Academy April Newsletter
Dear Central Academy students and families,
On Sunday we celebrated our Seniors with a return to our in-person tradition. It was so wonderful to come together in collective awe of our amazing class of 2022! If you would like to watch the ceremony you can find it on our YouTube Channel. https://tinyurl.com/CASeniors2022. Seniors who were not able to attend will receive their certificate(s) and program this week. We hope to have everything distributed by Friday.
ISASP Testing and Academy Schedules
Next week DMPS High School will be giving the required Iowa State Assessment of Student Progress (ISASP) to 9th – 11th grade students on Wednesday and Thursday mornings (April 20 and 21). Because high school teachers at the neighborhood schools will be administering the exams, they will not have regular classes for 12th graders. HOWEVER, Academy teachers will not be administering the ISASP exams, so we WILL have classes with our seniors as usual on April 20 and 21. (We don’t want to miss a minute with our seniors!) Academy 9th – 11th students taking exams will be excused from classes at Academy.
We will run our normal block schedule in the afternoons of ISASP test days for all students.
Middle schools are giving their ISASP tests at various times starting next week. So, we are not able to align our schedule with all the middle school schedules (we serve 12 DMPS middle schools). Middle school students will continue to have their normal Academy classes at the normal times during ISASP testing. If their school schedules exams during Academy class times, the schools will schedule special test sessions for their Academy students.
APRIL BREAK:
There are no classes on April 22 and 25 (Friday and Monday).
The end of next week marks the half-way point of the 4th quarter. Students and staff will have Friday, April 22, off. On Monday, April 25, we will not have classes because staff will attend professional development.
AP EXAMS:
Advanced Placement exams occur during the first 2 weeks of May (May 2 – May 13). Students can find their test schedule (date, times, and locations) by logging into their College Board account at myap.collegeboard.org. Learn about the College Board’s Exam policies: apstudents.collegeboard.org/exam-policies-guidelines
Remember, AP exams are low-stakes tests. Colleges have a favorable view of students who take AP classes in High School. They are even more impressed by students who take the AP exam– no matter their score. Your scores can only be used to your advantage (scholarships, college credit, special opportunities, etc.). They can never be used against you for college admission or scholarships. Even if you score a 1 or 2, it still counts in your favor simply because you took the exam. Students who earn a score of 3, 4, or 5 may qualify for College Credit depending on the college or university they attend.
Build your Confidence for AP exams with 6 steps. And use College Board’s free resources to help you review.
CLAT: Community Legislative Action Team
The Community Legislative Action Team (CLAT) needs your help! Our schools and our students need your help. As many of you know, the legislature is still debating the issue of school vouchers. There is strong pressure coming from the Governor’s office to pass this initiative before the close of the session.
Help us push back! Contact your House Representative and tell them to vote NO on vouchers. Find your Representative here
Remind your legislator that:
Public dollars should be used for public schools. Period. The public’s investment should be used to support public community schools which are open to all students regardless of race, religion, gender, socio-economic status and disability, not for a new entitlement program for parents who choose private education.
Public funds require public accountability and transparency. Public schools are overseen by a publicly elected citizen governing board, are required to report academic results to the general public, have an annual public financial audit, and be transparent with all expenditures and decision-making. Private and religious schools are not held to that same public standard. Taxpayers have a right to know how their funds are being used, but are left in the dark about the use and impact of voucher funds.
This legislation is a slippery slope toward a costly and expansive voucher program: This voucher program may start small, but as we’ve seen in other states, once a program is established, it is easy to expand. This will pull more resources away from public school students.
Thank you for your continued support. We can do this!
-CLAT Leadership Team
Stay in Touch.
Visit: CLAT.dmschools.org
Facebook: @DMCLAT
Email: dmpsclat@gmail.com