K-5 Elementary February Updates
February Message from the Asst. Principal
February News from Grades K-5
Happy February! Please continue to check the Family Engagement Calendar and webmails to stay informed regarding important dates and upcoming events. I very much appreciate the communication from families with teachers as many of you navigate illness and changes to your schedules. Please continue to keep in contact, and we will do our best to work with you in making sure your student is able to complete the semester on time. Spring is around the corner, and sometimes your child might be experiencing frustration with school work. I’d like to remind you that struggle is good. Struggle makes our children stronger. Struggle mirrors real life. To help our children follow through on completing tasks, even when they might be challenging or difficult, is to help them embrace persistence. As always, thank you for the opportunity to work and learn alongside your child. We truly appreciate your trust in us and are grateful for everyone who is a part of the ACA family. Keep smiling, Deanna Woerner, M. Ed Elementary School Asst. Principal |
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Community Board
Be sure to check out the Elementary School Community Board for the month of February!
Take an Art Walk!
Click here to view.
Take an Art Walk!
Click here to view.
Student of the Month--coming soon!
Arizona Move On When Reading Law (Grades K-3)
Dear K-3 Parents & Guardians,
In Arizona Connections Academy our focus is on providing the best high-quality reading instruction to all students each day. Through a process called Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), all kindergarten through third grade students are screened for reading difficulties and/or characteristics consistent with dyslexia in the fall, winter, and spring using Acadience Reading K-6. This literacy universal screening process is a brief assessment administered to all K-3 students to inform teachers of students who are on track and students who may need more targeted intervention. This screening does not diagnose for reading disabilities, nor dyslexia.
Per the universal screener, students who are not on benchmark are administered a deeper diagnostic assessment. This diagnostic information provides teachers and specialists with the specific skills needed to target in intervention. Those interventions are started immediately, working to close the gaps. This diagnostic assessment does not diagnose for reading disabilities, nor dyslexia. A change in intervention curriculum, group size, level of intensity, frequency, and/or duration may be needed. More intensive time, duration, and frequency in intervention may be needed and can take place with the classroom teacher or a specialist, such as a reading interventionist. This is considered intensive Tier 3 intervention. The progress of all students receiving intervention is closely and frequently checked. Parents are essential to this entire process. Following the Universal Literacy and Dyslexia Screener in addition to diagnostic assessments, you will be notified if your child is not at grade level.
Arizona’s Move On When Reading (MOWR) legislation places great importance on this process beginning in kindergarten. This ensure all students remain on track to be reading at grade level by the end of 3rd grade. Arizona Revised Statute §15-701 states that if a student scores below the cut score on the reading portion of the 3rd grade statewide exam, he/she will not be promoted to 4th grade until the student makes sufficient progress in reading proficiency. It is understood that each child is unique, therefore exemptions have been established for students to be promoted to 4th grade. Those exemptions are available at www.azed.gov/mowr.
A variety of factors, in and outside of school, can influence a child’s educational path and progress. It is important for parents to share in the educational journey, through constant communication and continued involvement. We encourage you to continue to highlight and celebrate your child’s strengths and share difficulties if they occur. Please reach out to us if you have any questions and we look forward to a successful school year.
Sincerely,
Deanna Woerner, M. Ed.
ES Asst. Principal
In Arizona Connections Academy our focus is on providing the best high-quality reading instruction to all students each day. Through a process called Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), all kindergarten through third grade students are screened for reading difficulties and/or characteristics consistent with dyslexia in the fall, winter, and spring using Acadience Reading K-6. This literacy universal screening process is a brief assessment administered to all K-3 students to inform teachers of students who are on track and students who may need more targeted intervention. This screening does not diagnose for reading disabilities, nor dyslexia.
Per the universal screener, students who are not on benchmark are administered a deeper diagnostic assessment. This diagnostic information provides teachers and specialists with the specific skills needed to target in intervention. Those interventions are started immediately, working to close the gaps. This diagnostic assessment does not diagnose for reading disabilities, nor dyslexia. A change in intervention curriculum, group size, level of intensity, frequency, and/or duration may be needed. More intensive time, duration, and frequency in intervention may be needed and can take place with the classroom teacher or a specialist, such as a reading interventionist. This is considered intensive Tier 3 intervention. The progress of all students receiving intervention is closely and frequently checked. Parents are essential to this entire process. Following the Universal Literacy and Dyslexia Screener in addition to diagnostic assessments, you will be notified if your child is not at grade level.
Arizona’s Move On When Reading (MOWR) legislation places great importance on this process beginning in kindergarten. This ensure all students remain on track to be reading at grade level by the end of 3rd grade. Arizona Revised Statute §15-701 states that if a student scores below the cut score on the reading portion of the 3rd grade statewide exam, he/she will not be promoted to 4th grade until the student makes sufficient progress in reading proficiency. It is understood that each child is unique, therefore exemptions have been established for students to be promoted to 4th grade. Those exemptions are available at www.azed.gov/mowr.
A variety of factors, in and outside of school, can influence a child’s educational path and progress. It is important for parents to share in the educational journey, through constant communication and continued involvement. We encourage you to continue to highlight and celebrate your child’s strengths and share difficulties if they occur. Please reach out to us if you have any questions and we look forward to a successful school year.
Sincerely,
Deanna Woerner, M. Ed.
ES Asst. Principal