Talley Street Update
August 3, 2020
To view in your web browser, click here: https://www.smore.com/3hxr5
Update from the Principal
Dear Talley Street Community,
Welcome to the 2020-2021 school year at Talley Street Upper Elementary School! We are thrilled to welcome all of our new and returning students, virtually, on August 17th. I am Billy Heaton and I am honored to lead such an amazing school. Talley Street is CSD’s newest school. The school opened in August of 2019. Talley Street is the home of the Tigers! Our Talley Street Tiger was named Titan by last year’s students. We hope to introduce Titan to the students in the near future. Talley Street begins its second year as an International Baccalaureate Candidate School. The school will continue to work through the full authorization process during this school year. Talley Street welcomes twelve new staff members this year. We have a strong and committed faculty and staff. Information about our staff will be coming out next Monday, August 10th. Currently, we have approximately 720 students enrolled for this school year. Talley Street’s faculty is committed to providing an excellent educational experience regardless of the format.
Talley's Vision and Mission Statements
Our vision is to prepare our students
to lead with courage and integrity,
to strive for academic excellence,
and to serve the needs of our global community
with compassion and creativity.
Talley Street Upper Elementary School’s mission is to invest in the lives of our students by nurturing creative, knowledgeable risk-takers who will become leaders of our global community.
Throughout the document, you will find several important links. Please read the information carefully as it contains important information about our school and school district. As we begin the school year, please know that I am available to answer any questions or address any concerns you may have. My email address is bheaton@csdecatur.net. Go Tigers!
Sincerely,
Billy Heaton
Principal
Back to School Information
Virtual Learning Schedules
This week, CSD communicated specific information regarding virtual learning such as schedules, a readiness form for families to complete, and other information such as dates for the upcoming town hall meetings, release of teacher assignments, etc. Please make sure you have read over this information linked here.
We realize and understand the challenges/concerns virtual learning might pose for families. When looking at the schedule, please know that more specific schedule information will be shared by your child’s teacher. At first glance, the schedule might appear to be a large amount of screen time for students. Teachers are receiving specific training on student engagement in the virtual world, dissolving the screen, and much more to enhance the virtual learning experience for students. For example, you can expect your child to have the opportunity to engage in live instruction daily through whole class crew meetings and closing circles. Content instruction will be structured so that students are given the opportunity for small group live instruction a few times each week, and work offline on tasks related to their learning. In addition, live sessions will be recorded if students are unable to log on during their assigned time. When students are not engaging in live instruction, they will be working independently. Live instruction sessions will provide teachers the time to offer more differentiated support and feedback to students. We feel these sessions are valuable and important for continuing academic and social/emotional growth. However, we understand that family circumstances might prevent students from logging on. Therefore, student attendance will be based on their participation in various learning activities, not solely on participation in live sessions.
Click here to view Talley's virtual learning schedule.
Virtual Learning Town Hall
Meet and Greet and Classroom Assignments
Parent Portal/Infinite Campus
School Supplies
Communication
Talley Street’s website is a great source of information that’s regularly updated. During the school year, we send a school-wide weekly electronic newsletter to all families. Teachers also communicate with a regular newsletter throughout the school year.
Talley Street PTO Website
Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
Instructional Coach
Instruction
Assessment
International Baccalaureate/PYP
* Only schools authorized by the IB Organization can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme (DP), or the Career-related Programme (CP). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted. For further information about the IB and its programmes visit http://www.ibo.org.
Wellness Wednesdays
Talley Street’s Title 1 Targeted-Assistance Program
Title I, Part A is a part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This Act provides federal funds through the Georgia Department of Education to local educational agencies (LEAs) and public schools with high numbers or percentages of poor children to help ensure that all children meet challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards.
School districts target the Title I, Part A funds they receive to public schools with the highest percentages of children from low-income families. These funds may be used for children from preschool aged to high school. Title I, Part A is designed to support State and local school reform efforts tied to challenging State academic standards in order to reinforce and enhance efforts to improve teaching and learning for students. Title I, Part A programs must be based on effective means of improving student achievement and include strategies to support parental involvement. All City Schools of Decatur (CSD) Title I schools serve students through Targeted Assistance Programs which help ensure that eligible children receive additional academic support to meet state performance standards.
Under Title I, Part A local educational agencies (LEAs) are required to provide services for eligible private school students, as well as eligible public school students. These services must be developed in consultation with officials of the private schools. The Title I services provided by the LEA for private school participants are designed to meet their educational needs and supplement the educational services provided by the private school.
School Leadership Team
For the 2020-2021 school year, no SLT member is rolling off the team. Each member was elected to either a two or three year term at the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year or was appointed to the SLT by the SLT members. Per Talley’s SLT bylaws, additional members may be appointed by the SLT to one year terms to balance feeder school representation and the diversity of the team. For the 2020-2021 school year, the members are:
Parent member (Chair): Sara Weathersby
Parent member: Meredith Parks
Parent member: Beth Krakow
Parent member: Rahim Snow
Parent member: Baoky Vu
Parent member: Mark Sanders
Parent member: Kanika Sims
Staff member: Julie Muhlhausen
Staff member: TBD
Principal: Billy Heaton
Wilson Center representative- TBD
Virtual School Tour
Social Media and Contact Information
Talley Street Upper Elementary School PTO
Talley Street Upper Elementary School Parents
For more about the Talley Street PTO, visit their website here: https://talleypto.org/