Ms. Debbie Garrison
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Dear Parents,
Every year a Quality of Education Parent Survey is sent out to our parent community in the spring. Last year’s survey results are as follows: Percentage that agreed Statement or strongly agreed 1. My child is safe in school. 90.8% 2. My child’s school building is in good repair and has sufficient space to support quality education. 88.9% 3. My child’s school holds high expectations for academic achievement. 93.9% 4. School personnel encourage me to participate in my child’s education. 93.2% 5. The school offers adequate access to up-to-date computers & technologies. 80.4% 6. School staff maintains consistent discipline which is conducive to learning. 92.1% 7. My child has an adequate choice of school-sponsored extracurricular activities. 68.7% 8. My child’s teacher provides sufficient and appropriate information regarding his academic progress. 95.7% 9. The school staff employs various instructional methods & strategies to meet his needs. 88.3% 10. My child takes responsibility for his learning. 92.6% 11. I prefer this survey be available on-line through the internet. 46.4% 12. APS goals for high achievement, low dropout, and better business practices result in improvements that benefit education 69.3% 13. APS provides sufficient opportunity for parent engagement and communication. 84.6% 14. Over the last year I have seen improvements in my school that benefit my child. 71.2% 15. I support the board decision to make money flexible so schools and their communities can decide how to best use the funds. 87.7% .
Parents feel that Mitchell teachers provide sufficient information regarding student progress. They also believe that students are held to high expectations by the school. Many think they are encouraged to participate in their child’s education. Parents also appear pleased with the consistency of school discipline and feel it is conducive to learning. Parent perception is that our students take responsibility for their learning. A large majority is of the opinion that their children are safe at school.
Aside from the fact that our respondents preferred not to have the survey be available on-line, our lowest percentage score dealt with school-sponsored extracurricular activities. It is an area that we as a school have also felt we should augment. In addition, fewer parents feel they have seen school improvements in the past year that benefit their children. In fact, they appear to feel less sure that APS goals are benefiting education.
The results of this survey will provide useful data as our leadership team works to establish future goals and objectives for Mitchell Elementary. We have also kept the comments that were written in the survey by parents who wanted to include more specific information. Thank you for the time and effort you took to respond to the survey. We will put it to good use.
Raquel Reedy Principal
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May 2012
Dear Mustang Families,
I can’t believe this school year is almost over! It seemed like just yesterday we were kicking off a new school year and welcoming our new Kindergarteners.
The end of the school year always seems to arrive too quickly. The thoughts of end-of-the-year festivities, summer, and outside activities sometimes can distract us from what’s most important. Please continue to encourage your child to finish the year strong by putting forth their best effort everyday.
I want to say a special thank you to all our volunteers this past year. You have helped make a difference in the lives of our students!
Our staff would like to extend a special thank you to the PTO. We will be able purchase lots of wonderful and useful things for the students to use in the classrooms and continue to provide guest speakers and field trips next year because of the money raised this year by you, our AMAZING FAMILIES, and the work of our AMAZING PTO. I encourage everyone to attend the PTO meeting scheduled for May 1st at 6:00. The PTO will be voting on the new board for the 2012-2013 school year, planning activities for next year, and I will present our 2012-2013 budget.
I would like to wish our fifth graders the best of luck in middle school. I know they will represent Mitchell Elementary School well, no matter what school they attend in the fall. We will all miss their energy, spirit, and leadership.
Parents often ask how they can help their students stay involved in learning over the summer months. There are a number of activities available, and many of them are free or low-cost. The New Mexico Kids! Family Magazine is an excellent resource, and can be found at local grocery stores and restaurants. The May/June 2012 issue will be out soon and spotlights summer opportunities. Most importantly, don’t forget to just spend time reading and writing with your children this summer. Take them to the library, buy them notebooks to record their thoughts or journal during family vacations, and encourage them to read, read, read, and then to read some more.
Thank you to our dedicated and loving staff for helping our children learn, grow, and mature not only in academics but also as good citizens. This year we are saying goodbye to Barbara Corneliusen, one of our dedicated Educational Assistants. Barb will be retiring and traveling with her husband. I know there are many families that will be saying goodbye to Mitchell this year, as students move onto middle school. We wish you great success in the future.
Please be sure to keep an eye on our marquee, the Mitchell website
(www.aps.edu/aps/mitchell/index.html),and the Mitchell PTO website (www.MitchellPTO.org) for important dates and other information regarding next school year.For those families that will be returning, I look forward to seeing you and your children this fall, full of energy and ready for a brand new school year. I wish you all a relaxing and safe summer.
Debbie Garrison
Principal
Help Your Kids Do Well in School This Year
Studies show that kids whose parents are involved in their education have better grades, a better attitude toward school, and more appropriate school behavior than those with less involved parents.
Show your interest in school by monitoring assignments. Check your child’s binder and/or agenda daily, and look over completed work.
Help your child get organized.
Read to your child, have him read to you, or read silently together every day.
Keep in contact with your child’s teacher and work together for your child’s success.
If your child should become ill or get injured at school,
requiring the health room to call you, please respond
promptly. It is not fair to your child, the health room
staff, or the rest of the school for your sick or injured
child to spend hours waiting for you.
TARDIES
Please work to get your child to school on time. Did you know that every day more than 20 kids are late to class? Did you know that last year more than 2% of our students were habitually late? Let’s work together to improve that statistic. Make sure your child arrives on campus with enough time to get to class by 7:55 a.m. Thanks!