We all begin to prepare in earnest for the coming school year once the calendar turns to August. For us at Applewild, that includes continued summer professional development, planning and scheduling, completing facilities projects, and the regular major cleaning and painting that commence after the last week of camp. For families, whether this will be your first year with us or a 12^th return (or perhaps even more!), there is for many grade levels the summer reading to complete, the math packet, and the enclosed obligatory forms to fill out and return. 

 

Maximum Re-accreditation Achieved

While we take time to prepare for the future, I also want to share some good news left over from last year.  We have received our maximum seven-year re-accreditation from AISNE. After a school’s year long self-study and four day AISNE visit, many of you will remember that the AISNE Accreditation Committee issues a report and asks schools to submit an "Action Plan" in response. This is often based very closely on a school's self-study, and the report and our Action Plan certainly aligned well with our self-study.

 

After the Action Plan is submitted, schools are eligible to receive preliminary re-accreditation for up to three years. Not surprisingly, we were accorded that maximum through 2009-2010. At the three year mark, schools report on the progress to date and receive a brief AISNE revisit. After that visit the Accreditation Committee reviews the Chair's progress report and can continue the accreditation for up to a maximum of seven years, with a total of ten, therefore, between self-studies.

 

I am pleased to report that at the June Accreditation Committee meeting, Applewild received full re-accreditation for the maximum seven year period. This response indicates the degree of confidence that AISNE has in our program and our responses to the challenges that all schools are facing in what Ben Bernanke calls "unusual uncertainty." The quality of program and instruction, of relationships between faculty and students, the climate of respect, the partnership with parents, and the power of teachers knowing each student well are absolutely certain at Applewild.

 

Professional Development

I am always impressed by the initiative and professionalism of our faculty and administrators, which I reported on in early July. Not only did several take specific course work over the summer, many also collaborated with colleagues, both considering new approaches or refining existing material. The focus of the collaborative efforts has been on learning to use a new mathematics approach called “Digiblocks” in K – 3, enhancing our approach to problem solving in mathematics K - 9, refining our use of technology and particularly Activ Boards, and considering how to differentiate, and whether that is appropriate for assessments, in Upper School. In addition, a number of faculty, assisted by our maintenance staff and our Division Heads, have been moving furniture and cleaning rooms in preparation for the fall. When you visit for Open House on September second (3:00), you will see familiar faces in some unfamiliar places! You can read more in my attached “New Personnel and Changes.”

 

I also look forward to the insights that faculty and staff will bring to our discussion of The Third Teacher, which all personnel are reading this summer. We also have a summer math problem to solve and discuss. We do our summer reading and math, too!

 

Enclosures

You will find several important items in the August mailing. Please read through them with care and act promptly on any that require your immediate attention. We do rely on web and email communication as a general rule, but we still need the forms in hard copy.

• New personnel introductions and changes in responsibilities
• The 2010 – 2011 Family Handbook
• Extended Day letter and Contract
• Letter from the nurses
• Division Specific Information
• Other forms that require your attention and prompt return

Note in the Handbook that we have included a draft of a new anti-bullying policy for parent comment. The state of Massachusetts has legislated such a policy be adopted by the end of the coming year, and part of the mandated protocol is to assure parent notification of the proposed policy and invite comment. Since we emphasize respectful behavior and already have anti-harassment and anti-hazing policies, we already take a clear stand against bullying. As you will see, our proposed policy is modeled on our anti-harassment policy. This letter is my formal notification of the policy and invitation for comment. If you have thoughts about the policy, please send me an email. The Board will approve a final draft during the coming school year.

 

Note also in the Handbook that due to lack of interest last year we will not continue our experiment with “Before Care” this year, so this section of the Handbook has been removed. There has also been a tweak to the Lower School dress code. As announced last August, last year was the final year for the pictorial calendar. Please use the calendar on the web. That is regularly up-dated and eliminates the confusion that we have occasionally experienced in the past.

 

Finally, communication in our essential school – parent partnership takes effort and attention, not to mention the assumption always of good will. Communication includes attending to important Parent Association activities. If your family would benefit from hard copy E-velope mailings in the coming year, simply send Jeanne May a note requesting hard copy. We email the E-velope mid-afternoon on Fridays with brief descriptions of each item and a link to each. All articles are also posted to our web site each Friday. The hard copy would come home “pony express” with your youngest student at the end of the day Friday. Most families prefer the electronic version, but you might want to include all parents/guardians on the email list, as appropriate. Formal grades and comments (and communications from the Business Office) are sent “snail mail.”

 

Even as we turn our thoughts to the start of school, be sure to enjoy the remainder of the “summer clock,” more relaxed schedule. I was talking with a student the other day who marveled at the number of fireflies she had seen on a recent visit out of state. That kind of unstructured discovery is one of the wonderful gifts of summer.