Good Morning, ADM Parents –
I hope you are all doing well today. It is hard to believe that our first semester ends this week! The school year is really going by quickly. Just a quick update on a few things:
Weather and Schedule Changes
So far this winter we have been fortunate to have had very little inclement weather impacting our school day and activities. However, we can anticipate we will get some typical Iowa weather yet this winter. Our approach to schedule changes is grounded in making the best decision for student and staff safety. We are always monitoring the weather reports and typically have some notice of poor winter weather in the forecast. There are many factors in play when in comes to making a decision to close for the day or start late/close early, but two of the most important are the conditions of our bus routes and our student drivers. ADM has a great deal of gravel bus routes on county roads that are not first to be plowed or treated. And we also factor in our young high school drivers and the conditions affecting them.
We attempt to make the decisions as far in advance as possible so families have a chance to make adjustments to their schedules, knowing these changes can be difficult for parents. Our communication plan regarding a change in starts with a text/email/phone message using our SchoolMessenger notification service. We also place the information on the local television stations and on our website. Here’s to continued good weather this winter!
Iowa School Report Card – Release on Thursday
The newest version of the Iowa School Report Card is set to be release on Thursday. You can access the website (when operational) at the following web address:
http://reports.educateiowa.
The ISCR is a legislative requirement for the Department of Education. There is a lot of information available to you if you are interested. I have attached a helpful Parent FAQ guide provided by the Iowa Department of Education.IA School Report Card Parent FAQ_12.16.16.pdf
If you have any questions, please give me a call. We are very proud of our schools and the ISCR is one more confirmation of the solid work that goes on every day at ADM.
Teacher Leadership at ADM
At a recent administrative team meeting, we reviewed our Teacher Leadership and Compensation program at ADM. We are in our first year of implementation of the “TLC” program. All Iowa school districts are voluntarily participating in this program that was brought to be as part of the Governor’s 2013 educational reform initiatives. We have the following teacher leader positions as part of this effort:
9 – half-time instructional coaches in literacy and math/science
1- full-time special education coach
23 – Professional Learning Community (PLC) leaders
13 – Model Teachers
18 – Mentor Teachers
We are very excited about our “launch” year and our beliefs about the power of utilizing teacher leadership at ADM have been intensely confirmed.
School Board Members
Our five school board members serve the students of our communities with great passion and commitment. The leadership they collectively provide is powerful and their ability to work together in a productive and functional manner is exemplary. Our board members are:
Tim Canney, President (2004) Term ends September 2019
Kelli Book, Vice-President (2009) Term ends September 2017
Bart Barnwart (2010) Term ends September 2019
Rod Collins (2009) Term ends September 2017
Kim Roby (2004) Term ends September 2019
Technology Improvements
As previously communicated, we are in the process of developing the framework and adult learning necessary for a successful launch of our “next generation” technology deployment in 2018. We anticipate a 1:1 device to student ratio in grades 3-12 and a 2:1 in grades PK-2. Much work to do before 2018 as we know simply issuing a laptop or similar device to a student does not lead to higher levels of learning. We are tremendously excited about the instructional impact this will have at ADM. As a reminder, our technology improvements are made possible by a voter-approved Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) in 2012. Thank you.
Have a great day, and Go Tigers!