Planning for the registration of next year’s Kindergarten and 4-Year-Old Kindergarten classes has begun. Surveys sent home with school children inquiring about eligible students for next year’s class was used to compile the list of eligible children.
Parents will be notified by mail concerning the details of Kindergarten Round-up, which has been scheduled for Wednesday, March 5, 2014, at 9:30 a.m. at Northwestern Elementary School and at 1:30 p.m. at the Iron River Elementary School. Registration may be conducted at either session; however, the child will be enrolled at the school within the attendance area of the family home.
The Kindergarten Round-up is a meeting where children are enrolled in classes, parents and teachers can meet, busing details are worked out, and parents are provided with information about the kindergarten program. Children being enrolled are invited to visit the kindergarten room with a kindergarten teacher during the time parents are in the meeting.
4K registration for both the Iron River and Northwestern Elementary Schools will be held on Wednesday, March 26, 2014 at Northwestern Elementary School from 5:00-7:00 p.m. in the cafeteria. Please call the North-western Elementary School if you will be unable to make it to the registration and did not receive any information in the mail.
To attend kindergarten next year, a child must have a birth date of September 1, 2009, or earlier. To attend 4K next year, a child must have a birth date of September 1, 2010, or earlier. A birth record must be presented in order to enroll. Wisconsin law requires proof of immunizations:
4-year-old Kindergarten
four immunizations against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (DTP) three immunizations against polio
three immunizations against Hepatitis B
one immunization against mumps, measles, and rubella (MMR)
one immunization against varicella (chicken pox) vaccine. (Unless the child has already had the disease. The date the child experienced the disease is required.)
5-year-old Kindergarten
four immunizations against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (DTP) four immunizations against polio
three immunizations against Hepatitis B
two immunization against mumps, measles, and rubella (MMR)
two immunizations against varicella (chicken pox) vaccine. (Unless the child has already had the disease. The date the child experienced the disease is required.)
Immunizations must be completed before the child can attend school. Immunization requirements can be waived for personal conviction, medical, or religious reasons.
A screening will take place before kindergarten and 4K classes begin in the fall. At that time, immunization records may be brought up to date.
To be sure your child is on the list, or if you have any questions regarding requirements for kindergarten or 4K, call
2014-15 Kindergarten & 4K Registration
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Volume 38, No. 3
March 2014
Instructional Days and Hours
Lost to Inclement Weather
Because effective educators are directly linked to student achievement, every student deserves an effective classroom teacher and an effective principal leading their school.
The purpose of the Wisconsin Educator Effectiveness System is to improve student learning by supporting the continuous improvement of edu-cator practice through a performance-based evaluation.
The DPI Educator Effectiveness Team implements and improves the Wisconsin Educator Effectiveness System to ensure that educators re-ceive quality data to identify and inform individual areas of: 1) strength; 2) needed improvement; and 3) ongoing support for professional growth.
Wisconsin is creating a new system for evaluating the performance of teachers and principals. The Wisconsin Educator Effectiveness System aims to provide students with highly qualified and effective educators who focus on student learning. The system drives continuous improve-ment in practices used by teachers and principals—improveimprove-ment that begins during initial training and continues over the course of each edu-cator’s career—resulting in elevated student learning.
Fair, Valid, Reliable
The Wisconsin Educator Effectiveness System couples performance (50% of the overall rating) with student outcomes (also 50% of the overall rating). The performance rating uses standards-based rubrics, which are based on the work of respected authorities at the national level (Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium, Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium). The student outcomes rating uses multiple measures, including performance on state or district assessments, improvement in scores over time, student or school outcomes, read-ing scores at the elementary and middle level, and graduation rates at the secondary level.
This combination of components provides a framework for evaluation which is fair, valid, and reliable across the state. Statewide Implementation
The Wisconsin Educator Effectiveness System is being piloted in a sample of districts throughout the state in 2013-14, including the School District of Maple. During the first pilot year, districts will work with the teacher practice, principal practice, and student learning objectives com-ponents of the system. Statewide implementation of the Wisconsin’s Educator Effectiveness System will begin in 2014-15.
For more information go to:http://ee.dpi.wi.gov
Phonological Awareness Literacy Screener (PALS)
In April 2012, Wisconsin Act 166 became law requiring that an early literacy screener be administered to all 5K students enrolled in a school district or charter school in Wisconsin. The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) was given the task to identify a screener that is valid and reliable; assesses phonemic awareness beginning with the 2012-13 school year. The Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening for kinder-garten (PALS-K) was selected not only to meet the legislative needs, but also because of its ability to provide educators with helpful information and to guide instruction.
Developed by reading researchers at the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education, PALS is a research-based assessment for class-room teachers to use with students. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has selected PALS as the early literacy screening instrument. There are three main PALS assessments currently being used in Wisconsin Public Schools:
PALS-PreK, PALS-K, and PALS 1-3.
The School District of Maple implemented PALS-PreK and PALS-K in the 2012-13 school year and PALS 1-3 in first grade for the 2013-14 school year. Plans are to continue PALS 1-3 in second grade beginning with the 2014-15 school year.
While the purposes for using PALS vary slightly across these three assessments, they all provide teachers with information about how students perform in fundamental reading skill areas that are predictive of a child’s achievement in reading. Teachers use PALS to gather information about each student’s strengths and needs in reading so instruction can be planned to best meet those needs and thus help each student make progress in his/her reading. Teachers use PALS to prevent reading problems before they occur, and to plan appropriate instruction for both grade-level readers and struggling readers.
PALS assessment provides a direct means of matching literacy instruction to specific literacy needs and provides a means of identifying those children who are relatively behind in their acquisition of these fundamental literacy skills, as well as students who are excelling. PALS is re-quired to be administered in the fall and spring of each school year. In addition, an optional winter administration is available.
When will my student be given PALS?
PALS is typically administered three times per school year: fall, mid-year, and spring.
How can I prepare my student for PALS assessing?
There is no need to prepare your student specifically for PALS. We encourage parents to read to their children and spend time sharing books. These interactions help students develop important early literacy skills.
Please view each of these sections to learn more about PALS assessments: PALS-PreK
PALS-PreK stands for Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening for Preschool.
Why is my student being assessed with PALS-PreK?
PALS-PreK is an early literacy assessment designed to provide information to teachers about what students know and need to know about early literacy fundamental skills. PALS-PreK is designed to be administered to PreK students at all stages of development.
What does PALS-PreK measure?
Name Writing Alphabet Knowledge Beginning Sound Awareness Print and Word Awareness Rhyme Awareness
Nursery Rhyme Awareness
What types of scores does PALS-PreK provide?
PALS-PreK provides scores for each of the skill areas assessed. The scores are compared to a benchmark range, which reflects expectations for the spring of the PreK school year, the spring prior to entering kindergarten. While PALS-PreK tasks are appropriate to use with three-and four-year-old students, the scoring ranges apply only to the spring of the four-year-old year.
How are the PALS-PreK results used?
PALS-PreK results inform teachers’ planning of literacy instruction and activities in the classroom. Results help teachers determine particular reading skill areas that need additional attention in the classroom, to ensure students are receiving instruction in all of the important early litera-cy fundamentals.
PALS-K
Headline
Phonological Awareness Literacy Screener (PALS), Cont.
Why is my student being assessed with PALS-K?
PALS-K will identify early and accurately students who are experiencing difficulties in acquiring fundamental reading skills. In keeping with research findings, PALS-K will ensure these students get extra instruction when they are young. PALS-K also gives teachers information to plan instruction that matches students’ needs.
What does PALS-K measure?
PALS-K assesses these literacy domains: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and vocabulary. Specifically, PALS-K assesses a student’s: Phonological awareness
Alphabet knowledge Knowledge of letter sounds Spelling
Concept of Word
Word recognition in isolation
What types of scores does PALS-K provide?
PALS-K provides teachers with information about students’ level of mastery of early literacy fundamentals. PALS-K reports students’ develop-ment by domain and by tasks. Students’ scores on designated tasks are added to create a Summed Score. This score is compared to expec-tations for fall and for spring. Summed Scores help identify students who would benefit from extra instruction tailored to their needs.
How are the PALS-K results used?
PALS-K allows teachers and school-level reading specialists to identify students who are at risk of reading difficulties, because they lag behind grade-level expectations in literacy fundamentals. PALS-K provides teachers with profiles of learners’ needs. Teachers consult these profiles in planning instruction and as they progress through the curriculum. Thus, PALS-K results are used to guide teachers in planning literacy in-struction that is matched to students’ specific literacy needs.
PALS 1-3 for First Grade
PALS 1-3 stands for Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening for first through third grades. Wisconsin first grade teachers are following the procedures and scoring for first grade.
Why is my student being assessed with PALS 1-3?
PALS 1-3 will identify early and accurately students who are experiencing difficulties in acquiring fundamental reading skills, to ensure these students get extra instruction when they are young. PALS 1-3 also gives teachers specific information to guide their instruction according to each student’s literacy needs.
What does PALS 1-3 measure? Spelling
Word knowledge Letter Sounds
Oral Reading in Context
Alphabet knowledge (for students who have more basic literacy skills) Phonemic Awareness (for students who have more basic literacy skills)
What types of scores does PALS 1-3 provide?
Students’ scores on specific tasks are added together to create a Summed Score. This Summed Score is compared against minimum expec-tations for fall and for spring. If a student’s Summed Score is below the benchmark, the student proceeds to additional tasks of PALS 1-3 (alphabet knowledge and phonemic awareness tasks), and it is recommended that the student receive extra instruction tailored to his/her needs.
How are the PALS 1-3 results used?
PALS 1-3 for first grade allows teachers and school-level reading specialists to identify students who are at risk of reading difficulties, because they lag behind grade-level expectations in literacy fundamentals. PALS 1-3 provides teachers with profiles of learners’ needs and strengths, including specific information regarding each student’s reading level and spelling stage. Teachers consult these profiles in planning instruction and as they progress through the curriculum. Thus, PALS 1-3 results are used to guide teachers in planning literacy instruction that is matched to students’ reading level and spelling stage.
Which students are required to be assessed for fundamental literacy skills?
Each school district and each charter school is required to annually assess each student enrolled in four-year old kindergarten (4K), five-year old kindergarten (5K) and first grade for fundamental literacy skills.
My district has community based 4K programs. Are they required to administer PALS?
Phonological Awareness Literacy Screener (PALS), Cont.
Why does PALS recommend waiting until six weeks after the beginning of the school year to begin screening 4K and 5K students?
Waiting for six weeks after the start of the school year prior to beginning screening ensures that students have a chance to become acclimated to the school environment prior to the assessment. This allows for a more accurate indication of student performance, and limits the number of students who are mistakenly identified as needing extra services who are not truly at-risk, and simply need more time in the regular classroom to make initial progress in reading.
Can a school begin administration of PALS as soon as the school receives its materials?
No, all assessment must occur during the screening windows. The only exception is for schools that operate with a year-round calendar. Those schools may begin assessments two weeks after the start of the year for first grade students, and six weeks after the start of the school year for 4K and 5K students, even if that date does not fall within the screening window.
Why doesn't DPI have a shorter window (or a longer window) for assessment?
The current window reflects the maximum flexibility DPI can provide districts while ensuring the reliability and validity of the assessment. Teachers should complete the PALS assessment within any contiguous two-week period during the four-week screening window.
Are districts expected to assess all students with disabilities?
Yes. State law requires districts and schools to assess all students, including students with disabilities. Students with disabilities may complete PALS with accommodations if necessary.
Who makes the decision about whether students with disabilities receive accommodations when completing PALS?
Decisions regarding whether students receive accommodations for PALS are the responsibility of the student's Individual Education Program (IEP) team.
How can I get the Braille or Deaf/Hard of Hearing PALS materials?
Contact Duane Dorn at (608) 267-1069 or [email protected] to request Braille or Deaf/Hard of Hearing PALS material.
When is parent opt-out allowable?
The statute requiring screening (Wis. Stats. 118.016) does not provide a provision for opting students out of assessment. Schools and districts make every effort to assess all students.
Who is responsible for assessing students attending a Virtual School?
Virtual schools are responsible for assessing all students enrolled in four-year-old kindergarten through first grade. This may be done in two ways: with district staff at other arranged sites, or via video conferencing. If video conferencing is used, schools will need to indicate that they employed a non-standard administration, and caution needs to be taken when interpreting results. Districts should not assess students who live in their attendance area but attend a virtual school in another district.
Is the school or district responsible for assessing a home-schooled student if the parent requests that?
No. The school or district is not required to include home-schooled students in the PALS screening. Access additional information at http://oea.dpi.wi.gov/oea_pals
Information courtesy of www.dpi.state.wi.us
Child Developmental Screening
We welcome your participation in the School District of Maple’s Child Developmental Screening. Developmental screenings are used to look at overall development and will focus on the areas of self-help, communication, motor, social, and learning skills. It is intended to highlight a child’s strengths and/or weaknesses and identify children who may need further testing. Vision and hearing will also be screened.
Your child will be encouraged to participate in specific tasks and in play and parental/guardian input is a large part of the screening process, as well. It will take approximately 30 minutes for each child. Upon completion of the screening, children are invited to enjoy a snack and play. Numerous free handouts will be available for parents regarding child development.
The School District of Maple is required by law to screen all children. On-site screenings are encouraged as they facilitate child and parent participation and provide opportunities for immediate feedback, parent education, and a positive school experience for the child. If you know of any child within the ages of 2 ½ - 4 ½ (those NOT yet eligible for Kindergarten by September 1, 2014), please encourage their parent(s)/ guardian(s) to call the school to set up a screening date and time.
The screening will take place for children living in the School District of Maple at Northwestern Elementary School on Wednesday, April 2, 2014 from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. Please call Northwestern Elementary School at 715-364-8465, ext. 1304, in advance to schedule an appointment.
Headline
Wisconsin’s New Assessments
Key to Meeting Higher Academic Standards
Wisconsin is moving from a paper-and-pencil test with multiple choice questions to an online assessment system with computer-adaptive questions. Computer-adaptive tests adapt to the individual student. If the student answers an item incorrectly, the next item will be easier. If the student answers an item correctly, the next item will adapt to be more difficult. This is a key advancement in student assessment and provides a much more precise measure of what students know. Wisconsin is taking advantage of this technology because it provides better information to teachers, parents, and students themselves.
The new assessments will give schools more information and more flexibility.
The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter) is producing the end-of-year summative test that meets the federal requirements for student testing. Smarter is also providing a number of optional assessments for teachers to use as they wish. The whole system includes: Summative.
End-of-year standardized assessments in English Language Arts and Mathematics that Wisconsin is required to administer to Grades 3-8.
Aligned to our state standards.
Data is used for accountability report cards. Interim.
Optional assessment used by teachers to benchmark progress throughout the year. Aligned to the summative assessment.
Data is used locally by schools and teachers. Not used for accountability.
Formative.
Optional instructional strategies used by teachers to assess their students during lessons. No data are reported.
The information from these formative assessments should help teachers effectively plan lessons for students who need more instruction on the standards being taught.
Resources and strategies are organized in a digital library accessible by all educators in the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. The new assessments will give a more accurate picture of each student’s knowledge and skills. Computer-adaptive results are provid-ed far more quickly than with paper-and-pencil tests, and are more precise in telling parents and provid-educators what their students know. This helps to quickly focus students on specific areas of improvement. Additionally, Smarter includes performance tasks which allow students to demonstrate their learning in ways that are not possible with a multiple choice test. Further, students are able to access the test better with the computer-based accommodations offered. For example, students will now be able to increase font size and flag items to come back to on the Smarter test. This allows students to demonstrate what they know without the disadvantage of text size. [Also see: http://
www.smarterbalanced.org/parents-students/]
Parents, educators, and community members will be able to compare student achievement between schools, districts, and even other states to ensure that all Wisconsin students are being prepared for college and careers.
The new assessments will give teachers faster results so they may individualize teaching. Smarter assessments will be integrated with teaching practice. Teachers can get results quickly and customize instruction to meet different students’ needs—just the opposite of making instruction more standardized. The new assessments provide better information.
High Expectations. The new assessments are closely aligned with the Common Core State Standards, which educators across the state report are already leading to higher academic outcomes. The new assessments use a wider variety of questions and tasks with a heavier em-phasis on critical thinking.
Fast. Computer based testing returns results in days instead of months.
Precise. Smarter assessments will use computer-adaptive technology, which delivers more precise information about students’ strengths and weaknesses than before.
Wisconsin’s New Assessments
Key to Meeting Higher Academic Standards, Cont.
curricular and professional development choices; and students to be more engaged in their education.
The new assessments protect student privacy. Student information will be rigorously safeguarded. Like health records, students’ educa-tional data is strictly protected by federal and state laws and policies. The new assessments do not loosen any existing privacy requirements. Smarter has a student data privacy policy that strictly safeguards student privacy. It also specifies that states retain control of all student re-sults. Identifiable student data is never shared with anyone, including the federal government.
The new assessments are a state-led initiative with strong Wisconsin leadership.
The need to change Wisconsin’s assessment system was clearly laid out in 2008 by the Next Generation Task Force (http://oea.dpi.wi.gov/ oea_ngatf). In 2010, Wisconsin helped create the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, subsequently winning funding to develop a comprehensive assessment system aligned to college and career ready standards. Ever since, we have been strong leaders in shaping the direction of Smarter. This has been an effort led by states, with substantial and vital local input.
Educator Input. Over 200 Wisconsin educators have been involved in developing the Smarter assessments, including an active State Net-work of Educators who help direct the formative aspect of the assessment system.
Field Testing. Over 20% of Wisconsin students will participate in the field test.
Wisconsin Leadership. Staff served on the Executive Committee and all Smarter workgroups. Wisconsin schools are ready.
The groundwork was laid for this assessment system years ago, and our district is ready for the Smarter assessments. Schools have been incorporating the Common Core into their chosen curricula since 2010 and educators have actively prepared to administer the new assess-ments.
Teachers have shifted their instruction to cover the more rigorous state standards that will be measured by the new tests. [Also see http:// commoncore.dpi.wi.gov/.]
Teachers have access to sample tests so they can become familiar with the kinds of questions and tasks that the Smarter assessments will include.
DPI issues quarterly updates on consortium timeline, news, and progress: http://oea.dpi.wi.gov/oea_smarter.
Bus Drivers and Mechanics Honored
School District of Maple bus drivers, mechanics, and substitute, special needs and early childhood drivers were honored during “School Bus Driver/Mechanic Recognition Week.”
Breakfast was provided on February 12 at Charlie’s Riverside. They were recognized for their dedicated service to the School District of Maple throughout the year. The safe transportation of our students remains our number one priority. A big “thank you” to each of them!
Headline
Building
Construction House
Students at NHS are hard at work again this year building a new house. The house features spray foam insulation along with solid six panel pine doors, solid maple cabinets, and upgraded LP Smartside siding.
Interior and exterior pictures of this year’s project can be seen at www.maple.k12.wi.us. Watch for more information regarding the bidding process in the May edition of News of Your Schools.
The 2013-14 house project in progress.
Jameson playing Farm Sounds BINGO.
Families of preschoolers in the School District of Maple have the oppor-tunity to complete an application for the 2014-15 school year at the Brule Head Start Center, Family Forum Inc. The Brule Head Start Cen-ter has two classrooms that are staffed by fully licensed and trained staff. The morning class consists of a mix of three and four-year- olds. The afternoon is a 4K site for the School District of Maple. Chil-dren between the ages of 3-4 as of September 1, 2014 participate in learning centers five days a week. Homemade nutritious meals and snacks are served family style to teach children table manners, how to set a table and how to clean up afterwards. Personal hygiene is taught by encouraging hand washing before and after meals and bathroom breaks, and tooth brushing after each meal. Fully equipped buses pro-vide transportation with five point safety seats for each child. Brule Head Start provides door-to-door transportation to and from a child's home or childcare setting.
Interested families should call the Brule Head Start at 715-372-8060 or Family Forum's main Office at 1-800-392-4473.
The Brule Head Start Center will be having a week of Open Houses April 7-10, 2014 from 9:00-3:00 each day. The community is invited to come and visit the Center.
HEAD START
PROGRAM AVAILABLE
Wisconsin Athletic
Service Award Presented
Dr. Joe Richards, Athletic Team Physician for Northwestern High SchoolApplications For Free And
Reduced Meal Programs
The “Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program” is designed to assist qualifying families to ensure that their children receive a healthy meal at school to better enable them to learn. Funding of several federal programs is based upon the percentage of students who apply and qualify for the free and reduced programs to include: Title 1 (Supplemental Remedial Reading Program), School-to-Work and the Alcohol and Other Drug Awareness Programs.Applications are available throughout the school year at each school’s main office and at the district office, located at Northwest-ern High School. All students who qualify for free or reduced lunch are also entitled to free breakfast at their school.
All applications and information are kept strictly confidential.
Newsletter compiled and edited by Candi Stariha.
March 1, 2014 Application Deadline - Fall Youth Options
March 3 NHS Spring Concert, 7:30 p.m. – Patricia Luostari Theatre for the Performing Arts
March 5 Parent/Guardian Spring Athletic Meeting, 6:00 p.m. – Patricia Luostari Theatre for the Performing Arts March 10 No School – Elementary Conferences
March 11-14 No School – Spring Break
March 17 School Board Meeting, 5:00 p.m. – District Conference Room #2270
April 1 Election Day
April 3 First Day of 4th Quarter April 9 Blood Drive at NHS, 9:00 a.m.
Spring Athletic Pictures
April 14 School Board Meeting, 5:00 p.m. – District Conference Room #2270
April 18 No School
April 25 Senior Honor Banquet
April 28 Coffee House Concert, 7:30 p.m. – Patricia Luostari Theatre for the Performing Arts May 9 NMS Choir Pops Concert, 6:00 p.m. – Patricia Luostari Theatre for the Performing Arts
NHS Choir Pops Concert, 7:30 p.m. – Patricia Luostari Theatre for the Performing Arts
May 10 Junior Prom – NHS Commons\
May 12 School Board Meeting, 5:00 p.m. – District Conference Room #2270
May 16 NMS & NHS Band Pops Concert, 7:30 p.m. – Patricia Luostari Theatre for the Performing Arts May 23 Graduation, 8:00 p.m. – NHS Gymnasium
May 26 No School
June 4 Blood Drive at NHS, 9:00 a.m.
June 9 School Board Meeting, 5:00 p.m. – District Conference Room #2270 Last Day of School for Students - TBD
Calendar of Events
Nominations for
Support Staff and
Teacher of the Year
Nominations are being accepted for the School District of Maple’s “Support Staff of the Year” and “Teacher of the Year” for 2014 from interested staff and community members.There are many fine employees who serve children as classroom teachers and in positions other than classroom teaching that are very important to the operation of an effective school district. If you would like to nominate a teacher or support staff member for consideration to receive one of these awards, nomination forms are available on the School District of Maple web page at
