9.18.2008 Parent Letter

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September 18, 2008

Dear Parent/Guardian:

As you may have seen or heard in the media, Los Puentes Charter School has recently been identified by the New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) as a school which has not met “adequate yearly progress” (AYP). Because this is the second 4^th year in a row that we have failed to meet AYP, our school is now designated as R-1, Restructuring 1.” What does this mean to you, your child and our school?

Each year the PED sets an expected target for gains in student achievement and each school in New Mexico works toward those goals in Reading and Math. “Failure to meet adequate yearly progress” means that some or all of our students did not meet the expected gains as measured by the New Mexico Standards Based Assessment that our students took this past March. Our results showed that 13% of our 8^th graders were proficient in reading and 0% were proficient in math. In the 11^th grade no students were proficient in reading or math.

Our school has a plan to increase student achievement through our Educational Plan for Student Success (EPSS). This plan uses data to identify areas in need of improvement and outlines the steps the school will take to improve in those areas. Our plan is to review the data on a regular basis. More specific details about our plan was shared with the community at a meeting on September 11^th and will be shared on September 18^th during conferences . In addition, Los Puentes Charter School is providing support through professional development and training of our staff methods to continually improve our systems of instruction.

If you have any questions about the information in this letter please call our school office and ask for Ellen Moore, Principal at 342-5959.

Sincerely,

Ellen Moore, Principal