Thank You, Parent Teacher Conferences, Report Cards, and Resources on the Science of Reading11/1/2023
Good Afternoon AmPark Families, First, we would like to say a huge thank you to all of you who supported yesterday’s March of Dimes Wonderwalk and Costume Parade. Thanks to your generous donations we have raised over $720.00 for the March of Dimes! Wait… did you mean to donate but didn’t get around to it, and want to push that total even higher? Don’t worry because it’s not too late! Please be welcomed to continue to donate here on our AmPark Neighborhood School March of Dimes Team Page. Thank you also to everyone who braved the chilly morning air yesterday to take in our gorgeous student pumpkin projects and cheer on your children for the Wonderwalk parade! Thank you especially to our AmPark super PA parents who also helped to put out that beautiful display (and brought it back inside safely at the end of the day!). As a reminder, tomorrow, November 2nd, is a ½ day for students because of Parent Teacher Conferences. Students will all dismiss at 11:30am. There will be no after school programming either through Empire Fresh Start or Roads to Success. Please ensure that all students are picked up promptly by 11:30 as teachers will be moving quickly to get afternoon Parent Teacher Conferences started, with you! By now you should have received both a time slot and a Zoom link from your teachers to meet with them between 11:30am and 7:30pm. All conferences will be held remotely, via Zoom. Your child’s report card is available to you today through the NYCSA portal and your child’s account. Please reach out to the AmPark main office if you have any questions or issues with access. Finally, ahead of Parent Teacher Conferences tomorrow, and as you review your child’s report cards, we want to proactively speak to questions that many of you may have about our new ELA curriculum and reading instruction. As you know, AmPark has made a change in our ELA curriculum away from our augmented Teachers College Reading and Writing Units of study and toward Expeditionary Learning. We have made this shift responsively, alongside many NYC schools, to concerns that the TC Units were not sufficiently supportive of the development of children’s reading and writing skills because they are not based on the science of reading. Given this step away from TC and balanced literacy, please know that your child’s teachers will not be speaking to formerly used, alphabetical reading levels, but rather to the results of the skills based assessments and instruction that we are engaged in with Expeditionary Learning. If you are interested to read more about this NYC DOE-wide shift away from TC and toward curriculum, like Expeditionary Learning, which is steeped in the science of reading, please check out the following resources and articles: Amid Reading Wars, Teachers College Will Close a Star Professor’s Shop - The New York Times Sold a Story - podcast produced by American Public Media Want to Know More About the Science of Reading? - APM Reports Why More Schools are Embracing a New Science of Reading - PBS Thank you and see you virtually for Parent Teacher Conferences tomorrow!  Comments are closed.
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