Dear ACE Team,

This week's issue is filled with celebrations! We have shown growth and positive trends with not only ACPs, but also discipline, attendance, climate. With each achievement we are proving that struggling schools can achieve with the right people and resources.

I want to thank Trustee Blackburn for his newsletter, a reminder of Dr. King's dream and encouragement to reflect on our own dreams. My dream is that our collective work will positively impact hundreds of children by closing the achievement gap and opening doors to all of the best things in life. Doors to college, doors to careers with solid, living wages and doors to futures of fulfillment, purpose and happiness. Teachers in our ACE schools are vital to this dream.

I have always believed that effective teachers make the most difference in student academic achievement and our ACE journey has dramatically reinforced this belief. I also know that teachers cannot have the maximum impact when working alone. Their work is enhanced by strong leaders and healthy, inspiring schools. As you review the many data celebrations included in this week’s newsletter, please remember that this is mid year data. There is still time for each of our seven schools to excel by preparing students to meet STAAR requirements and achieve growth in all areas.

Please stay the course and find support with colleagues. For schools struggling in one or more areas, I urge you to engage in group problem-solving at your school. Let's be reflective, collaborative and innovative. Let’s fight for our dreams for our children.

Thank you for your perseverance and dedication.

Sincerely,

Jolee Healey

Congratulations to five of our seven schools for showing strong progress with climate data. Special recognition to Dade MS for leading the way with all categories in the 5th quintile. What a turnaround!! Please see obstacles as opportunities. The survey will be given again in the spring to provide an opportunity for all schools to share celebration and growth! Please remember that everyone matters when it comes to climate. Share your needs and ideas and strive to be part of the solution --- positive climate takes the whole team to build.

Click here to access the ACP Growth spreadsheet that was shared in last week's newsletter.

“Having a positive mindset in math may do more than just help students feel more confident about their skills and more willing to keep trying when they fail,” reports Sarah Sparks in this article in Education Week. “It may prime their brains to think better.”

The emotion and thought structures in the brain are totally entwined, totally docked in the brain," she said. She has found the cognitive habits often associated with a fixed mindset—like focusing on grades or considering errors a threat to your identity—can make the brain react emotionally to the wrong things during learning.

Lang Chen and his colleagues studied elementary students’ brains with fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) and found that those with a “growth” mindset about math did better at spotting correct and incorrect math problems than those with a “fixed” mindset, even after controlling for differences in IQ, age, working memory, reading level, and math anxiety.

Click here to read more.

"The moment we believe that success is determined by an ingrained level of ability as opposed to resilience and hard work, we will be brittle in the face of adversity."

Joshua Waitzkin

Watch the the video below to see how your praise can encourage fixed mind sets vs. growth mindsets in students.