High School Newsletters in Marion CountyFL August 2014

This is shaping up to be an interesting year.  By the time our students get to high school, we expect them to have learned how to stay on top of things  -  Be timely with their assignments.  We have already reviewed the elementary and middle schools websites for current newsletters and I admit, I was expecting more from the high schools.

Well, we in Marion County FL are consistent.

How is ANY of this acceptable?



Belleview - May / June 2014 issue

Dunnellon - "The page cannot be found"

Forest - May 2014 issue

Lake Weir - "The page cannot be found"

Marion Technical Institute - May / June 2014 issue

North Marion - May / June 2013 issue

Vanguard - File did not load.

West Port - There is no newsletter linked on the site.

Middle School Newsletters in Marion County FL August 2014

School started August 18 and the first week is over.  We are looking at the school websites for current newsletters. 

There are 8 middle schools listed on the MCPS School Directory.

ONE of these 8, Fort McCoy, has a current {August 2014} newsletter linked. KUDOS Principal Michael Hearn.

Three of the 8 have newsletters dated sometime earlier in 2014.

Two of the 8 haven't updated a newsletter since sometime in 2013

Two had technical difficulties.

Belleview  - File did not load

Dunnellon - May / June 2014 issue

Fort King "The page cannot be found"

Fort McCoy  - CURRENT AUGUST 2014

Horizon - February [Presumed] 2014 issue

Howard - This newsletter is not dated but mentions yearbooks on sale through April 1, 2013

Lake Weir - January 2013 issue

Liberty "Newsletter coming soon"

North Marion - December 2013 issue


Osceola - July 2014 issue linked in the text on the main page.

Elementary School Newsletters in Marion County FL August 2014

Teachers reported for work August 12, 2014 and students returned August 18, 2014. School has been open a week. Let's take a look at the elementary school newsletters as of August 23, 2014. 

To find a school newsletter, we go to the school website and look under the About Us section for newsletter. Sometimes is is found under News & Events or Parent Information.

OVERVIEW:  There are 32 schools linked under Elementary Schools at the MCPS School Directory, and one week into the new school year - 7 calendar days before the end of the first month :

TWO of these 32 schools have an August 2014 newsletter posted. [6.25%]

KUDOS Principal Michael Hearn at Fort McCoy and  Principal Kendra Hamby at Madison Street Academy.

An additional 14 of these 32 schools have a newsletter dated some time in 2014. January, February, May, June, etc.  Two of these have a month but no year posted on the newsletter.  We gave them the benefit of the doubt and called it 2014. [43.75%]

3 of the schools have newsletters dated for sometime in 2013.

12 of these 32 schools either have no link at all or the link leads to an error message.  [37.5%]

One apparently hasn't had anything newsworthy happen {Not even getting a new principal was newsworthy enough to update a newsletter} since 2010.

Anthony Elementary "Keep checking back. Our newsletter for the new school year will be up soon!"

Belleview Elementary May /June 2014 issue

Belleview-Santos -    nothing comes up

College Park  - "The page cannot be found"

Dr. NH Jones - May 8, 2014 issue

Dunnellon - There is no newsletter link on the site. There is a section called "News" however, with the most recent article posted July 17, 2011. Yes over 4 years ago.  Even those of us without masters degrees would know that this is not news, but history.

East Marion - April 1, 2014 issue

Eighth Street - January February issue.  Could be 2014

Emerald Shores - There is no newsletter link on the site.  There is a section called "News" however, with the most recent article posted October 1, 2013.  

Evergreen "Evergreen Elementary School Newsletter will be posted soon."

Fessenden - The page cannot be found

FORT MCCOY - This one is found under Parent Info AND also under FMS News... Y'all - IT'S CURRENT!  LOOK!

An actual, honest to goodness August 2014 newsletter! 

KUDOS Principal Michael Hearn.

We only had to visit 12 school sites to find one.  2014/2015 is off to a tremendous start.

Greenway - There is no newsletter link on the site.  If we scroll to the very bottom of the main page there is a sort of news area with links which lead to the most recent article from April 3, 2012

Hammett Bowen - February 2014 issue

Harbour View - May / June 2014 issue

Horizon Academy - This one is found under "Classroom News" in the News & Events section.  It is dated February.  Could be February 2014. 

Legacy - There is no newsletter link on the site.

Madison Street Academy - CURRENT!  August 2014 Newsletter 

KUDOS Principal Kendra Hamby

Maplewood - May 2014 issue

Marion Oaks - There is no newsletter link on the site. News and archives are empty as well.

Oakcrest - October 2010 issue

Ocala Springs - June 2014 issue

Reddick-Collier - October 2013 issue

Romeo - May / June 2014 issue

Saddlewood - There is no newsletter link on the site. The most recent article in the news section is dated August 22, 2011 

Shady Hill - February 2014 issue

South Ocala - December 2013 issue - found under News & Events

Sparr - October 2013 issue

Stanton - Weirsdale - May 2014 issue

Sunrise - June 2014 issue

Ward Highlands - May 2014 issue

Wyomina Park - "The page cannot be found"

What does parental involvement mean?

Child Trends Data Bank, in an article titled Parental Involvement in Schools, seems to define Parental Involvement as time the parent spends at the school.

Parental involvement in school, as measured by attendance at a general meeting, a
meeting with a teacher, or a school event, and by volunteering or serving on a committee,
rose significantly between 1999 and 2003.

(Showing up at Open House Meetings, volunteering, joining a committee.)

The US Department of Education,  Title IX, Section 9101 (32)  defined it this way:

(32) PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT- The term parental involvement' means the participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities, including ensuring —

(A) that parents play an integral role in assisting their child's learning;

(B) that parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child's education at school;

(C) that parents are full partners in their child's education and are included, as appropriate, in decision making and on advisory committees to assist in the education of their child;

(D) the carrying out of other activities, such as those described in section 1118.

Section 1118, referenced above, states:

SEC. 1118. PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT.

(a) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY POLICY-

(1) IN GENERAL- A local educational agency may receive funds under this part only if such agency implements programs, activities, and procedures for the involvement of parents in programs assisted under this part consistent with this section. Such programs, activities, and procedures shall be planned and implemented with meaningful consultation with parents of participating children.

(2) WRITTEN POLICY- Each local educational agency that receives funds under this part shall develop jointly with, agree on with, and distribute to, parents of participating children a written parent involvement policy. The policy shall be incorporated into the local educational agency's plan developed under section 1112, establish the agency's expectations for parent involvement, and describe how the agency will —

(A) involve parents in the joint development of the plan under section 1112, and the process of school review and improvement under section 1116;

(B) provide the coordination, technical assistance, and other support necessary to assist participating schools in planning and implementing effective parent involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance;

(C) build the schools' and parents' capacity for strong parental involvement as described in subsection (e);

(D) coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies under this part with parental involvement strategies under other programs, such as the Head Start program, Reading First program, Early Reading First program, Even Start program, Parents as Teachers program, and Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters, and State-run preschool programs;

(E) conduct, with the involvement of parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parental involvement policy in improving the academic quality of the schools served under this part, including identifying barriers to greater participation by parents in activities authorized by this section (with particular attention to parents who are economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background), and use the findings of such evaluation to design strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary, the parental involvement policies described in this section; and

(F) involve parents in the activities of the schools served under this part.

That's a whole bunch of gobbledy-gook to most people and few will read it let alone understand it.  The general public has been content to let the experts, the educators, figure it out and decide what is needed.




Why am I doing this?

Marion County School Board Strategic Plan

After a bit of time off, tonight I thought "It's a new year.  We've got a new Superintendent of Schools.  Time to check out what's going on."

So we race down the information super highway to the exit that is marked Marion County Public Schools Superintendent's Office.  We've all been reading the newspaper accounts of the appointments.  We know he's been busy getting his team together and laying the foundation. 

I look forward to reading the new Strategic Plan.  I found a link on the Superintendent's Page to the Marion County School Board Strategic Plan.  This document is a foundation.  It communicates the principles and values that the education system in our county will stand upon to reach our goals.
It's dated 2009 - 2012

As I said, I look forward to reading the new Strategic Plan.  

In the meantime, though, since this is the one we've got at hand, let me share some points of interest.

Page 2 of the document lists "Our Core Values" and includes this sentence: "Learning takes place at home, in school, and in the community."

I can agree with that.

Under "Our Area of Focus" we have a section titled "Engage family, school and community partnerships to raise and maintain student achievement."  Here we find a bullet point that states:

The district will use a variety of formats to communicate with parents and the community.

If you're at all familiar with this blog, you'll not be surprised to know that I am disappointed that very infrequently are the classroom homework and assignment pages that exist for each and every teacher in the Marion County Florida Public School system among the variety of formats used to communicate with parents.

I do look forward to reading the new Strategic Plan