Congress Elementary School

421 E. Congress St.                                                        

Sturgis, MI  49091

phone: 269-659-1565        fax: 269-659-1567                                  

Mrs. Teresa Belote, Principal

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­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ Congress School Annual Education Report (AER) Cover Letter

 August 17, 2012

 Dear Parents and Community Members:

 We are pleased to present you with the Annual Education Report (AER) which provides key information on the 2011-2012 educational progress for Congress School. The AER addresses the complex reporting information required by Federal and State laws.  The school’s report contains information about student assessment, Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and teacher quality.  If you have any questions about the AER, please contact Mrs. Teresa Belote for assistance.

 The AER is available for you to review electronically by visiting the following web site sturgisps.org or you may review a copy from the office at Congress School.

 For 2011-2012, Congress School’s ranking on the Top to Bottom list was above the state average. Congress School did not make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) because the school has a large student achievement gap between the top 30% of highest achieving students and the bottom 30% of lowest achieving students across the tested subjects (mathematics, reading, science, social studies and writing; as appropriate for the school grade levels tested).  We are actively working to address the school issues by utilizing a multi-level tiered support structure. Using individual student data, we will provide each student with customized instruction to meet their needs.

We appreciate the continued support of parents, staff and our community in this effort. There are many opportunities for families and schools to partner for the benefit of our students. If interested, please stop into our school office and inquire about partnering opportunities.

State law requires that we also report additional information, listed below:

Process for Assigning Pupils to the School:

When students enter the district, the location of the home or daycare provider is considered for placement. Whenever possible, students are placed in their neighborhood schools. Other factors that impact placement decisions include services offered at the school, such as special education, the need for language support, and average class sizes at the time. School status and requests are also taken into consideration.

School Improvement Plan Status:

Each spring, data is collected and reviewed. The data is analyzed over time and decisions regarding goals and strategies are selected, based on best practice research. Annually, we update our school improvement plan to clarify how we are progressing toward our goal and adjustments are made to reflect needed changes. A copy of the current School Improvement Plan will be available for review from the building office by September 1^st, 2012.

How to Access the Common Curriculum:

The state of Michigan, along with a majority of states, recently adopted the Common Core standards. The Common Core standards establish clean and consistent goals for learning that will prepare our students for success in college and work. They are closely aligned to the Grade Level Content Expectations that we had prior to the adoption of the Common Core. The district is currently in the process of updating Sturgis Public Schools curriculum maps to align with the Common Core standards. They will be available through a link this year at the district website. The new Common Core standards and their alignment documents can be accessed at:

http://www.corestandards.org/

RESULTS FOR LOCAL COMPETENCIES AND NATIONALLY NORMED STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT TESTS:

Congress School 2nd grade students are assessed three times annually in the areas of Reading and Mathematics using the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) MAP assessment, a nationally normed standardized achievement test    A comparison of Spring 2011 to Spring 2012 test scores for each grade is illustrated below.

Parent Teacher Conference Participation:

The expectation of this district is for all parents to participate collaboratively with staff to ensure that students are learning. Each year, we require and achieve 100% participation. During the parent-teacher conferences window, teachers communicate with families, either during a face-to-face conference, phone conference, or home visit. If, after repeated attempts, the teacher is unable to make a personal contact with the family, written communication is utilized.

In closing, we would like to recognize the efforts of our students, staff, families, and community. Through our combined efforts, we will continue to work towards success for all students.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Teresa Belote