Edison Update 3-24-2016

Good Afternoon!

 

We hope everyone had some time to spend with family last week during Spring Break!  We are ready for our last push toward exciting year end activities.

 

Today in your child's Home and Back you will find a VERY IMPORTANT bright orange piece of paper.  This contains important information about our upcoming overnight field study on April 21st and 22nd.  We must have this form returned from every Edison by Monday, April 4th in order to make final plans for our trip.  Here is a link to the form: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9tK7eFBM-uPSjRHT0hKUjB5aXc/edit?usp=docslist_api&filetype=msword. As you can imagine, planning a trip of this magnitude requires us to make some strict deadlines.  This is one of them.  Although we know every Edison will attend, we need to know which parent (if any) will attend so we can plan accordingly.  A parent does not have to attend, we know it is hard to take off work and we totally understand.  We will have lots of adult chaperones who will help us take very good care of your child. :)  If you misplace the paper, one is attached.

 

You will notice in the dates below that the Edisons will be taking the OCCTs April 12, 13, 14, and 15.  These are the mandated state tests.  We have a tradition at Mayo to help put the kids at ease each morning that they test.  We ask parents (and other friends and family members) to write four notes (one for each day of testing) that the student gets to read before they test.  They LOVE hearing your encouraging words!  The notes do not have to be long...just something that will make your child smile and relax.  Please put each note in an envelope (or fold them) and label with your child's name and which day to give it to them (day 1, day 2, etc.)  If they are not date specific, just put their name on the outside.  We need these notes by Friday, April 8th so we have time to organize them in their testing folders.  Please keep this a secret from your child...we want them to be surprised!

 

 

Please see below the very important message regarding state funding for education from our Superintendent, Dr. Gist.  Please make every effort to take the survey and let your voice be heard.

 

Dear team,

 

I know that the state budget crisis is front of mind for all of us at TPS. As you know, we have estimated that our 2016-2017 budget reductions will be between $7 million and $20 million, and we are hearing now to plan toward the higher end of this range. With cuts of this magnitude, it is highly unlikely that we will be able to protect our students and teachers from feeling its impact.

 

The district leadership team and Board of Education are continuing to carefully evaluate every expense to determine how best to move forward. We have a great responsibility to the people of Tulsa, and thousands of families are relying on us to prepare their children to succeed in college, careers, and life. As part of our decision-making process, we are launching a city-wide survey to get feedback from our community members regarding their priorities as we manage such significant budget reductions.

 

As members of our team, your views on this issue are particularly important. You know first-hand how essential our services are and the meaningful difference they make for so many Tulsans every day. In addition to gathering feedback, this surveywill also help everyone in our community develop a better understanding of how the anticipated 2016-2017 reductions could change teaching and learning at Tulsa Public Schools. The survey also includes real-life examples of some of the options we may have to consider to offset the funding gap. The survey includes both English and Spanish options; you can select your preferred language before taking it.

 

Please share the survey link widely with your friends, family, and personal networks -we need to hear from everyone! We are collecting responses until 6:00pm on Wednesday, March 30^th. Visit this link to complete the survey: https://tulsaschools.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_9nRg5FH5fr4FTjn.

 

Thank you for all that you do - I am so grateful.

 

Best,

Deborah

 

Please make note of the following dates:

 

April 1 (Friday) - TPS Early Release day at 1:00 and Mayo Spirit Day

April 12 (Tuesday) - Edisons take OCCT Reading Part 1

April 13 (Wednesday) - Edisons take OCCT Reading Part 2

April 14 (Thursday) - Edisons take OCCT Math Part 1

April 15 (Friday) - Edisons take OCCT Math Part 2

April 21 and 22 (Thursday/Friday) - Edison Overnight

 

Thanks for keeping up to date!

 

The Edison Team