Superintendent’s May 22, 2024 Update

Dear APS Families,

Last night, we had the opportunity to recognize the 2024 Employees of the Year at our annual Celebration of Excellence at Washington-Liberty High School. The event honored 90 staff, including each school’s Teacher and Support Employees of the Year winners, as well as the division-wide APS Teacher, Principal, Assistant Principal, Support Employee, and Leader of the Year. The evening was a fantastic opportunity to honor our hard-working staff and a reminder of their genuine dedication and care for students and their success. A gallery of photos and AETV-produced videos will be posted online later this week and shared in the Friday 5.

Celebrating Student Achievement: Students are participating in end-of-year assessments, and those results will be available over the summer. They have worked so hard all year, and we are incredibly proud of all they have achieved! As we approach the end of the year, I encourage families to partake in the many upcoming promotions, picnics, parties, and graduations, to celebrate the growth and achievements of our students.

Student Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Screener, Spring Results: In addition to academic outcomes, we measure twice a year, in the fall and spring, how students in grades 4-12 are doing socially and emotionally, and their overall well-being. Compared to the fall screener, preliminary spring results show:

• Students in grades 4-5 showed a five-point increase in Self-Efficacy, or how much students believe they can succeed academically. They also improved or stayed consistent in the Self-Management, Social-Awareness, and Growth Mindset competencies.
• Students in grades 6-12 had slight increases in Social-Awareness and Self-Efficacy, and slight decreases in Self-Management and Growth Mindset.

Individual student results will be shared with families at a later date through ParentVue. These results are used to support our students’ academic, social and emotional growth for the 2024-25 school year.

As we round the corner towards the end of the year, I want to say thank you for your continued support this year. I look forward to all the end-of-year activities.

Sincerely,

Dr. Francisco Durán
Superintendent