AHS Newsletter
Home of the Cougars
A Word from our Principal
Dear Affton Family:
Phase three of our remote learning begins today. All students should be checking in with all of their teachers to discuss what that looks like in each of their classes. Our number one goal is next level readiness. As a parent here are some guidelines to help support your students during this phase.
Review your student’s report card with them. Report cards went to the post office on Friday so if they haven’t made it to you as of yet, they should today. Any grades you are concerned about please reach out to the individual teacher to discuss. The grade is representative of performance from January through March 12. There are no grades entered since we have been at home.
Discuss your students engagement during the time from 3/13 through today. We called that “Enrichment”. Teachers put assignments or activities online by 9 am each day. Have they been in touch with the teachers? With all or just some? What review did they do of content that was taught from Jan-March?
Strongly encourage them to engage in the learning that will happen between now and May 29. It isn’t for a grade per se but it is for us to use to determine if they are ready for the next course in that content or if they will require some remediation in order to move on. They may ask you, “What does that mean?”. In some cases it may mean summer school, a curriculum camp (intensive study in the curriculum prior to the start of next year), or retaking a course all together. While we completely understand that there are extenuating circumstances and not all will be able to engage every day in every class, we also understand that moving them forward before they are ready just sets them up for an unsuccessful moment in the future. We have to partner to get them ready and unfortunately to be prepared that we may find ourselves in this situation again in the future. We can’t let this situation hold our kids back. They will have to dig deep for some intrinsic motivation, or they may need you to motivate them, but we do need to see them trying.
Reach out to the teachers if you need help understanding what is expected. They are ready for emails and are going to do their best to keep you in the loop. The counselors are a great resource as well as Dr. Langhans, Dr. Luecke and I! Please feel free to reach out at any time.
If your student has an F you will be hearing from us. We are working on the plans to support students to allow them to earn credit. These will be individualized plans so they will take a little time to get together. I will ask you to be patient for this intervention but know you will hear from the classroom teacher with a plan to support your learner.
Teachers may continue to post assignments daily or they may go to as low as once a week if it is a larger assignment. They are expected to have at least one check in with each class per week.
When I met with the teachers on Friday we called this a three step approach. We are freezing grades so I can send you report cards. We will support students in learning essential outcomes from the courses they have this semester in order to be ready for next year. And then we will have an appeal process available when we see the grades do not match what a student’s learning is. I told them to work on freeze and support for the time being. The appeal process will come into play over the next few weeks.
This is such an uncomfortable time for all of us. None of us have gone to school in a situation like this so we are looking at this as an opportunity to continue to get better at educating your students at a distance. Some moments will be much more smooth than others. The teachers are working so hard to figure out creative and engaging ways to keep the kids learning and to keep them feeling connected. It is not easy. Nothing about this situation is easy. Hang in there! I will continue to send information on the plan that will get more detailed as we move forward. I hope parceling it out allows everyone to process what is happening. So, in short, as of now the number one goal is for the kids to keep engaging with the teachers. They will be giving out specifics for each class.
As always I am thinking about you and hopeful that you are healthy. Don’t forget our COVID hotline (314) 633-5911 if you need any assistance.
Thank you,
Dr. Deann Myers
Affton Strong Tees: https://stlouistees.com/affton_strong/shop/home
Time is running out!
About Affton High School
Dr. Tim Luecke, assistant principal, grades 11&12
Dr. Jon Langhans, assistant principal, grades 9&10
Email: jlanghans@afftonschools.net
Website: http://ahs.afftonschools.net/
Location: 8309 MacKenzie Road, Affton, MO, USA
Phone: (314) 638-6330
Facebook: facebook.com/AfftonHighSchool
Twitter: @AfftonHS