Parents and Elkhorn North High School Working Together = Success
Persistence and a positive mental approach are the precursors to overcoming challenging coursework where knowledge and application result in critical thinking.
The parental support for our students during their formative years in high school is important and positively impacts their achievement. Our students are thriving in school related activities because our parents have encouraged their students to be involved. Elkhorn North High School will continue its role in our community by continuing to improve our instruction, assessment, curriculum and service to our students. Our students are in the routine of understanding classroom expectations with respect to homework and practice, note-taking, reading and writing, and critical analysis.
Please continue to encourage your student to do his/her best and to be prepared for classes by spending time studying and reviewing notes, completing assignments, reading textbook selections, and supplementary material. It is critical for students to develop favorable study habits that reinforce learning. I am very appreciative of the many hours our students designate to their school work.
Parent Teacher Conferences Reflections
We scheduled our Parent Teacher Conferences during the 6.5 week of school because we believe in early intervention and there is still time for improvement before the end of the 18 week semester.
Elkhorn North High School’s September parent-teacher conferences illustrated the partnership between school and home that is critically important. As a community, we value education. Throughout the learning process, our students are engaged in dealing with the intangible traits of hard work, persistence and perseverance. To that end, we must encourage our students to achieve in the classroom, through their coursework, in their activities and with their relationships with their teachers and peers.
I had the opportunity to conference with parents about their student(s) and the reciprocal relationship between the school and parents which allows for common values and beliefs that are communicated to our students. PowerSchool is a very important tool to provide parents a snapshot of the student’s grades; however, it cannot replace the importance of the interaction between parents and teachers.
I would like our teachers to reach out to parents of students who were struggling because a conversation and a plan needed to be created in order to increase the interventions for the students. I would also encourage parents to communicate with their student(s) regarding concerns that were discussed at conferences and then continue to monitor and communicate with teachers that improvement is happening.
Participation in parent teacher conferences were as follows:
9th- 47%, 10th- 41%, 11th- 43%, 12th- 35% = 42%
Academic Interventions that Increase Achievement
Elkhorn North High School faculty and administration continue to monitor and enhance school-wide intervention systems to support student learning. Our on-going interventions are intended to maximize student achievement by monitoring student progress and creating accountability in the learning process.
For some of us (me, as a parent), we feel as if we cannot help our students with upper level math and science because we have not taken a course in over twenty years. Therefore, please encourage your student to create study groups that meet in the evenings so that a team of students can help problem-solve the difficult concepts.
I would like to inform our parents about two of our school-wide intervention systems that will help encourage learning and homework completion. The 8th hour After School Quiet Study, Guided Study Programs, and Math Lab are described below.
Freshmen Study Halls-
We decided to have 9th grade only study halls with lower numbers with teachers in the classroom in order to monitor progress, affirm success and to use study hall time in a more meaningful and productive manner. By teaching and modeling good study habits, our 9th grade students should have less homework because they are more productive during their study hall times.
*8th Hour or After School Study Sessions are Mon.- Thurs. 3:30-4:30 p.m. in the Media Center-
ENHS offers a structured study environment after school, complete with tutors and teachers. Any student is welcome to stop by and seek help, get caught up on assignments, or form study groups. While students are encouraged to attend on their own, we are requesting help from parents to encourage or even require their student's attendance. If students get too far behind in their classes, attendance may become required by the school in an effort to decrease your student's failure rate.
Guided Study Program/Math Lab Help-
The Guided Study Program is an intervention for students who need additional academic support during the school day. The Guided Study program operates in addition to traditional study halls. Regular education students are placed in Guided Study after a student has received two or more grades of 4 or 5 on a mid-term, quarter, or semester grade report. Students may return to regular study halls after he/she is passing all classes with a 3 or better on a mid-term, quarter or semester grade report and express confidence in his or her abilities to be successful without the program. Certified teachers and teacher assistants work with the guided study students to encourage them to organize their work and improve their study habits, monitor student progress by reviewing mid-term reports and grades via PowerSchool, monitor usage of the student agenda for assignments, insist that students are engaged in constructive work each day, communicate with classroom teachers regarding student progress, provide academic support and assistance as needed and reinforce the importance of education.
The Math Lab is staffed every period but 5th hour by a certified math teacher and during math plan time, paraprofessionals with math knowledge help students understand math concepts in a one to one problem solving means. Any student who needs help with math homework may attend the math lab. Students who are struggling with math are placed in the math lab room in lieu of a regular study hall. Counselors and administration assign students to the Math Lab which is located in the classroom of the assigned math teacher. Students will need to meet with their counselor in order to know where the Math Lab is located.
Attendance Matters - Information from ATTENDANCE WORKS website:
By 9th grade, attendance is a better predictor of graduation rates than 8th grade test scores.
Missing 10%, or 2 days a month, over the course of the school year, can affect a student’s academic success. Frequent absences can be a sign that a student is losing interest in school, struggling with school work, dealing with a bully or facing some other difficulty.
- Make school attendance a priority.
- Talk about the importance of showing up to school every day.
- Help your children maintain daily routines, such as finishing homework and getting a good night’s sleep.
- If your children must stay home because they are sick, make sure they have asked teachers for resources and materials to make up for the missed learning time in the classroom.
- Make sure your teens are not missing class because of challenges with behavioral issues or school discipline policies.
- Stay on top of your child’s social contacts. Peer pressure can lead to skipping school, while students without many friends can feel isolated.
- Encourage your child to join meaningful after-school activities, including sports and clubs.
- Support your students if you notice signs of anxiety, and if needed, seek advice from your school or health provider.
- Check on your child’s attendance to be sure absences are not adding up.
ENHS Handbook Policies for Parents to Read
HARASSMENT- Any intentionally hurtful, demeaning or disparaging acts, words, symbolic representations, or behavior used by a student or students against another student or students that is disruptive of the educational process. This includes, but is not limited to, verbal, physical, visual, or graphic actions such as name-calling, taunting, mocking, slandering, humiliating, defaming, teasing, pestering; and making derogatory remarks, demeaning jokes, disparaging drawings or notes. Harassment by a student may result in disciplinary action up to and including suspension and/or expulsion.
BULLYING- Any intentionally hostile or offensive verbal, written, graphic, demonstrative, or physical act that has the purpose of exerting domination over another student through the act of intimidating, frightening, hazing, oppressing, or adversely controlling the student, and that is disruptive to the educational process. This may include, but is not limited to, verbal, graphic, or written activities such as name-calling, taunting, blackmailing, inciting to fight, terrorizing or physical activities such as poking, blocking or impeding, following, hair pulling, mock hitting motions, intentionally bumping, tripping, and damaging clothing. Bullying by a student may result in disciplinary action up to and including suspension and/or expulsion.
Please talk with your teenager about how bullying and harassing behaviors are hurtful whether he/she intended to be playful or not, these behaviors cause classmates a great amount of pain. Words meant to hurt will. I have asked our homeroom teachers to discuss our bullying and harassment policies during homeroom so that students can share and discuss how to stop bullying behaviors that are witnessed and how to handle and report these negative behaviors to the administration.
If you would like to contact me to discuss concerns, ask questions or comment, please call me at 402.289.0322 or email me at dradicia@epsne.org
Take care, Dan
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