Ludlow Taylor

After a few technological glitches, we are back with the weekly newsletter! Whew! With the end of the school year getting closer and closer - 2 more weeks in the 3rd quarter, then 9 weeks of school left. The last day will be here before we know it!

We are SO proud of our students - and the work our educators do every day. I know the next few weeks will be busy and productive.

Students in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades take the DC CAPE assessment. This test assesses their learning of grade level standards for their year. Students in grades 3-5 take assessments in reading, writing, and math and our 5th graders take the DC Science Exam.

Testing dates will be:

• DC Science: April 8, 9, & 10
• 3rd Grade CAPE: April 29, 30, May 1, 2, 5, & 6
• 4th & 5th Grade CAPE: May 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, & 15
• Make-up Dates: May 16, 19, 20, 21, & 22

Assessments begin by 9:05 in the morning each day. If your student is late, they may miss the test and will be assigned a make-up date. All DCPS students are required to take the assessment, so please make sure your student is here, on time, well rested, with a great breakfast. As always, school breakfast is free and accessible to all students!

Caregivers, students are not allowed to have phones or access to features on SmartWatches where they can call or text during the day. We ask that if you need to reach your child, you contact the the school's main office or send an email to the teacher. Contact during the school day - from the time they are dropped off in the morning until 3:15pm - students are not allowed to access their phones. If students have them, they will be taken and we may require an adult to pick up the phone.

Lately, we have seen everything from inappropriate content viewing, online bullying, using phones to look up answers, and avoiding learning tasks during the day. Please help your child focus on school by reviewing your expectations with them and letting them know the school needs to enforce these rules so we keep everyone in a safe learning environment.

If Love is Feedback, pease give us your feedback. We are always looking to improve. Please take a few minutes to respond to the DCPS Caregiver Survey.

Well, the trucks are here, drills are drilling, and progress is underway. Our addition is underway and the team is hard at work.

For updates on the project, you can find information on the LT Project Site. We are excited for the addition and we are truly looking forward to some extra space!

I want to send a very special thank you to our school social work, Mr. Kevin Stafford. Mr. Stafford is a member of our school Wellness Team and our School Leadership Team. The work he does day in and day out is not exactly captured in titles or teams. On any given day, you will find Mr. Stafford at morning arrival talking with students, counseling a group of students after a conflict, meeting with students who have behavioral supports on their individual education plans, supporting a caregiver who needs someone to talk to, working with our registrar on attendance, attending a multitude of meetings, reviewing behavioral data for the school or a classroom, bringing in outside partnerships through The Department of Behavioral Health or with Safe Shores with our Healthy Relationships Project, you will see him on recess duty, and you will find him always working tirelessly to support our students, staff, and caregivers.

I know that our school would not be as welcoming, supportive, student focused, or fun without him. As we begin Social Workers Appreciation Month, I want to send a heartfelt thank you to Mr. Stafford. I am beyond grateful to him!

All DCPS schools received their proposed budget allotments for next school year. After I receive the allotment, I work with our LSAT to determine school and community priorities for our spending, I work with DCPS central office teams to ensure our budget meets their requirements, and I do my best to maximize the funds we are given to ensure we have the staff and programming our students need to be successful. We received our budget allotments on 2/27 and our initial budget proposal is due 3/5, by 9:00am (Yep, less than a week).

District priorities for budgets include:

• Ensuring we have talented staff to teach our amazing students.
• Ensuring we have enough resources to support student wellness.

• Math instruction
• Support for our special education program
• Reducing class sizes for our large cohorts

You can find Ludlow Taylor's budget allocation here and you can find information on all school budgets on the DCPS Budget web site.

On March 13, DCPS is holding Parent Teacher conferences. If you have not already scheduled your conference, please reach out to your classroom teacher to ensure you have time to ask questions. There will be no school the following Friday, March 14. We will see you back on St. Patrick's Day!