“The best way to predict your future is to create it” – Abraham Lincoln. Our goal and purpose at Alex High Schools is to prepare students to be successful not only now but also as they transition into the next stages of their lives. Appreciating President Lincoln’s statement APS has many programs geared towards CREATING SUCCESS for our students. Success is an individual vision for each student and we want to provide the necessary support for every child.
Parent Student Success Meetings have been held for all grades 8th-12th. Ms. Byrne presented a variety of topics relevant to each grade level and passed out packets to everyone in attendance with individualized information. There is a strong correlation between parental involvement and student success. Great Job, Senior Class Parents had the highest participation rate at 60%. Watch for dates for the second semester Parent Student Success Meetings. Grade 5th-7th joined in with the Elementary Parent University Night to meet the teachers, view the classrooms, and learn about procedures in the high school building.
The most consistent cause of student struggles has been assignments not being turned in to the teacher. Alex High School has implemented a ZAP Program to solicit parents help in keeping students on top of missing work. When assignments are due the teacher inventories the papers and notifies the office of students who have not turned in work. Mr. Byrne then makes contact with the parent through phone or email to make sure the parent is aware of the situation. This will often happen before the teacher enters the grades into the Wengage Gradebook System. The purpose is to assist the student in completing the work and submitting it as soon as possible. Teachers are at school at 7:45 am and students may enter the building through the main entrance for help at this time. Ms. Minton has an afterschool program everyday beginning at 3:30, where she will tutor students until 4:20.
Before you can map out where you are going you must first determine your current location. The 5th-11th grades have completed the first round of benchmark test. STAR Tests are used to monitor student reading and math levels in grades 5-7. Alex Schools purchased CERT for Schools, a benchmarking product geared towards the ACT Test. All 8th–11th grade students have completed the first cumulative test. Teachers use information from STAR and CERT to direct classroom instruction and identify individual student strengths and deficiencies.
Alex Public Schools takes pride in the success our students have had on the state mandated test. APS students are out performing the state averages repeatedly. Some of the middle school students this last spring were three times more successful than the state average. Great job students, teachers, and parents. It takes everyone working together to produce success on that level.
Reading is a cornerstone to a students’ success on standardized test and overall academic achievement. To encourage students to read AHS will be adding new books to the library each month this school year. Please have students make suggestions about books of interest.
Alex Public Schools is blessed to have an amazing staff who cares for our students, school, and community. My interactions with administrators from other districts reinforces my beliefs that our students are fine young people with bright futures. Through Parent Student Success, ZAP, Benchmark testing, new books, and more Alex Public Schools wants to work with parents and students to CREATE SUCCESS for all of our students.
Sincerely,
Douglas C. Tolson
Alex High School Principal