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March 2008
For the first
time ever, Dearborn Street School has been nominated as
a 2008 Distinguished School. Our application passed the
test and we are on to the next phase in the process.
This involves a full day validation visit. A team of
fellow educators will visit our school on Monday, March
10 to validate the application we submitted. If all goes
well, and I believe it will, we will receive a call from
State Superintendent Jack O'Connell on April 15th. An
award ceremony will be held on May 16th at the
Disneyland Hotel.
Dearborn is
on a roll. We were notified that we have met all of the
criteria and will receive a Title 1 Academic Achievement
Award in April. This is quite an honor, and it is a true
testament to the incredible teachers and support staff
at Dearborn. Our missions statement says, "Dearborn
Street School provides a rigorous academic curriculum
and social foundation to meet the needs of our diverse
learning community in a safe, supportive environment."
Our goal is to have students achieve their greatest
potential and become caring, responsible, contributing,
well-educated citizens. We accomplish these goals
through the excellence of teachers and staff, the
collaboration of parents, and the commitment of the
community. Because all Dearborn stakeholders work
together, we have been able to achieve so much.
I am pleased
to announce that Dearborn has also received an Inclusive
School Award. Our Assistant Principal will attend the
Awards Celebration and will do a short presentation
about the ways we successfully meet the needs of our
students with disabilities.
The School
Accountability Report is issued annually for each school
in the state of California and provides an assessment of
selected conditions related to the schools resources,
enrollment, teachers, facilities, finances,
accountability, and areas of improvements needed. You
can access the report on line through the LAUSD web site
on the "Inside LAUSD" web site, at
http://www.lausd.net.
On the navigation bar go to "School", choose Dearborn
and click "Retrieve", On the right side of the page you
will find "Academic Performance Indicators". Click on
the drop down menu and click on "SARC". An easier way is
to ask the main office, at school, for a copy to read.
We keep them on file for five years.
We have
scheduled another "Coffee with the Principal" for
Thursday, March 27 at 8:00 am. This informal meeting is
for parents of students in first and second grade. The
focus of this activity is to review the academic,
social, and emotional needs of our primary students. It
is also an opportunity for parents to network and have
their questions answered. I hope you will plan to
attend.
I would like
to take this opportunity to introduce our new Literacy
Coach, Mrs. Julie Cornell Klein. Mrs. Klein will begin
at Dearborn in March. She is an experienced classroom
teacher with a very strong literacy background. Most
recently, Julie taught fifth grade SAS at Germain
Elementary. In addition, Julie has had experience
working with all elementary grade levels, English
learners, and Title 1 students. SHe will lead her first
parent literacy workshop in April.
On March 4, I
will attend the District Enrollment Road Show. At that
time, I will find out whether or not we can continue to
offer Child Care Permits and if we will be allowed to
offer any Open Enrollment Permits. Last year, 27
families were selected in our Open Enrollment lottery.
There were more than 100 families that applied for these
slots. As the District builds new schools, the number of
permits we are allowed will be reduced. If you have
friends, neighbors, or relatives who are interested in
learning about enrollment for the next year, please have
them call the office at 818-349-4381. We will continue
our tradition of offering school tours; they are
scheduled for March 26, April 30, May 7, and May 28. The
general school tours will be held at 9:00 am to 10:00
am, and the SAS tours will be held from 10:30 am to
11:30 am on all dates. |