Mid-Term Phone Conferences
Dear Central Academy Students and families,
First semester 85% of grades issued at Central Academy were a B or higher! This strong showing is a testament to the hard work of students and teachers as we transitioned back to in-person learning. We know a full recovery will take time, but I am heartened by these early results.
Now, we are almost halfway through the second semester and teachers are posting in-progress grades. In-progress grades in skills-based classes like English, World Languages, and Social Sciences, can be deceptively lower now than they will be at the end of the semester as students build skills. If the topic of learning covers an entire semester, and we are only halfway through it, there is much more learning to be done to master the topic. In other subjects a topic is addressed in a single unit before going to the next topic.
We’ve been working to clarify our success criteria to specify expectations for each learning topic at the mid-point of the semester. But the pandemic slowed that work over the last two years as we have continually revised our curricula to match the changing and emerging needs of our students.
So, I’ve asked teachers to share with students and guardians the grade the student is on track to earn for the semester if they keep doing what they have been doing so far. Teachers can explain the next steps in learning for their students and the pathway to earning the grade students are shooting for.
PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES
Our Parent Teacher conferences will be held by phone on Tuesday, March 8 from 7 AM – 7 PM. These are designed to be short, scheduled conversations to check in with teachers. If you need a longer conversation, or if March 8 doesn’t work in your schedule, please email teachers directly. You can find all our teacher email addresses on our website: https://ca.dmschools.org/faculty/
Sign up for a time for teachers to call you. This 2:30 VIDEO from last fall explains how to use our system to book your conference.
Please note: Darci Kellen will be conducting conferences for Kristi Myers classes.
AP EXAM ORDERS: FINAL PAYMENT DUE
Final payment for AP Exam orders is due on March 4. However, RevTrak, the online portal for paying fees is currently down. Bookkeepers are still able to take credit card information over the phone. Please speak with your home school’s bookkeeper with questions about your AP exam fees. Central Academy handles AP exam fees for out of district students and others who do not attend one of the 6 DMPS high schools.
We still have time to make corrections and work out the fees even if we do not have everything resolved by March 4. AP Coordinators at home schools will be reaching out to students who still owe the week before spring break. Working together we can get these issues resolved.
REVTRAK IS DOWN
The link for School Fees payments is being removed from the district online payments webstore (https://dmps.revtrak.net). Families may view school fees due through the Campus Portal and pay school fees by cash, check, or credit card through your home school’s office manager or bookkeeper.
UPCOMING EVENTS
A reminder about upcoming events:
- MARCH 8: No DMPS classes K-12 on Tuesday. Juniors will be taking the ACT at their home schools.
- MARCH 8: High School Parent Teacher Conferences
- MARCH14 -22: No DMPS classes K-12. Spring break followed by professional development days for teachers.
- APRIL 10: Academy’s Senior Recognition Ceremony
- APRIL 22 & 25: No DMPS classes K-12 for teacher professional development