August 15, 2014 District Dialogue- Internal

District Dialogue For employees of the Laveen Elementary School District

August 15 2014

State accountability scores released The Arizona Department of Education has released the 2014 A-F Letter Grades. The Laveen Elementary School District has once again earned a grade of “B.” The district earned a total point value of 133, which is ten points higher than last year and the highest the district has been since Arizona began assigning letter grades in 2011.

Vista del Sur earned a grade of “A” and all other schools earned grades of “B.” Three schools improved their letter grades over last year: Cheatham and Laveen schools went from a “C” to a “B” and Rogers Ranch went from a “D” to a “B.” The state’s accountability system is designed to place equal value on current year achievement and longitudinal academic growth, specifically the growth of all students as well as a school’s lowest achieving students. The A-F Letter Grades are based on two components: a composite score and a growth score. Only students who attend a Laveen school for the full academic year are included in the letter grade accountability scoring.

District earns bonus points The District earned the total six bonus points that are possible for an elementary district to earn in the state’s accountability system. The points were awarded for the reclassification of English Language Learners and reducing the amount of students scoring “Falls Far Below” in specific areas.

School districts are expected to reclassify 23% of their ELL students to earn three bonus points in the A-F Letter Grade calculations. Reclassification means those students have become proficient in English based on the state’s Arizona English Language Learner Assessment (AZELLA). This spring, Laveen tested over 500 ELL students with an excellent district-wide reclassification rate of 44%. This is an increase from 25% in 2013.

Understanding the accountability system The Growth Score represents the average academic growth of all students and the bottom quartile students.

Each student who has two years of state assessment data earns a student growth percentile (SGP) score, based on how well they grew academically compared to similar peers across the state.

An SGP score of 50 would be considered average growth.

The Composite Score represents the average percentage of students passing the AIMS test in the areas of reading and math and bonus points earned.

Schools and districts may earn three bonus points for reclassifying English Language Learners (ELL) and for reducing the percentage of students scoring Falls Far Below (FFB) in third grade reading or eighth grade math.

The District Dialogue is issued twice monthly.

M.C. Cash, Trailside Point celebrate A+ School of Excellence designations In late May both Cash and Trailside Point schools celebrated their designations as A+ Schools of Excellence™ by the Arizona Educational Foundation. Representatives from the organization attended assemblies by both schools to present them with a $500 check and a banner designating it as an A+ School of Excellence.™ To further celebrate their success, D.L. Withers Construction arranged for aerial photographs to be taken of each school’s entire student body in an “A+” formation.

The A+ program recognizes schools that demonstrate high achievement while identifying and meeting the academic and non-academic needs of their student population. *A+ School of Excellence is a trademark or service mark of the Arizona Educational Foundation and is used by permission.

Nominations needed for Employee of the Month Nominations are needed for the Employee of the Month Awards.

Each month one certified and one classified employee are selected to receive the district’s Employee of the Month Award. To be recognized for this award, candidates must meet the following criteria:  Be a strong supporter of the district;  Have the desire to assist in the development of Laveen students;  Demonstrate initiative in their current position;  Be reliable and demonstrate excellent attendance;  Effectively communicate with the community, parents, students, administrators, and staff; and  Demonstrate involvement in the community and professional curricular activities concerning the district.

To nominate someone for this award please submit a narrative that meets the above criteria to your principal for approval. Nomination forms can also be found in the Community Relations section of the district website.

Nominations are due on the 15th of each month and will be considered for up to six months.

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August 15, 2014

Welcome back teachers and staff!