WHEN: Thursday, October 11, 2012
WHERE: BTW Library Media Center
TIME: 6:00 p.m.
The purpose of this evening is to provide our district parents and community with relevant, meaningful information and resources.
NOTE: Each school will set up a table with information to distribute to parents
Documents may be the following:
School Brochure
Newsletters
Parenting Tips
Parent Schedule of Event Calendar
A Glimpse Inside Parental Involvement
CIP at a Glance
Homework and Testing Strategies
Opportunities to Volunteer
Tokens) of Appreciation
Phasing out of Alabama High School Graduation Exam
Click Here for complete content of Memos from Dr. Bice, State Superintendent.
A MUST-READ for Parents!
Taken from Memo by Dr. Bice, State Superintendent:
On September 10, 2009, the State Board of Education voted unanimously on a resolution that included phasing out the Alabama High School Graduation Exam (AHSGE) and replacing it with end-of-course tests. Systems were notified that the 2011-12 first-time ninth graders would be the last cohort required to pass the AHSGE in order to receive a diploma.
As was presented to the State Board of Education at Tuesday's meeting, the dates for phasing out the AHSGE and beginning end-of-course assessments have been modified. As a result, first-time ninth graders of 2011-12 (tenth grade class of 2012-13) will NOT be required to take or pass the AHSGE as a diploma requirement. First-time ninth graders of 2010-11 (eleventh grade class of 2012-13) will now be the last cohort required to pass the AHSGE as a diploma requirement.
End-of-course tests will be administered for the first time in 2012-13 and will include English 9, English 10, Algebra I, geometry, and biology. Any student enrolled in courses for which an end of-course assessment is scheduled will take these end-of-course tests even if they have previously taken the AHSGE. Results for this first year of end-of-course tests will be utilized for instructional purposes and for establishing baseline data only. There will be no high-stakes consequences for students or for schools based on the end-of-course tests administered in 2012-13.
Sponsored by the Tuskegee University National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care, Tuskegee University Library Services & Archives and the Tuskegee University History & Political Science Department
Tuskegee University is sponsoring a Teacher's Academy on Saturday, October 13, 2012 and have invited Macon County's teachers to participate. The goal of the academy is to increase knowledge and appreciation of subjects, ideas and places significant to American history and culture through humanities reading and site study. Build a community of inquiry and provide models of civility and of excellent scholarship and teaching. Provide teachers with expertise in the use and interpretation of historical sites and of material and archival resources. While in attendance, teachers will review the material in the Tuskegee Civic Association collection, learn how to effectively utilize Finding Aids, and determine how it can be incorporated into individual class lessons.
Many thanks to Genece Blackmon, Interim Associate Director for Community Engagement at Tuskegee University for communicating with Venesia McClaney, Professional Development Coordinator, and for making this opportunity available to approximately fifteen district teachers.
Below is an example of an excerpt from a historical document participants may have an opportunity to review:
Suicide of a Southern Town on voting:
“This month in Macon County, where Washington founded Tuskegee Institute, his prophecy is coming true. Out of 3,081 eligible whites, only 74 are unregistered. Of 14,539 eligible Negroes, only 85 have access to the ballot. All but six of 420 former Tuskegee Negro voters have been gerrymandered out of the town limits to protect the edge held by 600 whites. And in the agricultural “Black Belt” county, where Booker T.’s warning has been ignored, the whites are beginning to feel the “millstone,” and reap their share of the “permanent injury” which Washington had prophesied would follow. The town of Tuskegee has literally committed suicide!”
--Ebony Magazine, 1957
Media Specialists Attend the 2012 Alabama Library Expo
On September 25, 2012, Media Specialists Eva Randolph, Annie Lewis, Jo Ann Graham, Carolyn Bradley, Terri Holcey, and Monica Rogers attended the 2012 Alabama Library Expo at Auburn University Montgomery. Media Specialists from across Alabama viewed products from various vendors and listened to presentations by authors Judith Glenn and Robert Little.
Judith Glenn is a native of Montgomery, Alabama and presently teaches in the Birmingham City School system. She is a storyteller who shares her personal experiences to connect with various audiences. Her first children’s book, Manassas, Please Slow Down is a comical depiction of a little boy with ADHD and has a happy ending. Her first book, Voices, is a book of poetry that expresses the emotions experienced by victims of abuse and neglect. Her third book, Don’t Cry for Me is her first chapter book.
Robert Little is an award-winning motivational speaker, researcher, consultant and author. He travels the country presenting programs at schools and professional development conferences. Little is the author of six books, four are children’s picture books that are being used in schools nationwide for the Accelerated Reader (AR) program. His books have been the source for school plays and have been adopted as “books-of-the-month.” He has written What Can I Be?, Grandma’s Biscuits, FUN DAY in Mrs. Walker’s Class and Jamaal’s LUCKY Day!
Join us at Tuskegee City Park, between the hours of 5:00 PM and 9:00 PM, on October 31, 2012 for a Healthy Harvest Halloween!
In cooperation with Tuskegee University Cooperative Extension, Tuskegee Institute Middle School is hosting, on Oct. 10, 2012 for 4-HHHH, National Youth Science Day, during which we will conduct the National Science Experiment, the 4-H Eco-Bot Challenge. This national event, designed to engage hundreds of thousands of American youth in a single science experiment, will demonstrate that by utilizing engineering principles, youth can have a positive impact on communities and ecosystems.
During 4-H National Youth Science Day, youth in 4-H clubs, after-school programs, camps and in affiliated organizations across the country will enhance their engineering skills by assembling their own Eco-Bots and surface controls to manage an environmental clean-up. Youth will then test the interaction between the Eco-Bot’s design features and various surface control configurations to determine the most effective clean-up solution for the simulated spill. We are anticipating local media coverage of this event, and we can arrange for photo opportunities and media interviews while the youth are conducting the experiment.
Within the next few days, representatives from Tuskegee University will visit Tuskegee Institute Middle School to enroll interested and motivated students to participate in this science project. We hope this event will enlighten and sustain youth interest in science. We will work closely with your designated science teachers to make this event a success.
See the attached flyer for more information.
The September newsletter from the Macon County School System Parent Coordinator has been posted and is now online. If you have not read any of the previous newsletters, you are missing some valuable information. You may down-load it by clicking your mouse here.
This weekend is the 45th anniversary of the NAI (Negro Airmen International) Labor Day Fly-In. Come on out and enjoy the activities, featuring airplanes, both private and civilian, food, fun and flying. Aviation wings of the military send aircraft and members of NAI converge on Tuskegee for two full days of fun. The activities that involve the public take place on Saturday. Come out to the Tuskegee Airport this Labor Day!
October 3, 2012 is International Walk to School Day. Get some exercise, save some gasoline and join us at Deborah Cannon Wolfe School for International Walk to School Day! See the attached flyer for details.
Based on our emergency management call meeting regarding the impending tropical storm Isaac, we need to cancel our called School Board Meeting scheduled for tomorrow night. We will reschedule the school board meeting for a later time.