2006 Annual Report - Timberlane Regional School District

2006 Timberlane Regional School District Annual Reportdepartment is working to transform itscourse offerings into a standards-basedcurriculum. Faculty members are making allof these efforts in collaborative manner withtheir colleagues, so we have benefited fromthe November professional developmentworkshop day on Professional LearningCommunities. We have benefited too fromthe time allotted on Early Release Days,Professional Development Days, departmentmeeting and faculty meeting hours. No onecan give more than 100%, but it sureseems like people are working on an extracylinder this year.Communications – In 2005-2006 the highschool piloted on-line parental access tostudent daily attendance and grade reportsusing PowerSchool. Over two hundredfamilies took advantage of the opportunity.The benefits were so great that thisyear every high school parent wasprovided with a password and giventhe opportunity to get up-to-theminuteinformation. Down the line,parent access will be an expanded toinclude access to homework assignmentsand some assessment information, such asstudent progress in writing across thecurriculum. The teachers were trained inthe use of the 6+1 Writing Rubric as acommon assessment tool for all disciplinesand is currently using it to inform studentsof their degree of proficiency. OnPowerSchool, parents will be able to see therubric and the score in each assessedaspect of writing for each course. Inaddition, this year the high school usedAlert Now, an automated telephonemessaging service to inform parents ofattendance issues and to inform parents ofschool cancellations, unplanned earlydismissals and emergency information.Security – The high school has upgradedsecurity measures to the point that allstudents are expected to carry identificationcards and all teachers and visitors wherevisible identification badges. Betweenautomated locking outside doors, a schoolwidecamera system and a formal sign-inand “buzz in” process for all visitors, thehigh school enjoys a well-protectedenvironment.15