The recently release reports also pointed to the need to adjust how the school teaches English Language Arts. While some students did [...]]]> Starr King Elementary School’s recently released student performance scores gave staff and the school community cause to celebrate successes in Science and Math scores. Both areas showed gains over the past several years.

The recently release reports also pointed to the need to adjust how the school teaches English Language Arts. While some students did make gains in this area, the gains were not shared across the whole school. The link below will take you to www.greatschools.org so that you can see additional detail on our academic performance compared to other schools in the region and the State.

http://www.greatschools.org/california/san-francisco/6435-Starr-King-Elementary-School/

We have much work to do! I want to extend a special thanks to the Parent Teacher Association for supporting two additional days of planning time for teachers this year. We put it to good use. In our planning work prior to the start of the 2010-2011 school year, we re-shaped the structure of the instructional day to bring additional focus to the English Language Arts block.

The biggest change was in shifting the scheduling for Unification activities at the 3^rd and 4^th Grades to times outside of this core academic block. This revised instructional schedule will be posted in the 1^st Floor Bulletin Board case this coming week. As a staff, we believe the revised schedule will allow us to achieve both academic and unification goals with greater clarity and increased impact.

We also signed on to participate in an every-nine-week assessment process at grades 2 through 5 called MAP (Measuring Academic Progress). This cycle of assessments will give us frequent updates on the impact of teaching strategies in English Language Arts and Math.

This list of changes is only a partial one. I will be touching on the next steps for our school in greater detail during Back to School Night on September 3rd. At this point I want to restate the obvious: Everything we do as a staff and school community is done so that students learn at progressively higher levels. The most powerful and important thing we can do as a school community is to support a sustained focus on academic achievement. Our strategies and investments in student wellness, school technology, community building, unification, attendance, and school safety are done so that students can learn well.

Learning is both a privilege and a right for our students. Every single child deserves to be challenged and a chance to be in a position to make his or her own choices in the world that is unfolding before us. Starr King is, in many ways, leading the charge in preparing students for the 21st Century.

I invite your continued partnership in supporting children and the school in staying focused on its teaching and learning goals as this exciting year of change picks up speed.