Dear East Middle School Families,

I hope this finds you well. We are slowly finding our footing after a few wild weeks of weather, sickness, and NTI. Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement as we continue to wrap around our students.

I'd like to discuss several items in this week's message:

Attendance and Engagement

Due to the incredibly unfortunate recent interruptions to our regularly scheduled programming, I want to take the opportunity to remind everyone about the importance of being present and dialed in when we're in school. There are fewer than 20 instructional days until Spring Break and even fewer days after Spring Break before state testing begins.

Being at school and being engaged in learning while at school are urgent concerns. Thank you for encouraging your student in this way!

SBDM Parent Representative Election

Congratulations to Amy Oliver whom you elected to represent you on the East Middle Site-Based Decision-Making Council. She has already hit the ground running - trainings, studying, asking questions, etc. We are excited to have her join the team. Please feel free to reach out to her if you have any questions.

Extended-School Services

East's ESS Program is an excellent opportunity for your student to get caught up academically. PLEASE take advantage of this when your student is invited. Sadly, many students see this as some type of punishment. While it is indeed being used for students who are failing or have missing work, it is far from punishment. It is designed to be a small group "Tier 2" intervention to help students. I've heard from a few parents who have given their student the choice to attend ESS or not. This is incredibly unfortunate! While I understand not many 12-year-olds would choose to stay for additional help, the students who have been invited are the ones who might benefit the most from the additional help. If your student has not been invited and you are interested in discussing the option, please contact your student's Advisor.

PSAT for 8th-Grade

With ESS in mind, I want you to know about an opportunity for our 8th graders. On Monday, March 24, each 8th-grade student will take the PSAT. We are offering an ESS session to the entire 8th-grade team to work on strategies on Wednesday, March 19. Please consider allowing your student to stay for this session. More information about this will be coming from your 8th-grade Advisory teacher.

Defense of Learning

I'm sure all of you know how Shelby County has embraced Defenses of Learning over the past few years. I was in a meeting with Kentucky's Commissioner of Education recently, and he bragged on the work our district has done in this area. He intends to allow local ideas (such as Defenses) to be a major component in state accountability going forward.

Your student has been working on completing their Defense. Ask them about it. Encourage them to think about how they have grown over this year.

Half of our 8th-grade class will formally be presenting their Defense as part of their promotion requirement on March 14. (The other half will present in April.)

Parent/Teacher Conferences (Yes, and...)

Yes, we want to confer with every family who has a struggling student. And, we will be happy to accommodate those of you who may just want to chat with a teacher about your student's progress this year. We will hold P/T Conferences on March 17. If your student's Advisor invites you, please plan to attend. If you don't get an invitation but still want to talk, please let us know.

Thank you for all you do. Thank you for the opportunity to educate your student. We are getting better every day.

In partnership,

Principal Allan
East Middle School