N O V E M B E R
1 4 - 2 5 , 2 0 1 6
El Semanario
Edison Language Academy – Together Through Two Languages (310) 828-0335 www.edison.smmusd.org
ANNOUNCEMENTS SITE COUNCIL NOMINATIONS – Enclosed with this week’s Wednesday packet is a ballot to vote for two parent positions on the Edison Site Council. Nomination forms went out the first week of November and were due November 9. To vote for one of the nominees, return your completed ballot by November 30.
PARENT CHORUS -- Come and lift your voice in song – in Spanish and English! Meet some other Edison families and learn more about the cultures of the Americas by learning some great love songs in Spanish and English! No expertise necessary! As a Community Integration initiative, our PTA is piloting this Parent Chorus, giving Edison families the opportunity to work with our wonderful Spanish Music Teacher Jacqueline Fuentes and learn language and culture together through song. Fridays from 8:30-9:30 am November 18 through February 17. Linger a little on Friday mornings and start your day with a song and a smile! Meet in Room 109.
CONGRATULATIONS SCHOOL SMARTS GRADUATES! Congratulations to our twenty-one 201617 School Smarts Academy Graduates! These parents have been developing their “smarts” about schools and learning how to be more effective advocates for children. School Smarts is also a leadership development program. We hope to see many of these wonderful parent graduates taking their places as Edison leaders in future months and years. Thanks to Yoly Gutierrez for coordinating the program and to the different Edison and District staff who have served as guest speakers.
FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK: REFLECTIONS ON A BLUE RIBBON Last week Spanish Reading Teacher John Ellis and I traveled to Washington DC to attend the National Blue Ribbon Schools Ceremony. The California State Department of Education nominated Edison last spring as a high performing school and we were invited to apply for the National Blue Ribbon award. With support from former Superintendent Sandra Lyon and our Board of Education, Aileen Salmaggi (Literacy Coach), Elizabeth Ipiña (ELD Coach and Intervention Teacher), and I wrote the application. We detailed our dual language and arts-enhanced curriculum We explained our research-based instructional strategies, and shared strategies for professional development, collaboration, assessment, and parent engagement. After reviewing our application and test scores, the U.S. Department of Education chose Edison as one of only 279 public schools and 50 private institutions across the country this year to receive a National Blue Ribbon and honored us as a High Performing School! With this award we become one of only .5% of all US schools to be so recognized and we are now the third of SMMUSD’s Blue Ribbon schools -- joining Will Rogers Learning Community (1996-97) and Lincoln Middle School (1999-2000). What the very diverse collection of Blue Ribbon Schools seem to share is an intentional use of best practices and a culture of continuous improvement. Blue Ribbon schools use student achievement data to refine instruction, have a problemsolving orientation that includes thinking outside the box, and have an ability to hyperfocus on what their school is capable of becoming. One speaker described this ability to “hypersee” as akin to Michelangelo’s assertion that he could see the statue inside the block of marble and that his job as a sculptor was to remove the parts of the marble that obstructed the view of the statue within. That resonated with us. We tend to see our students as future young adults attending college and upon graduation using their skills in both languages to unlock doors of opportunity for themselves and for others. And we’ve long seen our school as special community that could and should be an example of how dual immersion can close achievement gaps. Our achievement scores (overall and by subgroup) place us among the top scoring California public schools. All of our subgroups score at or above the level of the same subgroups within our high performing school district. Not only do Latino, low-income, and English learner students typically do better at Edison, but so do English speaking White students when compared to similar students districtwide. We still have work to do to finish closing achievement gaps, but we have a good road map of how to do so and the commitment to keep working toward that end. We returned home so very proud of our community, faculty, staff, parents, and students for what has been accomplished so far. And we returned energized to keep working so every Edison student succeeds. We’re planning a celebration in December. Stay tuned for details and come celebrate with us! November 16 PTA Association Meeting – 8:30 am
Wednesday, November 23 Is a Minimum Day.
November 24-25 Thanksgiving Holidays No School