September 14th, 2009

Dear Parents,

Welcome back to school. From the parents and students that I have spoken with so far this week, it appears that everyone is excited to be back in school. After a long summer, and a full week of meetings and workshops, the teachers were certainly ready to have the students back as well. This will be a fantastic school year.

We have many plans for this year that further our progress towards the school’s vision:

All students graduating from Audubon will have a clear understanding of their own strengths and passions for learning, allowing each child to identify and pursue his or her individual goals.

Towards this end, we have initiated several new programs and set some challenging goals.

• For the first time, we will offer high school Algebra to 8th grade students ready for the challenge.
• For students in grades 2-4, we have implemented a new computer-based mathematics program to further and deepen their conceptual understanding of mathematics.
• We will be working to enrich our mathematics curriculum to provide more challenge for students who are working above grade level, starting in second grade.
• Teachers have created new units of study for social studies in grades PreK-3 that will expand children’s understanding of their world.
• In our second year with our new science curriculum, teachers will focus on improving assessments and creating field trip opportunities for each grade level to provide students with an in-depth and hands-on understanding of the science concepts.
• We have set a goal that 95% of all third graders will be reading on grade level. To reach this goal, we have created an intense system of support for children who are not on track to reach this goal and we have improved our literacy assessments.
• We have also set goals that move the school beyond a focus on “Meeting” state standards to a focus on “Exceeding” standards. We have set goals that within three years, 60% of our students will be “Exceeding” state standards in Mathematics, and that 40% of our 7th graders will be ready to “Exceed” standards in Reading when they take the ISAT test.

This is an ambitious list of programs and goals for the school. We will need your help to reach these goals. As parents you can help us by:

• Making sure your child reads with an adult for at least 30 minutes a day
• Making sure your child completes his/her homework every single day
• Missing fewer than 5 days of school for the entire year
• Helping your child to find activities and interests away from the TV and video games
• Setting your own family goals for this school year, as we have done as a staff
• Actively communicating with your child’s teachers

Together, we can continue Audubon’s trajectory to the top of CPS schools in the city of Chicago, and more importantly, ensure that our children continue to grow and learn about themselves, and their world.

Thank you for your support of our school, and your children.

Sincerely,

John P. Price
Principal