Hello Summit Community,

Below you will see our 2022-23 Fall and Winter Assessment data. We use this information to drive instruction, plan supports, and plan enrichment opportunities. More information on how we will support a more rigorous math curriculum is coming soon.

This spring, our students in grades 3-8 will also take the Arizona AASA and 5 and 8 will take the AzSCI. These are standardized state tests that will provide the Summit School Community with information on how our students perform in relation to other Arizona schools.

Some frequently asked questions...

What is the Fountas & Pinnell Reading Assessment? Why is there no fall data for kindergarten? Fountas & Pinnell is a teacher administered assessment of reading decoding and comprehension that is not new to Summit School. It helps teachers to determine a student's instructional reading level and reading comprehension goals. This assessment is given at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year. There is no kindergarten fall data as this assessment is not typically administered until January in kindergarten.

What is STAR? STAR is a nationally normed standardized assessment for students in grades K-8. At Summit School, we will be giving this assessment to our students at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year. Students in kindergarten will take the early literacy assessment and math assessment, and will not take their first assessment until January. Students in grades 1-8 will take both reading and math assessments. The results of these assessments will be used to help teachers make decisions about instruction, intervention, and enrichment for our students.

What does the shaded row on the data report refer to? The shaded row of information on the data report refers to the expected or average range for a student at the grade level tested. For Fountas & Pinnell this is referred to as “meets expectations.” For the STAR assessment, these students would be in the middle or roughly 50th percentile of national scores. The range on STAR is recorded at 40-60% to account for standard deviations. As you can see from our data, the majority of our students exceed or are in the top percentages in the nation.

What does Average GE mean? Average GE stands for average grade equivalent. This is the average grade level equivalent that our students are performing at on this assessment. Your specific child’s GE was shown on the parent letter you received.

What does Average Yrs Ahead mean? This number shows the average number of grade level years our students are ahead of the national average. This number is derived from the GE above.

What will Summit School do with this information? Regular data collection is necessary to help Summit make informed decisions about instruction, intervention, enrichment, and overall programming. The data collected will be reported out to parents and the Summit Community on a regular basis.

Where did the preschool data come from? The data for all preschool, 3s and 4s, and 4s and 5s is generated by the preschool COR system used by our teachers to record student assessments.

Your individual K-8 STAR reports should have been sent home earlier this week. For additional information on your child's progress, please reach out to your child's teachers.

Thank you for all you do.

Sincerely,

Dr. Stephanie Nardi

Head of School

Eighth graders have been working on communication and group work skills during life skills class. Today, students were broken into teams. Each team member was given a different colored sheet of paper. The only instruction was to tear up their paper into pieces and pile them up on their table. Once all of the colored papers were torn into pieces, each group was given a large white sheet of paper and some glue. Each team was then asked to communicate with each other in order to create a picture using every single piece of torn paper without tearing them anymore. Team members all had to have a say and work together to create a picture and not just a design. The teams discussed how each piece of paper was unique like each team member and how together they make a unique picture and team.

Summit parents who utilize the Arizona Private School Tax Credits for tuition need to complete their preferred School Tuition Organization (STO) new application each spring. Please find the Institute For Better Education, IBE 2023-24 application here. Upon completion, please submit it and any required documents directly to IBE at Services@ibescholarships.org before June 1, 2023. IBE will only release tax credits towards tuition in July if they have a completed 2023-24 IBE application by that date. For questions regarding the application please visit www.ibescholarships.org or call 520-512-5438. If you use a different STO, please visit their website to find their 2023-24 application form.

Sign up to volunteer in-person, here, or scan the QR code.

Book Fair details: https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/summitschoolofahwatukee1

Families,

Do you have any photos you could share for the school yearbook? We need as many pictures as we can get, and contributing photos is the best way to make sure your child is well-represented in the yearbook. Please email pictures to Mrs. Harris (jessica.harris@summitschoolaz.org).

Students in grades 1-8 will be assigned to one of the following offerings this week.

1. NASA HUNCH grades 6-8
2. Escape Room Logic Puzzles grades 6-8
3. Marble Runs grades 1-3
4. Critical Thinking Games grades 3-5
5. STEM Projects grades 1-3
6. Valley Youth Theater grades 1-2
7. Coding grades 5-8
8. Spanish Support/Review grades 6-8
9. Culinary grades 6-8
10. Music Enrichment grades 4-8
11. Math Activities grades 1-2
12. Art Madness grades 1-3
13. Preschool Buddies grades 5-8
14. Yearbook grades 6-8
15. Lego Challenge grades 1-3
16. Poetry grades 5-8
17. Chess grades 1-8
18. Reading Support grades 6-8