December Newsletter

Dear Central Academy students and families,

My friends, I am filled with gratitude for our students, families, community, and teachers and staff.  Everyone has been working so earnestly, stepping in to help out in ways large and small so that DMPS students have opportunity and success!  Let’s make the most of these last few days before Winter Break.

ATTENDANCE CLERK

We are thrilled to announce that our new Attendance Clerk is up and running.  Many of you may have already met or spoken with Ms. Terri Kent.  If you have an absence to report or a correction to be made, you can reach Ms. Kent at terriann.kent@dmschools.org, 515-242-7653, or through Snap CNXT.

Ms. Kent retired earlier this year from an over 30-year career in healthcare.  In her office work she managed people and practices. She has been a leader with staff recruitment and training, worked in accounts payable, patient check-in and relationship management. She is detail oriented and values the team she works with. She is a DMPS graduate (Yay, Hoover!) and has grade school aged grandchildren she enjoys.  She has learned the complexities of attendance very quickly and is an excellent fit for our team and our school.  We are lucky to find someone with her skills and experience.

SNAP CNXT

The Central Academy connection to SNAP CNXT was made just this month.  Last week we trained teachers how to utilize the app to communicate with families and students.  Snap CNXT allows students, parents, teachers, and staff to message each other with embedded translation services.  It also has a post feature that is similar to social media but only posts to the people connected to our school. Most Academy students and families already have the app, but if you don’t, an invitation was emailed or texted to you using the information available in Infinite Campus.

If you are a parent AND a DMPS employee, you may need to have your Snap CNXT accounts merged.  Reach out to your Snap CNXT representative to merge your accounts.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

December 21– Last day of classes before winter break

December 22– Winter break begins

January 4– Classes resume

January 13– Last day of First Semester

January 16– MLK Observance, no classes

January 17– No classes, Teacher Professional Development

January 18– No classes, Teacher Professional Development; First semester grades are due from teachers.

January 19–First day of second semester classes,

OUR GOAL: SEMESTER GRADES OF B OR HIGHER

Our major goal is for students to earn a B or higher their Academy classes each semester. Students and teachers have been working hard all semester.  And this is the month when students’ scores really begin to shift upwards.  Their earlier attempts in the topics are being replaced with their newfound mastery of skills and concepts.  Interventions and reassessments are being evaluated and staff are racing to update topic scores as fast as they can go.  We were in a strong position just before Thanksgiving with more than 82% of in-progress grades at a B or higher and I’m excited to see the upward shift already has begun since we’ve been back.

This week is Teacher-Initiated Conferences. Teachers will be (or have been) reaching out to students and families with progress updates and information about next steps.  Teachers will be reaching out by email, phone, or on Snap CNXT.

There has been a long-standing rumor that if a student doesn’t earn a B or higher that they cannot return to the Academy second semester.  Frankly, that is just NOT TRUE.  We want students to stay with us and we will work just as hard as you do to ensure students are ready for the next level. There are a lot of good reasons capable students earn Cs or lower.  Keep in mind, second semester is a fresh start. So, if you had a rocky beginning to this school year, I urge you to squeeze out as much learning as you can in the last month and a half of this semester, even if you land short of the goal.  This way you’ll be in the strongest position possible to take advantage of the fresh start in January.

At the end of the second semester, if you still earn a D or F in a subject, you should take that subject at the normal pace at your home school.  But that would not preclude you from taking other accelerated subjects at Academy where you have done well.  If you end the spring semester with a C in a subject our counselors will conference with you about it before decisions are made about your fall schedule.   We want you to be successful.  And there is a lot of time between now and then to work through the barriers and difficulties together. Because at Academy we hold ourselves to the highest standards and support each other in our lowest moments.

CLAT

The Community Legislative Action Team (CLAT) had their first Coffee with Legislators this month.  This year we are advocating for the State Legislature to approve an increase in weighted funding in the Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program (SWVPP) for children living at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level.  The initiative will help both rural and urban public schools.  Learn more HERE.  Subscribe to CLAT emails or follow them on Facebook.

END OF YEAR DONATIONS

Thank you so much for your generous donations to our healthy snack room for students and staff.  The Puffs tissues have been especially helpful during this cold and flu season.

If you are looking to make an end-of-year monetary donation, consider our English Novels Fund.  Central Academy pays all or part of the cost of novels used in Academy English classes for students who receive free or reduced textbook fees. All donations to this fundraiser will go to offset those costs.

MATHLETES COMPETE!

All-academic individuals:

2nd Place Team:

MEDIATION RESULTS

We had 12 students compete in Iowa’s first-ever Mediation Tournament.  They did extremely well.  The results from our tournament were very close.  Two 3-person teams and our top alternate went on to the National Tournament where they earned a national championship, 3rd place, and several honorable mentions.

A special thank you goes to Molly Stagner, parent volunteer who spent two and half days helping us make our state tournament run smoothly.  Thank you to the National trainers and organizers, Mr. H. Case Ellis, Ms. Kathleen Ruane Leedy, Mr. Dick Calkins, and Mrs. Kathie Calkins Keys.  Local attorneys, advocates, and mediators also gave much of their time and expertise to coach and judge our tournament: Ms. Kelley Rice, Ms. Magda Reese, Mr. Mike Thompson, Mr. David Goldman, Ms. Kaitlyn Dudding ​(also coached a National team), Ms. Hannah Beach, Ms. Cassie Kinney, and Ms. Abra Nichols ​(coached a National Team).

• National Champion Mediator: Kathleen Loder
• National 3rd Place Advocate-Client Pair: Fardowsa Mohamed & Esra Noor
• National Honorable Mentions Mediators: Hannah Hayes and Trey Jackson
• National Honorable Mention Advocate-Client Pair: Hannah Hayes & Trey Jackson
• National Mediation Participants: Dairen Castro & Lizzea Wright

With gratitude,

Dr. Gogerty