Monday, February 25, 2008

March Madness

The real "March Madness" has nothing to do with basketball. At a middle school spring is in the air and it is when we try to do the following before Spring Break:
Parent Teacher Conferences
Registration for the Next Year
Staffing for the Next Year
Budgeting for the Next Year
Another Round of Concerts
And of Course: CSAP!

Altona Middle School is going to have some fairly significant changes next year. As detailed in the Registration Coversheet and the Business Fact Sheet (both on the school's website) we continue to have problems maintaining our current level of operations versus our current level of funding. There are going to be changes in how we do business as a district in general and a school in particular given the current level of funding. Please don't misunderstand me. I'm not arguing for a level of funding that would rival Connecticut or Washington D.C, or even our neighbors to the south, the Boulder Valley School District. However unless funding levels change we are forced to do more with less. Next year's schedule and its impacts are a result of our current situation.

I would love to read your comments and answer your questions. As always, thanks for your comments and reading my Blog!

Friday, February 8, 2008

Continue the Conversation: February

Our topic for February's PLC Day largely centered on homework. We read Chapter 3 of the Art & Science of teaching, and Mr. Barnett had a number of points and guiding questions for each study team. The Leadership Team met early in the morning to help guide the discussion. The ultimate goal in all of this work is to creat a more specific homework policy grounded in research and good practice. Each leadership member of the study team will post a brief summary of their group's discussion and conclusions. Of course other staff members, parents and students are invited to comment as well!