Happy New Year!
We Pause to Celebrate, But The Best Is Yet to Come.
TCS Family,
Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed the holidays with your friends and family. I also hope you are as excited and ready to see our students return next week as I am.
I write this communication with one purpose, to THANK YOU for your work in moving the TCS from a C to a B on the State Report Card.
When you look at our system, we have no schools with an F. We have 5 schools with an A, 3 schools with a B, 8 schools with a C, and 3 schools with a D. While we are still far from where we need to be on student outcomes, we have taken a solid step in a positive direction because of your efforts.
Here is what we are proud of in this year's report card:
- The TCS earned 92% of the total possible points in Focus on Growth.
- The TCS earned 87% of the total possible points in Attendance.
- The TCS earned 91% of the total possible points in the Graduation Rate.
Strong and positive growth for every child and every school is a must. Each and every student must grow by at least one year for each year in our system. To get 92% of the total points tells us that our students are growing academically. While not yet at proficiency, which is our ultimate goal, we are showing progress to get there.
Yes, we should take a moment to celebrate this progress, but it is just that, progress. We are still a distance from our final destination which is success for each and every student we serve. Our goal is to make sure we get 100% of our students proficient and on grade level each and every year. Also remember, there are many other ways to evaluate our work that a report card and a letter grade do not reflect. We must continue to make sure each and every child is loved and cared for by the adults who serve them; that all students have the social and emotional needs met while at school; that students identify school as a loving, safe, and caring place; that students are involved in extra-curricular activities; that our students take part in IB/AP/dual enrollment courses; and that all students learn the skills to be highly successful in their future careers.
Our ultimate aspiration is not an A on the report card, but that all students have the skills we identify in our TCS Graduate profile and that we have laid out in our TCS vision and mission. But, this report card grade is one milestone on the path to success and you deserve the appreciation.
Your hard work, sweat, and stress are paying off. You are making a difference in the lives of our students.
As we return in January, we have 90 more days to positively impact our 10,651 students. I call on all of us to remain relentless in our pursuit of student success. We must prepare for and be intentional about each and every minute we have with our students. We must continue to make sure each student in our system is loved and cared for by you and every one of our colleagues. Our students deserve your most amazing work and self each and every day.
This report card affirms that our children, all of them, are capable of learning at high levels. It is our belief in them, our high expectations for all of them, and our strong teaching and learning that will get this system to where it belongs as a premier school system where each and every student is highly successful.
Your efforts are paying off, let's keep this going.
I thank you and believe in you. Please continue to be amazing!
Mike Daria, Ed.D
Superintendent