January 22

January 22, 2008

Dear Parents,
Recently, I attended a meeting with the Superintendent where he discussed his mid-term report (to read and listen to his mid-term report, please click here). The main thrust of the report was closing the achievement gap between at-risk students and non at-risk students, while maintaining academic excellence with our high achieving students. As I was listening, I reflected on the current state of Swift Creek. We are a microcosm of the struggles of the Wake County Public School System. We have a huge percentage of high performing students that we must continue to work hard with and guarantee growth. We also have a percentage of academically at-risk students that we must get to grade level. It is a daunting task, but a challenge that I relish and one that the staff of Swift Creek is already tackling. You may ask how we are doing this – and the answer is multi-dimensional and complex. We are working hard through the school improvement process to study data and put in systems and processes to improve student learning. We are utilizing professional learning communities to focus on student learning and answer critical questions about individual students. Our staff constantly questions what doe we do when students do not know the information and what do we do when they already know it. We are creating lessons and implementing research based best practices to meet all student needs. We are creating a Swift Creek Summit with all stakeholders to analyze our school vision: Everyone will learn and succeed. Now, as I am typing this, I am realizing that I may be using a lot of education jargon and that you may be wondering why I am telling you this. I feel it is important to keep you up to date with what we are doing with your most precious commodity: your child. I think it is important that you know that we are not treating all children the same, but that we are working hard to look at all children’s needs and to create lessons that will meet those individual needs. It is hard work and it forces us to change the practices that have been so prevalent in education for the last 200 years. But, as the Chinese proverb goes, “When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and some people build windmills.” I hope you know that we are building windmills and will do our best to meet your child’s needs in this fast changing 21st Century!
On a lighter note – weren’t you bummed by the lack of snowfall this weekend? I really wanted to build a snowman and didn’t even have enough snow to muster a snowball!
Until next time, have a ROARing week!

Jim

January 8

Dear Parents:

HAPPY NEW YEAR! It sure seems weird being in 2008. I trust everyone had a wonderful holiday break and is ready to resume the busy life of parents with elementary school students.

Since we are just back from break and are gearing back up, I felt I would take a side bar from education and talk about this time of year. Prior to the holiday break, germs were running rampant through our halls. It seems as if the break did no good. We have had many children going home sick. Please remember the importance of washing hands, getting adequate sleep and nutrition, and keeping your child home if they have a fever or have vomited within the previous 24 hours. As a parent, I know the difficulty of staying home with a sick child when work is piling up, but please remember that if everyone were to follow the simple steps outlined, we could prevent the sicknesses from running through the whole school.
Finally, The Board of Education will hold public hearings on the 2008 Growth Management Proposal at three high schools this month. The board will hold public hearings Tuesday, January 15 at Sanderson High; Thursday, January 17 at Green Hope High and Thursday, January 24 at Middle Creek High. Each public hearing will be held from 7-9 p.m. Persons may register to participate in a public hearing online or by calling the WCPSS Customer Service Center at 850-1600. Online registration ends at midnight the night before the hearing day.
Thanks so much for everything you do!

Jim