The Lions' Lens

As a friend of TLA, we value your support. The Lions' Lens, a quarterly newsletter filled with updates and activity highlights, is our way of sharing all of the great things happening at TLA throughout the year with you. Enjoy these updates from the first quarter of 2023-2024!

There's nothing like the excitement of the first day of school - welcoming new scholars and seeing how much returning scholars have grown and matured over the summer. Year 3 at TLA is well underway with K4-4th and 6-11th grades in the building and excited about learning! GO LIONS!

WSAS is a point-in-time measure of how scholars are progressing toward grade-level expectations. TLA scholars enrolled in 3rd and 6-10th grades during the 2022-2023 school year participated in the exams.

Overall state exam proficiency for TLA in the second year was ELA 30.7% and Math 24.0%. Wisconsin scholars in the same grades scored 35.8% proficient in ELA and 39.5% proficient in Math.

Our school community has worked hard. TLA scholars scored within 5.1% of the state proficiency average in ELA. Third grade scholars beat state proficiency results in both ELA and Math, and freshman and sophomore scholars were on-par with state proficiency levels in ELA. Overall, combined exam proficiency for TLA held firm in ELA and improved in math over the prior school year. We are pleased to see this general upward trend, yet know we continue to have work to do.

Information on public school performance is made available by school and by district on the State Department of Public Instruction’s WISEdash Public Portal - Department of Public Instruction.

New clubs for primary scholars and intramural opportunities for middle and high school schoolers were introduced this fall. The new clubs included First Lego League robotics and Girl Scout Daisies. Fall intramurals featured boys' volleyball and flag football. Additional new club and intramural options will be added throughout the school year.

Ms. Janae Gile has joined the TLA team! Coming to us from another local district, Ms. Gile is excited to be back in Beloit, where she and her family have lived for more than 15 years.

Ms. Gile is a highly dedicated, compassionate, and experienced school administrator, known for her commitment to building positive relationships and ensuring scholars are prepared for the many choices that life provides them. With a background in school counseling and a career spanning over two decades, Ms. Gile has consistently focused on the holistic development of scholars, fostering an environment that promotes both academic excellence and personal growth.

We are fortunate to welcome a Principal with Ms. Gile's expertise and commitment to scholars. She has acclimated to the TLA way and jumped right in this school year!

The September career focus spotlighted Construction and then shifted to Manufacturing during October. Scholars at all grade levels learned about and explored career pathways in both fields. Middle and high school scholars with an interest in each field participated in a career panel highlighting different career pathways within each field. Field trips and a number of hands-on exploratory events rounded out each month's activities.

Thank you to the following partners who provided support around career exploration in the first quarter: Angus-Young, The Alexander Company, Mid-States Concrete Industries, Cotta LLC, Nohr LLC, Scot Forge, Welders Supply, Fairbanks Morse Defense, Corporate Contractors, Inc., Henry Vilas Zoo, Hendricks CareerTek.

Second grade and high school scholars collaborated during Manufacturing month to build bird feeders. The 2nd graders learned about each step in the manufacturing process and worked with the high schoolers on the production line to create the feeders.

TLA requires high school juniors and seniors to spend time, through an internship or Youth Apprenticeship, deeply engaged in Work-Based Learning opportunities related to a career or technical specialty. This semester, we have 3 high school juniors interning with Welty Environmental Center to pursue their interests in Earth Science. The scholars will be developing research projects using GLOBE protocols as well as new educational displays for use in the center's environmental education programming.

A group of scholars recently completed their Acer Certification to become certified in Chromebook repair! These scholars will be putting their knowledge and skills to work at Chrome Depot - our in-house repair resource for Chromebook issues.

Make48, the 48-hour inventor competition, returned to Beloit and TLA this year. Once again, our community was well-represented by a diverse set of local teams, including a number of youth-based teams from area schools and organizations. Team TLA Lion Lolapalooza brought home an admirable 3rd place finish! Check out the event sizzle reel below!

From August through October, we focused on the character virtues of kindness, respect and responsibility. Virtues were infused into all of our curricular subject content and taught through direct instruction with a focus on citizenship and service. At the end of each month, scholars who embodied the monthly virtue at each grade-level were recognized. Great job TLA!

We are working to create connections amongst all of our scholars this year. Once a month we have collaborative classroom activities planned, with each grade level partnered-up. Scholars and staff are having a blast!

The entire 6th Grade class participated in a field trip to Outdoor Wisconsin Leadership School (OWLS) in Lake Geneva at the start of the school year. The program enabled scholars to grow through experiences that fostered insight, leadership and skill development. Strong connections and learning about how scholars interact with each other and the world around them was a focus throughout the day!

We would like to extend our thanks to everyone who, in their own way, has contributed to supporting scholars in preparing to achieve their dreams and live a choice-filled life.

Andi is the parent of a 4th grader, a K5 scholar and a future little Lion. She has been an avid supporter of TLA both in word and deed since its beginning, participating in multiple school-wide volunteer events in the community each year with her toddler in tow, a big smile, and a willing spirit. Andi has also been a regular classroom volunteer, chaperone, and supporter for both of her TLA scholar's classrooms. Teachers rave about her willingness to step in when needed as well as the tasty snacks she provides for scholars (and staff!). Whenever she has an idea, she reaches out to administration with suggestions and is ever gracious about the process of growing a new school. Thank you for all you do Andi!

We asked Andi to share her thoughts about volunteering:

Why is it important to you to volunteer in support of the scholars/TLA?

"As an adult looking back on my childhood, I remember my mom being at almost every single school/ extra-curricular event for both me and my brother. I volunteer whenever I can to support not only my own scholars but also their peers whose parents weren’t able to be there."

What do you enjoy most about volunteering at TLA?

"I love knowing what my scholars are doing and who their important people are."

Based upon your experience, what would you say to someone who was thinking about volunteering at TLA but was hesitant?

"My biggest concern initially was the time commitment. I've gotten better at saying no when I absolutely cannot help with something, but usually the commitments are an hour or two and it's pretty easy to build that time into my day."

Andi also shared with us, "I really appreciate how TLA feels like an extended family. My family has had a lot of different life happen and the support we receive from the school is incredible. I'm grateful every day that I chose TLA for my scholars."

If you are interested in volunteer opportunities, we welcome you to fill out the Volunteer Application. A new application must be completed each school year. Looking for ways to be an active contributor or a thought partner? Join us for Parent Leadership Council (PLC) Meetings, held during the school year on the 3rd Tuesday of each month from 8-9:15am in the library.

Community support for TLA comes in all sizes, shapes and forms. This quarter we would like to gratefully acknowledge Dr. Eric Xanthopoulos & Dorine Hoeksema. Parents of a 1st grader, they have been generous contributors of their time, talents and resources since TLA opened. Whether serving on the TLA Board, volunteering to lead career exploration activities with scholars or donating resources in support of closing TLA's funding gap, through their active support and involvement in school and community activities Eric & Dorine have consistently contributed to creating a learning environment at TLA that allows scholars to continue to reach for their dreams and achieve their potential. Thank you for your generosity and support!

One of the things we are so appreciative of is the wide variety of ways members of our community find to contribute to scholar learning at TLA. A recent donation from Northstar is an amazing example of this. As part of a construction project in Beloit, Northstar needed to clear some trees from their project site. Rather than just remove the trees and move on, Northstar had the trees sent out to be milled into wood that was then donated for use at a number of local schools, including in the Construction Lab at TLA. This thoughtful and generous donation will ensure scholars of all ages have access to the materials needed to explore learning about construction. Thank you, Northstar for your generous investment in scholar learning!

As an independent charter school, TLA receives less per pupil funding than the traditional public school. It is imperative that we make up the funding gap, partnering with our generous community to ensure we can offer an environment that will give each and every scholar a chance to succeed. Click on the donate button below to learn more and join us in being part of something transformational!

2022-2023 State Report Cards have been released and TLA received a 4-star rating of Exceeding Expectations! Scholars, families, educators, staff, and leadership teams have all worked incredibly hard and demonstrated an unwavering commitment to learning. We are so proud of our school community; showing what is possible in education when scholars are given the right combination of rigorous academics, character development, career exploration and a mission-aligned staff.

You can access TLA's report card information at: Report Cards Home | Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

Our Chief Education Officer, Dr. Cole, has a monthly blog. Recent blogs have highlighted expanded space and learning opportunities in the new school year and The Promise of What is Possible. The Promise of What is Possible is the first in a series of blogs that will focus on a deeper dive into what our 2022-2023 WSAS Exam data tells us.

Our staff participated in Corporate Cup, sponsored by Stateline Family YMCA, for the first time this year. A great time was had by all, and we can't wait for next year! GO LIONS!

The Lincoln Academy (TLA) is a K4-12th grade public charter school serving Wisconsin residents and committed to reflecting the diversity of Beloit. Built with input from the community, access and equity drives TLA as an innovative, high quality, free public-school option. We expect ALL scholars to graduate from high school with a clear pathway to success.

Email: info@tlabeloit.com
Website: https://www.thelincolnacademybeloit.com/
Location: 608 Henry Avenue, Beloit, WI, USA
Phone: (608) 690-5100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TLABeloit
Twitter: @TLABeloit