1. education
2. english as a second language

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Middle School H
Staff
Alton School District
Welcome
● Introductions
● Purpose for Parent Information Meetings (PIM)
● Tonight’s Topic and Format
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● Provide acceleration and complexity of
learning to ensure a years worth of growth
for all students
● Same curriculum, only deeper and further
● Greater expectations for autonomy of work
outside class
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Think
High
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Low
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Think & Work
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Teacher
Work
Student
Work
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High
RELEVANCE
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Selection of students
Alignment of curriculum for enrichment
Review of classroom materials
Professional development for Honors
teachers
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Middl
How does my child get into the ELA Honors program at
Alton Middle School?
● English Language Arts:
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Student must be reading significantly above grade level on the SRI
assessment
Student must score above grade level on the district’s writing rubric
Student must score within the gifted range on the Teacher’s Referral
Inventory
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Middl
How does my child get into the Math Honors program at
Alton Middle School?
● Math:
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Student scores above average on the 5th grade End of the Year Math
Assessment
Student must score within the gifted range on the Teacher’s Referral
Inventory
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Honors Select
(Middle School)
May
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All 5th Grade students will take the SRI and the End of the Year Math
assessment
Assessment data will be analyzed
Teachers’ Referral Inventory will be sent to 5th grade classroom teachers
June
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Honors selection team looks at all data and students are selected
Parents will be notified by letter, by the end of June, if their child has
qualified for an honors program.
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a Student is Not
What happens if my child is not selected for an honors
class?
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Discuss with house assistant principal and teachers your interest in having
your child in honors offerings
Have on-going conversations with the classroom teacher about their
progression during the year and how you can help them exceed
After a semester if a student’s classroom grades, effort, and
classroom/district assessment scores are at the honors level, plus there is
available slots, they can be recommended for Honors placement(s)
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Alton
Goals for English Language Arts
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The District’s English Language Arts curriculum is aligned with the New
Illinois State Learning Standards for English Language Arts. It is designed
as well as developed to encourage the acceleration of a student’s
interpretation of literature, reading and writing skills and strategies as
well as the development of critical thinking skills.
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Alton
Goals for Mathematics
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The mathematics curriculum provides mathematical principles and
concepts that develop problem-solving opportunities through in-depth
study. The mathematics program is aligned with the New Illinois State
Learning Standards for Mathematics. The curriculum also takes into
account the eight Standards for Mathematical Practice which describes
how a student should approach mathematics.
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Instruction
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Academic Excellence
Critical Thinking / Problem Solving
Responsibility - Self-Directed
Creative Thinking and Expression
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To stress the acquisition and maintenance of basic academic skills and to
expand those skills, when appropriate, to meet individual student needs.
Honors Program Approach:
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Acquires basic skill knowledge quickly
Competent and accurate application of basic skills - independently
Possess a large storehouse of information that can be recalled quickly
Processes information in complex ways
Learns rapidly
Self-starter / Perseverance
Large focus on writing with revision and editing of written work
Great amount of independent reading
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To develop the skills necessary for reasoned thought and sound decisionmaking.
Honors Program Approach:
● Accept and incorporate multiple perspectives
● Arrange information logically
● Judge and defend the value of opposing ideas
● Inductive reasoning
● Deductive reasoning
● Open-ended discussions
● Problem based learning
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To foster an appreciation of their responsibility for their own conduct, as
well as their obligations to self, family, and society.
Honors Program Approach:
● Small group/committee work
● Acceptance of constructive criticism
● Involvement in class management
● Excellent work ethic
● Independent learning habits
● Connection to greater community
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eative Thinking
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To develop a way of looking at problems and situations from a fresh
perspective that suggest creative solutions.
Honors Program Approach:
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Independent thinker
Exhibits original thinking in both oral and written expression
Generates multiple solutions to a given problem
Highly engaged by creative tasks
Possesses and uses a large vocabulary
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Strives towards excellence
Needs little external motivation to follow through on work
An eye for important details
Reads a great deal
High level of written and oral communication
Able to use mental math
Perseverance - enjoys trying to solve difficult math problems
Precision - calculates effectively and communicates mathematical
language precisely
Maintains a C or better average in Honors classes
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Honors Ex
In the event a teacher or parent feels that a student participating in an
Honors Program would be better served in the general education curriculum,
the district has in place the Honors withdrawal procedure.
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Initial Concern - The teacher will contact the student’s parents at the first sign of a concern
Academic Probation - If student’s grades fall below the required level for the semester the
student will be placed on Academic Probation (letter sent home)
Exclusion - If the student’s grades continue to stay below the required level at the end of the
school year the student will be rescheduled into a non-honors class for the following school
year (letter sent home)
Parent Concerns - Contact the child’s teacher and assistant principal, fill out Withdrawal Form
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High School R
● Teacher recommendation filed with high school guidance
counselor
● Grade of an A or B in 8th grade English to be recommended
● Students should demonstrate a strong understanding of the
English language and have solid writing skills upon entering
freshman honors English
● Students should also demonstrate a dependable, selfregulating work ethic to allow for the pace and
expectations of the workload within the high school honors
program.
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Middle of April at AMS
60 questions in 60 minutes
No calculator
One predictor of students math
knowledge used to place them at AHS
along with their grades and 8th Grade
teacher recommendation
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● Students should demonstrate a dependable, self-regulating
work ethic to allow for the pace and expectations of the
workload within the high school honors program.
● Students have to be able to reason abstractly and
quantitatively.
● Students have to be able to explain verbally and in writing
how they arrived at their conclusions using mathematical
reasoning and arguments.
● Students need to be able to work in collaborative situations
to work through a variety of problems.
Next Steps
● Selection of diagnostic assessments
● Selection of enrichment resources
● Continued vertical articulation
conversations between elementary, middle
and high school
● Continue to review student selection
process
Thank You
Questions ?
Contact Information:
Steve Sandbothe
Russ Tepen
(Middle School Principal)
(High School Principal)
Cathy Elliott
- [email protected]
(High School Assistant Principal)
Laura Lauschke
Andrea Smith
Cindy Inman
- [email protected]
(High School Math Chair)
(High School English Chair)
(Curriculum Coordinator)
- [email protected]
[email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]