Message from Evansdale Principal Regarding Intruder Drill

Parents/Guardians,

Evansdale had an intruder alert drill today. Throughout the year, our school practices tornado, fire, intruder, and other safety exercises as part of our school safe plan. In the future, we will not send home notices after a drill. If Evansdale has an actual event in which we have to follow one of our safety procedures, we will send information home with your child. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me.

Sincerely,

Dan McGuire

Principal

Synopsis of January 8th School Council Meeting

The School Council met from 5:04 pm to 5:55 pm in the Media Center on Tuesday, January 8th, 2013.

All members of the Council were in attendance.

The PTA President was the only non-Council member present for the meeting.

Inspiration was provided by Dr. McGuire and was a letter of thanks for the generous donations of winter clothing during the December giving tree collections.

Minutes from the December meeting were approved and are now available on the School Council bulletin board at the school and on this blog under the "Approved Meeting Minutes" tab.

The PTA President reported the following:
1) Honors Day would occur this week.
2) Science Night is scheduled for January 24th and will include a Science Fair
3) A Symphony field trip and Cultural Arts presentation will occur during January

The Foundation did not send a specific representative but it was noted that the Foundation Auction will occur on Saturday, March 23rd, 2013 at the Greater Good BBQ and the theme would be Americana.

The Principal's Report indicated that enrollment is down to 655 and there were no changes in staffing.

Under Unfinished Business two items were discussed:

1) The Magnet Revision Proposal is still under consideration by DCSD.  It is expected that more information will be available following the January BOE meeting.  Dates for enrollment were pushed back by DCSD until February 11th.  Continued efforts for updates from DCSD on the proposal status will be made.

2) STEM Certification was also discussed.  A meeting of interested parents was help in December and efforts are continuing to start the process.  A presentation to the BLT will be made by Gretchen Neigh in February.  A draft of a letter regarding STEM for all Evansdale parents was reviewed and further changes will be made prior to translation and dissemination of the letter.  More parent involvement will be necessary for the efforts to be successful.  Use of some of the Lego educational programs is being explored.

Under New Business three items were discussed:

1) Security procedures were reviewed and some modifications will be made to the handbook regarding morning procedures and dismissal (these were not voted on; they are administrative decisions).  Specific information will be sent home with students.  In addition, enforcement of procedures stated in the handbook will be increased in efforts to insure safety of students and staff.  Finally, a new check in/check out system will be implemented and details will be provided by school administration in the near future.

2) Test scores were reviewed.  The Mock Writing tests from December showed that 77% of 4th graders and 90% of 5th graders had gains since the previous tests in August.  ITBS results were just released and a cursory review showed that:
- First Grade IMPROVED in all areas over the 2011 scores
- Third Grade IMPROVED in all areas over the 2011 scores
- Fifth Grade IMPROVED in all but one area over 2011 scores and they stayed constant on the final area

3) Funding for foreign language at Evansdale is being explored.  DCSD is submitting a grant for funding of foreign language in several select schools and Evansdale will be a part of the application.  Additional details will be available if DCSD successfully competes for the funding.

The agenda for February was discussed and will include:
1) General Housekeeping and Regular Reports
2) Unfinished Business: Magnet and STEM updates
3) New Business: Parental Engagement Discussion
The agenda for February will be fluid until one week prior to the February meeting.

January 8th Meeting Agenda

AGENDA FOR SCHOOL COUNCIL MEETING

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

1.     CALL TO ORDER

2.     INSPIRATION – Dan McGuire

3.     APPROVAL OF MINUTES – Joli Mauldin

4.     REPORTS

     a. PTA President – Jennifer Hatfield

     b. Evansdale Foundation– TBA

     c. Principal’s Report – Dan McGuire

          i. Staffing and Allotments

          ii. Enrollment

         

5.     UNFINISHED BUSINESS

a.     Magnet Revision Update  – Gretchen Neigh

b.     STEM Certification Update – Gretchen Neigh

         

6.     NEW BUSINESS

a.     Review of Security Procedures – Dan McGuire

b.     Mock Writing Update – Dan McGuire

c.     Foreign Language Grant Opportunity – Dan McGuire

         

7.     DEVELOP AGENDA FOR NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, February 5^th, 2013

8.     ADJOURNMENT

Some STEM Activities for the Winter Break

Evansdale Elementary will be further increasing our focus on STEM during second semester as we gear up to apply for Georgia STEM certification.  Here are a few great websites with fun and engaging STEM-related activities that can keep the children busy and learning over the break.

NASA Kids Club

CryptoKids from National Security Agency

The Molecularium Project

The Geometry of M&Ms

Juice Box Geometry

Exercise your Pulse

How Everyday Things are Made

Really Unexpected STEM Careers - divided out for children in elementary school through college

SACS puts DeKalb County School District on probation

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (http://www.advanc-ed.org/) has determined that DCSD will be on probation until December 2013.

Here is the official announcement from DCSD:  Today members of the DeKalb County Board of Education, along with the Superintendent and Senior Team, met with AdvancED and Dr. Mark Elgart, President and CEO of AdvancED. During this meeting, Dr. Elgart reviewed the Special Review Team Report from the October 17-19, 2012 visit. As a result, the District is now being placed on Accredited-Probation until December 31, 2013. The District has received this information and will work collaboratively to review the findings and begin to address the required actions. The District still remains fully accredited and students’ academic status remains unchanged.
 

The full announcement from Dr. Mark Algart can be viewed here:
SACS puts DeKalb County School District on probation - CBS Atlanta 46

There are eleven items that must be resolved and are listed in the video announcement.  Seven of these were previously brought to the attention of DCSD and have not been sufficiently resolved.

The four new items are:
1) Need for comprehensive plan to unify the Board of Education
2) All actions and decisions of the Board of Education must be of the collective board and not individuals
3) Appropriate separation of the Board of Education from the administrative offices of DCSD
4) Fiscal responsibility within the financial means of the school

What is SACS accreditation?
http://www.advanc-ed.org/what-accreditation

What does it mean to be on probation?  
Here is the definition from the SACS website:

Probation – Failure to correct deficiencies or failure to make satisfactory progress toward compliance with
the Principles of Accreditation, whether or not the institution is already on Warning, may result in the institution being placed on Probation.  An institution may be placed on Probation for the same reasons as discussed above regarding Warning if the Commission’s Board of Trustees deems noncompliance with the Principles to be serious enough to merit invoking Probation whether or not the institution is or has been on Warning. Probation is a more serious sanction than Warning and is usually, but not necessarily, invoked as the last step before an institution is removed from membership.  Probation may be imposed upon initial institutional review, depending on the judgment of the Board regarding the seriousness of noncompliance or in the case of repeated violations recognized by the Board over a period of time.  An institution must be placed on Probation when it is continued in membership for Good Cause beyond the maximum two-year monitoring period (see section on “Good Cause” below).   The maximum consecutive time that an institution may be on Probation is two years.

What happens if they don't fix the issues?
DCSD will lose accreditation.

Why does accreditation matter?

Accreditation is designed to help educational institutions boost their ongoing performance efforts for the benefit of their students.  AdvancED insists on a relentless pursuit of excellence – for itself and for the institutions it accredits. This ethic of excellence ensures that institutions will find rich benefits from accreditation and that parents can confidently make informed decisions about their children’s education, knowing their child’s school is accredited. Accreditation matters because our students deserve the highest level of educational excellence possible.

Message from Evansdale Principal

Parents and Guardians,

The Evansdale community is truly saddened by the recent tragedy that occurred last week. Please rest assured that Evansdale has procedures in place to address all emergencies that occur. Throughout the year, we conduct drills and make improvements in order to maintain a safe atmosphere for all our students. As a parent/guardian, please make sure you do the following each day:

  • Sign in/out at the front office

  • Do not walk down to your child’s classroom during dismissal

  • Exit out the front door and do not leave outside doors open

  • Review the student handbook with your child (evansdalepta.org)

Sincerely,

Dan McGuire

Principal

Evansdale Education Foundation Newsletter - Now Available

You can view a copy here: Evansdale Education Foundation Newsletter

If you are looking for a heart warming story, check out Brian's Trek on pages 6-7.

Also, thank you for the lovely letter of thanks from the EEF to the School Council - your kind and supportive words are appreciated!