NFV News
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Welcome to December and the Holiday Season!
Iowa School Performance Profiles (New Report Card)
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is the replacement of No Child Left Behind from the Federal Department. Some of the important differences in the law are listed below. Your first reporting of NFV's ESSA status will come out on December 17th, and will eventually replace the Iowa Report Card. We will keep you all informed of our ESSA status as they are presented.
· ESSA requires all states to publish report cards reflecting the performance of the state schools and school districts. Iowa’s new report card is called Iowa School Performance Profiles.
· Report cards provide an overall view of school performance as well as more detailed information, making it easier for stakeholders to understand how each school is serving its students.
· The Iowa School Performance Profiles reflect the core measures that contribute to a school’s accountability determination. The data will be updated annually.
· Having access to clear and detailed information enables parents and other stakeholders to ask questions and better contribute to local conversations about school improvement.
· Educators, parents, and other stakeholders can use information in the Iowa School Performance Profiles to celebrate achievements, to pinpoint areas for improvement, and to ask questions.
· The Iowa School Performance Profiles are not the same as the Iowa School Report Card, launched in 2015 in response to a state legislative requirement. However, some overlap between the two exists, and the Iowa Department of Education will work to merge them in 2019. The goal is to have one report card that meets both state and federal requirements.
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
#NFVcares Harvest Dinner Volunteers
A JUUL smoking device
A report on vaping among teens from Scholastic
"JUUL WAS DESIGNED WITH SMOKERS IN MIND. "
A New Epidemic for Teenagers
Parents,
Please be aware of the new smoking trends among Teens. Vaping appears to be very popular with our youth. Flavored liquids are sold in many stores and can be inhaled as a vapor that is relatively odorless and easy to conceal. I have included a few links to reports on this trend below.
"JUUL WAS DESIGNED WITH SMOKERS IN MIND. " This is a statement from the company itself. JUUL is a Tobacco Company, backed by Marlboro, they are designed to deliver Nicotine, and develop a new generation of smokers. The devices are called ENDS (Electronic Nicotine Delivery System) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We have found potential cannibus use among students as they can also use the devices with CBD oils.
From the Surgeon General's Office:
- "The brain is the last organ in the human body to develop fully. Brain development continues until the early to mid-20s. Nicotine exposure during periods of significant brain development, such as adolescence, can disrupt the growth of brain circuits that control attention, learning, and susceptibility to addiction."
- "The effects of nicotine exposure during youth and young adulthood can be long-lasting and can include lower impulse control and mood disorders."
- "The nicotine in e-cigarettes and other tobacco products can prime young brains for addiction to other drugs, such as cocaine and methamphetamine."
A Philosophical Discussion
Apparently, there are many neighboring schools posting banner size photos of individual senior athletes in their athletic venues. We fielded a request by a few students and parents this fall to post the same in NFV facilities to honor those seniors for their accomplishments. Mr. Wolverton and I had a good discussion of this and we both agreed that a team first philosophy is more important than individual recognition. Our decision was no, we did not want to hang banners of individuals who happen to be a senior, but rather we'd like to focus on all participants on the team. That was not a popular decision with some seniors and their parents. The students presented a petition to us to discuss the issue so we met with the seniors Friday. They brought up some good questions, but we got off track some and really didn't have time to lay out our deeper reasoning involved with the decision.
Specifically, the Seniors brought a petition to us to "consider removing all boards recognizing individuals in the building" because of the stated team philosophy. This would include FFA state and national awardees, all-state football team members, wrestling state qualifiers, plus fine arts and academic honors. The reasoning was that "being a senior is an accomplishment not all students can achieve."
They are not wrong, achieving senior status is an accomplishment, but it is also something that the school district and the general public expect of every student. Completing the senior year and graduating, which occurs at a 91% rate in Iowa, is the greater accomplishment and we celebrate and honor that with senior awards night, graduation ceremonies, and other recognition each spring. To be fair, some of the seniors attending the meeting were not supporting the petition, so this discussion does not reflect the entire group, I want to make that clear.
Senior classes are always very influential in the high school setting. They are where everyone wants to be, palpably close to adulthood and the freedoms of adult citizens in our society, to choose their work, their college, and their pastimes every day. I often see the leadership of senior classes as setting the tone of the school. I think this class has done a wonderful job of that thus far, some more than others, but overall this class is highly respected.
This decision is not about them, but really about what is important in our school, what is worthy of special recognition in public spaces. Most of those names and faces you would see in our public spaces have been honored by other institutions. The presence of that photo or name is recognition of those honors. There are a few that are honors given by us, but that occurs at the completion of their High School career. The appropriate time to recognize those honors they have earned, we believe, is at the time of graduation, which we do.
Perhaps this is a good time to go to the teaching of Trevor Ragan and Train Ugly. In the concept of the Growth Mindset vs the Fixed Mindset, we praise the process, not the outcome. Going back to the statement in their petition, "being a senior is an accomplishment not all students can achieve." If any of us believe that, then we deny those students the experiences and challenges that creates improvement, growth, and true achievement. Our vision is to create Graduates that are well rounded, engaged citizens, impacting their world. That takes so much more than achieving senior status earning the title of Graduate. The learning processes and the skills they develop along the way is how they become well rounded, engaged, and impactful.
There is a video link below from Trevor Ragan that demonstrates the power of praising the process. I hope you find it enlightening.
North Fayette Valley Community Schools
Email: dwillhite@nfv.k12.ia.us
Website: nfvschools.com
Location: West Union, IA, USA
Phone: 562-422-3851
Twitter: @NFVtigerhawks