September 22, 2020
Dear Parent/Guardian:
I hope the school year has started successfully for all of you. As a parent/guardian of a student in Peterson Elementary School, I am writing this letter to let you know that Peterson Elementary School has been designated as a Targeted Support & Improvement Additional Targeted Support (TSI-AT) school by the North Carolina State Board of Education. As defined in G.S. 115C-105.37: “The State Board of Education shall design and implement a procedure to identify low-performing schools on an annual basis. Low-performing schools are those that receive a school performance grade of D or F and a school growth score of "met expected growth" or "not met expected growth" as defined by G.S. 115C-83.15.” As stated in ESSA Section 1111(d)(2), North Carolina had to identify schools for targeted support and improvement. TSI-AT schools in North Carolina are those that have a subgroup that is under-performing. The intent of this opportunity is to improve educational outcomes for all students, close achievement gaps, increase equity, and improve the quality of instruction.
School Performance Grades are calculated for all schools as required by the North Carolina Every Student Succeeds Act State Plan and North Carolina General Statute 115-C 83.15. A-F letter grades are assigned to all public schools in the state.
School Performance Grades are assigned using a weighted model of 80% achievement and 20% growth. Schools with a grade span that does not go beyond 8th grade (grades 3-8, referred to as Elementary/Middle) use a defined set of indicators for the letter grades. Schools with a grade span starting at 9th grade (grades 9-13, referred to as High School) use another set of indicators. Schools with grades in both grade spans use the indicators from each combined to create one letter grade. These grades are used to identify schools in need of Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) as required by ESSA. Also, as required by state law, School Performance Grades and a school's growth status determines whether a school is low-performing or a district is low-performing. Lists of CSI schools and low-performing schools and districts will be posted on the Accountability Services website after approval by the State Board of Education in October.
Elementary/Middle Indicators
Reading/Mathematics Assessments : 80%
English Learner Progress
Science Assessments
EVAAS School Growth : 20%
(Reading, Mathematics and Science)
As a low-performing/TSI-AT school Peterson Elementary School is required to develop a comprehensive plan that specifically addresses how the school will improve student achievement, school performance grade, and school growth score. The comprehensive plan will also include how our district will support us and monitor the progress of our school. The comprehensive plan will address the following areas:
Classroom Management
Standard-aligned Instruction
Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)
Instructional Leadership
Recruitment & Retention of Effective Teachers
Support for Grade-to-Grade Transitions
Implementation of a Tiered Instructional System
Data-Driven Decision Making
Student Support Services
Family and Community Engagement
Parent engagement is at the heart of our school improvement efforts. Here are some ways we can work together:
Make sure that both you and your student are aware of academic expectations set for your student this school year. A list of learning objectives in student-friendly language is available from your student’s teacher(s).
Call the school office at 910-843-4125 if you have questions or concerns about your student or to set up an appointment to meet with a school staff member who will be working with your student.
Make sure that your student is prepared and attends school each day.
Monitor your student’s homework.
Monitor the progress your student is making and attend meetings with your student’s teacher(s).
Keep track of our website and social media sites at www.robeson.k12.nc.us/o/peterson or Peterson Elementary School on Facebook.
Volunteer.
Join/support the Peterson Elementary School PTO.
Sounds like a lot but preparing our students so that they can succeed is not easy and is a group effort. Here are some resources available to help:
School webpage: https://www.robeson.k12.nc.us/o/peterson
Graduation requirements: www.ncpublicschools.org/gradrequirements/
K-12 standards in academic subjects: www.ncpublicschools.org/curriculum/
State student achievement test results: www.ncpublicschools.org/accountability/
N.C. School Report Cards: https://ncreportcards.ondemand.sas.com/src
We’re excited about this school year and are working to make it a success for your student. Already, we have:
held several Distribution Days for Instructional Packets, Chromebooks and Ipads
introduced staff via Virtual Open House
mailed Progress Reports for the first ½ of the first grading period
delved into Remote Instruction and are completing diagnostic tests in Reading and Math
The plan will also include how the superintendent and other central office administrators in the district will work with us and monitor the progress of our school. We are already engaged in the work of refining our plan and presented the original plan to our school board at their next meeting, October 13 at 6:00pm at the PSRC Central Office meeting room. After the initial approval by our board of education, we will submit the plan to the State Board of Education for review. The State Board’s designee, staff members of NCDPI’s District and School Transformation division, will read each plan and provide feedback to the school. After considering the feedback from the state, our local board of education will give final approval to the plan so that the final plan for improvement can be posted on our local district website www.robeson.k12.nc.us as well as the NCDPI’s website (www.ncpublicschools.org ).
Our school is focused on continuous improvement and I look forward to working with each of you as we continue to focus on providing the best education for our children. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any specific questions as we move through this process.
Sincerely,
Melinda P. Sellers