Monday, August 08, 2011

Dear Parent/Legal Guardian:

In January 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was signed into law to improve educational opportunities for all children attending a Title I school. This federally funded program provides assistance to schools serving students who are at risk for academic failure. This legislation supports the school district’s efforts to provide a strong standards-based educational program for students along with accountability for student achievement.

Central High School operates a Title I program. NCLB requires that all Title I schools make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in all indicators for two consecutive years. Parents of children attending Title I schools that have not made AYP are required to be notified of the school’s AYP status.  Parents of children attending Title I schools that have not made AYP have two options:

  ·   Public School Choice with free transportation to a school not identified for improvement; or

  ·   Free tutoring from an approved Supplemental Educational Service Provider.

The table below details the AYP determination for our school:

 As a result of the above, pending any appeal and its approval, our school is currently identified to be in Year 4 of Title I School Improvement.

The following chart provides a comparison of our school to other elementary or secondary schools in the district and in the State as required by NCLB:

School Choice

Due to our school’s Title I School Improvement designation, your child will be eligible to attend a school that is NOT identified for Title I School Improvement and the district will pay for transportation.  Please note the number of students eligible to transfer is limited by the amount of funds available to pay for transportation costs. If funds are not sufficient, lowest-achieving students from low-income families must be given priority. 

Parents choosing to transfer their child have the following choice of schools: Betty Fairfax High School, Metro Tech High School, Bioscience High School, Franklin High School, Bostrom High School, or Suns Diamondbacks Education Academy.

Free Tutoring

In addition, your child may receive free tutoring from an approved state Supplemental Educational Service Provider (SES).  This free tutoring will be an opportunity for your child to improve reading, math, or writing skills and are tailored to the particular academic needs of each student. Please see attached list of approved tutoring providers for our school.  If you have questions regarding the SES tutoring services, please contact Espy Ceballos at 602-764-1324 for information about your options. 

Parents may request free tutoring from an approved Supplemental Educational Service Provider. A list of approved free tutoring programs and a description of their services is enclosed. These providers have been approved by the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) and will provide your child with free tutoring that is coordinated with your child’s instructional program. Please complete and return the attached form to your school to request free tutoring for your child by August 20, 2011. Please contact Espy Ceballos at 602-764-1324should you need assistance in selecting an approved tutoring provider. 

School Improvement Plan

We have been working with the district and ADE to revise the Arizona School Improvement Plan for our school. In order to address the indicators of not making AYP, the district and ADE are assisting our school in:

• Utilize AVID strategies across the curriculum to teach students learning skills.
• Institute Cambridge curriculum to increase rigor in all classes.
• Develop Pathways to invigorate curriculum and to allow students to move ahead when ready.
• Institute an Advisory period to counsel students and prepare them for college, career, and life.
• Utilize technology to analyze data and disseminate information for our community.
• Establish Assessment for Learning Cadres for teachers to promote metacognitive reflection and self-assessment strategies to improve instruction.
• Promote Reading and writing across the curriculum that will encourage reading and writing in all content areas.
• Extensive Professional Development that will develop high-quality formative and summative assessments to promote student learning.
• Institute a new student management system that will provide timely data to teachers and parents on student learning.

The school is implementing the following strategies to address the indicator(s) of not making AYP:

• Focus on graduation checks and monitoring grades throughout all years with a focus on graduation and rigorous college preparatory.
• Maintain mandatory Fall and Spring Break AIMS Boot Camp for Juniors and Seniors who have not passed required assessment and course work.
• Improve academic progress of all students by requiring students not meeting 70% Mastery to Saturday Completion Labs.
• Utilize AVID strategies across the curriculum to teach students learning skills.
• Institute Cambridge curriculum to increase rigor in all classes.
• Develop Pathways to invigorate curriculum and to allow students to move ahead when ready.
• Create an Advisory period to counsel students and prepare them for college, career, and life.

We encourage you to become involved by participating in the development of the Central’s School Improvement Plan.  Please contact Chris Jones at (602) 764-7502, if you are interested in being part of Central’s Site Council or would like more information on our school.As a reminder, our Title I annual meeting will be held on Thursday, August 25, 2011 at 6:00PM in the Library and our instructional staff will be available to answer questions.

Educationally yours,

Chris Jones

Chris Jones, Central High School Principal