sure to take this opportunity to address any concerns, questions or insights that will help the teacher bring out the best in your child. Through a mutually supportive partnership, your child will thrive and work to his or her potential.  Please remember that during parent-teacher conferences the school will be on a minimum day schedule with Thursday and Friday as non-student days.

Articulation and Collaboration for Excellence (ACE) Time

As you are aware, every Tuesday the staff and I work together as a Professional Learning Community to increase student achievement for all students.  Research shows that the common thread among schools which have consistently been successful at improving student’s achievement is a systematic plan which allows educators time to work together.  The guiding principal for this collaborative time is to address the three essential questions of the professional learning community:

1) What is it that we want students to know?

2) How will we know they have learned it?

3) What system will we put into place for those who already know it, or are struggling to learn it?

Data Director

This year, we our fortunate to have an additional tool to support our goal of increasing student achievement.  “Data Director” is a program which assists teachers and administrators in analyzing student data and identifying specific areas to target instruction for improvement.  During weekly collaboration time, teachers work together to use this data to set goals, refine instructional practices, and develop plans to meet the individual needs of students.  This team approach allows us to capitalize on the collective strength of our professional learning community and support the learning of every child.