June 1, 2022
Dear LTHS Students, Parents/Guardians and Families,
The 2021-22 school year has come to a close, and we are so proud of our students, staff, and community for navigating through a challenging school year.
As the LT community prepares for the start of summer school (Monday, June 6) and begins to enjoy all of the traditions that make summer so special, we want to provide a few important updates and reminders.
2022-23 School Calendar
- The first day of student attendance is Monday, August 22, 2022.
- All Wednesdays will start at 9:15am, with the exception of 9/28, 11/16, 12/21, 2/8, 3/15, 4/12, 5/31.
- The 2022-23 calendar includes School Improvement Days, which will be early dismissal days for students. Dismissal will be at 11:30am for students. LT staff will utilize the afternoon for professional learning, department collaboration, and curriculum review/development. School Improvement Days are scheduled for 9/28, 11/16, 2/8, 3/15, and 4/12.
- LTHS Homecoming is scheduled for September 23 and 24.
- The last day of first semester is December 23. Winter break will occur from December 24 - January 6. Staff will return for a District Institute Day on January 9 and students will return on January 10.
- Spring Break will occur from March 27-31.
- The last day of the 2022-23 school year is June 1.
Grading Practices Update for 2022-23
Since the 2017-18 school year, our Grading Practices Implementation Team, Division Leadership Team, and Central Leadership Team have worked to review the impact of grading practices on student achievement, student motivation and engagement, and educator practice. This effort to innovate the way we assess students continues to evolve so that we honor the overall purpose of a grade, which should communicate a student’s level of achievement toward identified learning objectives at a point in time. We also continue to believe that feedback from faculty, students, and parents are critical in this effort. For example, clarification regarding formative/summative assignments and adjustments to the universal re-take policy were made at the beginning of the 2nd semester of the 2021-22 school year. During the 2nd semester, we collected additional feedback, analyzed data, and worked collaboratively to examine the impact of the adjustments made in January. As we look ahead to the 2022-23 school year and strive to achieve our vision of grading, we will be making additional adjustments to our grading practices. These adjustments include:
Formative Assessments
All teacher teams will calculate formative work as 10% of the overall grade, and summative experiences (tests, projects, labs, essays, presentations, etc.) as 90% of the overall grade. At the end of the semester marking period, the student will receive the higher of two grades. Either:
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the overall course grade calculated as 90% summatives and 10% formatives; OR
- the summative category average only.
Formative assessments can only improve a grade.
- Formatives cannot be counted if only checked for completion.
- Feedback must be associated with all formatives.
- Feedback does not always have to be from the teacher (i.e. Delta Math).
End of the Semester and Final Assessment (December, 2022)
Teacher teams may administer a cumulative or final summative assessment no later than five school days prior to final exams. A schedule will be developed to ensure that students are not taking multiple summatives on the same day.
- If the last summative assessment is given during the last two weeks of the semester, students will not have a two week retake window. The final exam period will be used for any retakes or revisions.
- If teacher teams are giving a cumulative final, they will need to administer it with enough time for students to receive their grade and engage in retake or revision on the parts that need attention during the final exam period.
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Please note: The final exam/last week schedule for December 2022 has not yet been determined.
Points of Clarification
- There is a two week window to submit summative missing work (school-wide).
- Students need to turn in summative work on time. If a student fails to turn in a summative assignment on the date it is due without a valid excuse, the student will not have a chance to retake the assignment.
- Teachers will record a grade of Missing (M=0) until the work is turned in.
- Teachers are encouraged to be flexible and use their professional judgment on working with students. Reasonable exceptions can be made.
- All other grading practices that have been implemented beginning in the 2020-21 school year will continue.
At the beginning of the 2022-23 school year, students and families will receive additional communication from LTHS, as well as from their individual teachers.
Important Summer Dates
Please be aware of the following important upcoming dates:
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Fee Payment for 2022-23 School Year Opens (Thursday, June 2, 2022)
- Summer School Begins (Monday, June 6, 2022)
- Juneteenth Holiday (Monday, June 20, 2022)
- July 4 Holiday (Monday, July 4, 2022)
- Summer School Ends (Friday, July 15, 2022)
- Book Pick-up (August 10, 11, and 15, 2022)
- Freshman Experience Day (Friday, August 19, 2022)
- First Day of Student Attendance (Monday, August 22, 2022)
Please note that during the summer, the Main Offices at North and South Campus are open Monday - Friday from 7:00am - 3:00pm.
If you have any questions or need assistance as your family prepares for the 2022-23 school year, please do not hesitate to contact the Main Offices at North and/or South Campus.
- LT South Campus - 708/579-6500
- LT North Campus - 708/579-6300
We look forward to sharing additional information and details throughout the summer. In the meantime, we wish all students and families a great summer!
We are…LT!
Brian Waterman, Superintendent Jennifer Tyrrell, Principal
