Pirate Parent Newsletter

Please see the video below for highlights of the town hall at our school. It was an amazing night and we should all be proud of our students and the lessons they taught us.

Please see the district newsflash on the April 8 Independent Learner Day by clicking here. Additionally, Spring Break is April 1-5.

Families, there is still time to have your voices head as you have the opportunity to shape the vision of our school district. Please click the title above for a link to provide your feedback.

Students recently completed the Winter MAP assessments in Reading, Math, and Language Usage. Please see the MAP Assessment Letter and how to access your student's score below.

Please click the link here to get more information on 2024 Summer Programs provided through our school district.

We are in need or parents to volunteer as officers for the Principal Advisory Council and the Parent Teacher Association. We need volunteers to get both afloat. Please complete the form below if interested so we can contact you. This is your school. Without you we cannot do the things that your students deserve.

As you are aware, we have had struggles with having enough bus drivers in our district. I wanted to make you aware, if you are not, that we have an app that assists with bus times and route information. Please see the QR code below or enter the download information. There are also step-by-step instructions on how to set the app up attached below.

Please participate in the Thought Exchange Survey below by clicking the link here. Our district would like to know your thoughts on a what should be the portrait of a DCSD graduate.

We will be starting an after-school meal/tutorial program beginning Monday, January 8 from 3:10-4:30 pm. It is free and open to all students. Please have your students stay if they need additional support.

We have several items of good news to share:

• Congratulations to Matthew and Sojat Kedir for being named the Stone Mountain High School Valedictorian and Salutatorian!
• Please see the video below sharing the Hitting the Road with Horton visit we had with our Superintendent.
• The DCSD Town Hall held at SMHS on February 29 was a huge success. We had 50 scholars share great ideas on how to solve a variety of issues facing our district. We should be so proud of the amazing students we have!
• The Protecting Our Youth Town Hall was a huge success. Over 50 students participated and shared ideas with Board Chair DaCosta and Supt. Horton on ways to support them and all youth.
• On March 7, the SMHS Career Day had over 100 guest speakers who shared wisdom about their careers and how to prepare for the next phase of their lives. Thank you to our community and especially our alumni for supporting a successful career Day.

Our average daily attendance for March is now 86.15%. This represents a steady increase in daily attendance every month so far in 2024. Although we are glad to have an increase, the numbers are still tragically low. This is impacting student learning and outcomes. We have to do better as a community with attendance. Here are a few facts concerning attendance:

1. Research states that if students have two absences in August, they will become chronically absent. Students labeled chronically absent have an increased rate of dropping out. As you see, just two absences can start a trend.
2. Students who miss 9 consecutive days will be withdrawn and require readmission through Student Relations.
3. If your student arrives at 8:30 instead of 8:00 am daily, they miss over 100 minutes of school each week.

Please see our attendance protocols below:

1. Any student arriving after 8:30 requires a parent to sign them in at the attendance office.
2. Students with 6 absences will receive a social worker referral and attend a parent conference to discuss your child's attendance.
3. Students with 3 tardies will receive lunch detail detention.
4. Any student with over 8 unexcused absences will not be allowed to attend the prom.
5. Please contact us when your student is not here so we can excuse the absence.

It is extremely important that we get attendance right. As we drive for 95, we will need all hands on deck to turn this around. Our students deserve it. We can do this!

It is important we have accurate contact information. Thank you to those families who have verified their contact information. We need all parents to update your address and contact information in Infinite Campus. If you currently have the Parent Portal, you can do that by clicking Annual Verification. If you do not have Parent Portal, you can contact Shenita Seidu at 678 676 6326. Please see instructions in English and Spanish below.

Please see the letter below sent last week on our new security enhancements. To make transition into the building smooth, remember to remove the following from all bookbags.

B- Binders

L- Laptops

U- Umbrellas

E- Eyeglass cases and larger electronics.

Students will hand these items to a staff member and then enter through the system. Once, they enter the system, they will receive their items back.

Volume 3: Issue 15

Email: michael_costa@dekalbschoolsga.org
Website: http://www.stonemountainhs.dekalb.k12.ga.us/
Location: 4555 Central Drive, Stone Mountain, GA, USA
Phone: 678.676.6303
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100070311425418
Twitter: @principal_costa