School Board Report for OTES
June 2019
Kindergarten Screening June 2019
The Kindergarten Screening at OTES was very successful. We were able to meet 70 new kindergarten students over two days of screening. This is the largest number we have screened in two days at OTES in a long time. Usually, we have about 55 students to screen and over the summer we gain another 20 students and screen them throughout the summer months, but this year, we have a large number. Hopefully, we're able to "catch" them all now and have a good idea of the student population for the incoming Kindergarten Classrooms.
Attendance Matters
OTES Attendance Protocol
Note: We use the term “attendance” in most cases to refer to all absences as well as tardies
Teachers take attendance daily in Infinite Campus and note reason for absence if they have been informed
Secretary reviews daily attendance list and around 9:00 begins to call all families who have not contacted us about student absences
She notes her call, voicemail message etc.
She notes the reason for absence if informed
Attendance list with reasons is sent to a limited amount of staff including administration for a timely review
Keeps administration informed on a daily basis
Administration can try to contact families again if unexcused absences are a repeated issue
Administration can check with the nurse about medical issues
Administration can contact school resource officer for a safety check if needed
Assistant principal and school counselor meet weekly to review attendance and assistant principal conducts routine (approximately monthly) reviews of unexcused absences and tardies
Maintain a spreadsheet (see attached example) of attendance issues and
responses
Communicate with teachers, nurse, and support staff to get further student information
Contact families via phone or letter (see attached examples) about attendance concerns
Contact is made with families about attendance concerns according to this procedure
The administration will follow a three-tier intervention system in an attempt to correct chronic or excessive absenteeism:
Tier 1: Student crosses 10% threshold: phone/letter communication
Tier 2: Student crosses 20% threshold or remains above the 10% threshold for two consecutive months: second letter, parent meeting, parent survey, attendance contract
Tier 3: None of the above interventions work: third letter (certified), notification of authorities and/or DHHS
2018-2019 Data:
"Strive for 5" (9 or less absences/5%) 73%
Chronic Absences (10% or more) 7.5%
Excessive Absences (20% or more) .8%
Summer Professional Development
We have many teachers working throughout the summer on various activities to support their own professional development or working on school-wide goals to support school improvement. We are excited with the many projects and activities teachers are engaging in to develop best practices in their classrooms and to continually engage learners at the highest levels.
Summer Garden Opportunities for Students
We are excited to offer our students and community some activities involving our school garden over the summer months. We have a great parent supporter of the gardens and they are working to develop the summer programming to continue to expose the students to the value of gardening and promote a healthy connection to nature. We have chosen the 2nd Saturday of each month in the summer to offer summer programming to our students. Please follow our Facebook page for posting and information about upcoming events.
Upcoming Events at OTES
June 18: Last day at OTES ---Half Day, dismissal at 11 am
June 19 and 20: Fundations Training for all K-1 staff
June 21: 2nd Interviews for 5th Grade Teacher
June 24-28 Screening for PE teacher and interviews