please download our most recent annual report. - Alphonsus ...

LETTER FROM OUR PRINCIPAL
Dear AACA Family,
AACA seeks to provide a strong foundation for
intellectual, emotional, and spiritual development
and growth, while fostering a culture of student
ownership. Within our three pillars – academic
excellence, arts integration, and a caring Catholic
community – we thoughtfully engage students along
a continuum. In the early grades, the focus is on
laying the foundation – the roots – for the education
of the whole child, while offering opportunities
as appropriate for independence - the wings. As
students progress through middle school, we continue
to build the foundation while devoting increasing
time and resources to creating more opportunities
for independence.
Roots provide support and nourishment.
Wings encourage ownership and independence.
We work constantly to develop and refine our
pillars - and their foundational support, our program
of professional development for teachers – while
maintaining this essential balance of roots and
wings. This is how we grow as a school community.
For example, last year we introduced a Technology
Leadership Team, and this year we are launching
an Arts Council. These two groups will provide
leadership as well as fresh ideas and an infusion of
energy. With students, we continue to establish our
Executive Functions Program while developing our
structure for Digital Portfolios. Both these programs
are essential to the success of our academic and artsintegration
programs, as well as moving students
toward ownership and independence. We continue
to expand our arts options - adding band, workshops,
and after-school programs - as well as our bank of
arts-integration units.
This balance of roots and wings creates results.
AACA has seen tremendous growth in all metrics:
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
ENROLLMENT
FUNDRAISING AND DEVELOPMENT
GRADUATES TO COLLEGE PREP HIGH SCHOOLS
Indeed we are proud of these outcomes.
Simultaneously, we are careful to maintain
perspective on how we arrived at this success.
ACADEMIC
PERFORMANCE
ENROLLMENT
FUNDRAISING
& DEVELOPMENT
COLLABORATION
We have an incredible team of adults working
together on behalf of our students. In last year’s
annual report, we described our various partnerships
– DePaul, CAPE, Artists-in-Residence, parish,
parents, and community organizations. These
partners work closely with AACA leadership, faculty,
and staff to ensure our effectiveness in our mission.
PROGRESSION AND BALANCE
We thoughtfully and intentionally move students
along continuums within our programs. It is
important to carefully plan curriculum and all
aspects of an AACA education in stair step fashion,
requiring mastery of one step before moving on
to the next step. It is also imperative that along
these continuums, we strike a careful balance of
providing nourishment and support with fostering
independence and ownership. If we focus too much
on students developing strong tools but neglect to
give them opportunities to make choices in their
use, our students will never learn to take risks
and make wise choices. If we focus too much on
independence at the cost of neglecting the students’
knowledge base, students will be willing to function
independently but will lack a developed base to
inform their choices.
PRIORITIES
While our metrics inform our work, our focus
remains on our pillars. If we pour our energy
into test preparation and filling our seats, we
will see short-lived results. Our commitment to
educating the whole child is a commitment to
sustained learning for the child and sustained
growth for the AACA community. Our job is to
constantly develop our three pillars – the growth
in educational and financial outcomes will follow
as a result of this work.
Once again, we celebrate our accomplishments,
and acknowledge the work ahead. Thank you for
supporting our work of giving all our students
both roots and wings.
Dr. Megan Stanton-Anderson
Principal, Alphonsus Academy & Center for the Arts
GRADUATES TO COLLEGE
PREP HIGH SCHOOLS
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