This Week at Jackson
August 5th
Friday, September 8th
Pictures from This Week
DSC Strategic Planning 2024-2028
In the Spring of 2020, a team of 42 Duneland School Corporation (DSC) stakeholders, including: students, parents, teachers, staff, administrators, board members and community members helped create a new Strategic Plan for the district. The plan has provided the focus and alignment for the district over the past four years by taking stock of what is going well, where improvements are needed, and how new initiatives will be developed for the future. Now it is time to revisit the DSC Strategic Plan to prepare for the next five years. Over the next month, district leaders will be putting together the new 40-50 member team to develop the 2024-2028 Duneland School Corporation Strategic Plan. The team will consist of the following:
School Board Members (2)
Students (2)
District Administration (12) - Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Chief Financial Officer, Director of Teaching & Learning, Director of Exceptional Learning, Director of Human Resources, Director of Technology, Director of Support Services, Director of Transportation, Director of Child Nutrition, Director of Trojan Learning Center, Assistant Director of Teaching & Learning
Building Administrators (6) - (2) high school, (2) intermediate/middle school, (2) elementary school
Support Staff (2)
Community Members (6)
Parents (8) - (2) elementary, (2) intermediate/middle, (2) high school, (2) exceptional learner
Teachers (15) - (5) elementary, (5), intermediate/middle, (5) high school
The 2024-28 Duneland School Corporation Strategic Plan will be developed over a series of four evening meetings from 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm on the following dates:
Wednesday, October 4
Wednesday, October 25
Tuesday, November 7
Tuesday, November 14
Those persons interested in participating in the development of DSC’s next Strategic Plan, please contact Amanda Hicks, DSC Executive Assistant to the Superintendent, ahicks@duneland.k12.in.us by Friday, September 22, 2023. Due to the possibility of there being more interest than spots available on the team, not everyone expressing interest will have the opportunity to serve. Team members will be notified the week of September 25th with confirmation of meeting dates and times.
Reminder: Beginning of the Year mCLASS & NWEA Testing
For parents new to Jackson, we have three testing windows spread throughout the academic year: one at the beginning, another at the middle, and the last at the end of the year. During each window, our teachers will deliver a variety of assessments to generate data they can use to guide their instruction. The windows are open for three weeks, so if you have students in different grades, they may test on different days or even in different weeks. Once the test windows close, we will share the results of the assessments with you.
All grades will make use of the mCLASS and NWEA assessments. The mCLASS battery of assessments focuses in a student's decoding and reading skills, comparing each student's results to the expected grade-level benchmark for that testing window. NWEA tests students in reading and math; upper grades add a language usage assessment. These results are nationally-normed, so the results you see will provide you a sense of how your student compares to their peers across the country.
Reminder: Looking Ahead to Standards-Based Grading
Last spring, we shared information with you regarding the shift from traditional grading practices to standards-based grading that is taking place in all Duneland elementary schools this year. At that time, the following table was shared with you comparing the two grading practices.
As we move deeper into the academic year, we wanted to remind you of this shift so that you understand the language students and teachers will be using, which will be reflected in what you see in Skyward's Parent Access Portal.
One of the major changes that parents and students will see is an increased focus on proficiency scales. Our teachers have been working to turn the Indiana Academic Standards into proficiency scales that clearly define what students must be able to do to demonstrate they have mastered the standard. Each scale defines different levels of proficiency: emerging, foundation, target, and beyond target.
The below picture is a great way to begin to understand proficiency scales.
Many of us have had the experience of learning to ride a bicycle. When we begin, our learning target is to be able to ride a bicycle independently. This is the goal; once we can do this, we will have demonstrated our proficiency in riding a bicycle.
However, when we begin to ride, we often need support from others, including training wheels and the guiding hand of a trusted adult. Although we might say we are riding a bicycle, at this point our proficiency is only emerging, or beginning to develop. Later, we might ride only with training wheels. Although an adult no longer needs to be there to guide us, our reliance on training wheels shows that we are only at a foundational level of independently riding a bicycle. Take away our training wheels and we may struggle.
Once we continue to develop our proficiency with more practice, we may reach our learning target of riding a bicycle independently. At this point, we will have demonstrated the target level of proficiency. But what happens if we want to continue to demonstrate our riding proficiency?
Some of us may develop riding skills beyond the target, perhaps riding independently on mountain trails. Although this is to be celebrated, we should remember that our goal was to ride a bicycle independently, not to go mountain biking.
Friday Story with Mr. Marshall
We read What Do Teachers Do (After YOU Leave School)? by Anne Bowen and illustrated by Barry Gott. The students from Mrs. Psimos' class joined us as our live studio audience, while the rest of the school joined virtually from their classrooms.
Reminder: New Behavioral Expectations for Students
Our rules are: be safe, be respectful, and be responsible. A copy of our rules and how they apply in different school contexts is below. Because it is designed to be printed on 11x17 paper, the font is very small in this format.
School Pictures
Picture Day for Jackson Elementary School is scheduled for Thursday, Sep 28.
This event's Order Code is 80466BF.
Online ordering is available before and after Picture Day. Shipping and handling charges may apply to orders placed after Picture Day.
Panda Express Fundraiser
PTO Calendar
Lunch Menu
Related Arts Rotation
With the exception of the first four days of school, our students rotate through their related arts classes every two days. The below charts will help you to know what is happening with your child each day.
DSC 2023-2024 Calendar
CHS Athletic Tickets
Cub Scouts
Meet the New HUB Coordinator
Chesterton Basketball, K-6
Duneland School Clinic
Duneland Transportation
Information regarding student bus transportation for the 2023-2024 school year is available on DSC website under the Transportation Department.
Track Student's Bus with MyStop App
The DSC Transportation has My Stop available for our families.
My Stop is a web-based application which allows parents to access live bus GPS information using a smartphone, tablet, or computer and securely view the current location of your child’s bus on routes. The system also provides the bus’s estimated time of arrival at your child’s bus stop.
Please read the attached letter to parents for more information on how to use My Stop to track your child's bus.
Child Nutrition: 2023-2024 School Meals
The school meals program is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Duneland School Corporation will process free or reduced-price meal benefit applications for those students who apply and are approved. Those students not qualifying for free or reduced-price meals will be charged the paid meal price for breakfast and/or lunch.
Meal prices for the 2023-2024 school year will be available on the DSC Child Nutrition website beginning Tuesday, August 15, 2023.
MyPayment Plus for School Meals
Need to add money to your students school meal account on MyPaymentsPlus? Click on the image below to access
Duneland Community Opportunities
The goal of the Duneland School Corporation district school newsletters is to inform students, parents and the school community about school-related information.
This year, the Duneland Schools will share information that pertains to opportunities our students may be interested in outside of school on a special page on our website. These available opportunities are offered by not-for-profit partnerships and organizations within our school district boundaries and local communities. Follow this link to Community Opportunities.