Growth is Evident!
As we near the end of the trimester, our teachers are assessing students with multiple and varied measures, evaluating progress, and preparing to report out to parents at conferences. The close of each trimester is a busy time on campus, but it's also a rewarding time of reflection and celebration!
At our schools, one Report Card is issued per trimester: Fall, Winter, and Spring. In Fall and Winter, these are discussed at Parent Conferences. Teachers have been sending notes home this week to ask for your RSVP. Fall conferences are November 16th and 17th, 2017. Please provide a timely reply to your child's teacher to assist with scheduling, and please plan for childcare on these days. (Unlike many other schools, SVA and BOA do not have multiple weeks of minimum day scheduling, rather two
whole
days without instruction.) The Academies After School Programs offer Conference Care for a reasonable rate. Click here to learn more.
We think of parents as our partners who share our goal of supporting the child to develop into healthy,
self-actualized
, and independent adults. When you come to your Conference, you can expect to learn about your child's growth, hear the teachers' observations, and discover ways you can reinforce the academic and social-emotional learning within your home to foster continued progress. To help you interpret and understand our Report Cards, I have updated this reference for parents, "How to Read Your Child’s Report Card." Reading this guide ahead of time, especially for those parents who are new to our schools, is a great way to prepare for Parent Conferences.
Parent Conferences offer an opportunity to recommit our efforts to work together as a coordinated team and incite further growth and maturation in the child!
Organizational Growth
Just as our teachers are beaming with pride as they walk down the halls, uplifted by reviewing the evidence of student growth as the trimester closes, as Superintendent of The Academies, I, too, am feeling uplifted by the chance to review student progress and the growth of our organization in this first term of the 2017-18 year. Already, it has been remarkable with the successful launch of Blue Oak Academy and the calibration of the BOA team. We have come such a long way in such a short time!
Facebook reminded me of a post I'd shared 6 years ago, a photo from Halloween night, 2011. That evening I remember working on a start up grant we needed to help us launch SVA. I was up against a midnight deadline during a busy founding year. There was still so much to do to get SVA off the ground successfully, but I was fueled by hope for a better education for my children and my community.
We ended up securing those vital federal monies to start Sycamore Valley Academy and bring the vision to life, and today, only 6 years later, there is a new school community coalescing at Blue Oak Academy through Mrs. Stinson's leadership, while Sycamore Valley Academy continues to thrive with Mr. Phillips leading the way. The schools are supported by The Academies CMO home office, and we are positioned to continue to build out supports for our students and staff that will improve the quality of what we can provide in the future.
My own children, Harper and Jack, are experiencing their sixth year of education within our model and I couldn't be more pleased with how they have been supported and their natural growth fostered within our enriching, accepting, and loving school environment.
I am so grateful to be this organization's founding leader and to have the privilege to steward this lovely work-in-progress. My role continually requires that I look forward and plan for the future, but each trimester provides a nice moment to pause, reflect, observe growth, and feel grateful for all we have established together.
Thank you, parents, for your support! We are grateful for your partnership and trust and the opportunity to grow with you.
Ruth
