Superintendent’s November 30, 2022 Update

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Dear Families,

I hope you had a wonderful break. The second quarter is underway, and I want to take this opportunity to remind you of how we’re supporting the learning needs of our students.

Update on Student Academic Progress: During the first quarter, APS conducted beginning-of-year (BOY) assessments to help identify students’ strengths and needs. Results for DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy) and Math Inventory are available in the APS Student Progress Dashboard.  The dashboard will be updated with additional BOY reading assessment results on Dec. 9. During fall parent-teacher conferences, elementary and middle school teachers shared individual results with families, as well as strategies we are using to support students performing either below or above grade-level goals.

When comparing results from Fall 2021 to Fall 2022, we were pleased to see a larger percentage of students performing in the two highest proficiency bands in Math and Reading; however, we continue to see a gap in performance among English Learners, Students with Disabilities, and Black and Hispanic students. We remain focused on closing these gaps through individualized support. For example, in Fall 2021, 76.8% of English Learners (ELP 1-4) performed in the below basic range on Math Inventory, and in Fall 2022, 70.5% performed in the below basic range, an improvement of 6.3 percent.

Next steps and additional resources for families:

• If your student was identified as needing additional support in Math or Reading, you should have received an Intervention Notification Letter from your child’s teacher in mid-November. The letter outlines the support and interventions being implemented to continue your child’s progress.
• This Student Support Framework graphic provides an overview of the tiered system of support APS uses to meet each student’s needs, whether they need some extra practice or assistance in the short term, or potentially require longer-term, more intensive intervention. Additional information.
• Watch our Every Student Counts videos to learn about how teachers use assessments and data, as well as other topics.
• First quarter report cards are now available for all grade levels in ParentVUE. For help accessing your student’s report card, contact your school.
• If you have questions about your students’ progress or intervention plan, please contact your student’s teacher, counselor or principal.
• As a reminder, secondary students have access to PAPER for online, 24/7 tutoring support with various assignments across all subject areas. Students can access Paper through MyAccess via Clever.

Other Updates and Reminders:

• December Calendar: Next Wed, Dec. 7 is a Countywide Early Release for all students and a Professional Learning Day for staff. Winter Break is Dec. 19-Jan. 2. All schools and offices will be closed.
• Middle and High School Information Sessions: View the upcoming middle school information session schedule and high school information session schedule. These in-person and virtual sessions provide opportunities for our current fifth grade and eighth-grade families to learn more about the schools or programs their children will transition to.
• 1 School Board Meeting: The 2023-24 School Year Calendar recommendations will be presented as an information item at the Dec. 1 School Board meeting, and the Board will vote on the calendar on Dec. 15. I will also provide an overview of Gifted Services as part of the Every Student Counts series. The full agenda is posted online.

Thank you for your ongoing support of our schools.

Dr. Francisco Durán
Superintendent
Arlington Public Schools