WELCOME BACK
It is my pleasure to welcome everyone back to another exciting school year. The building is just never the same in the summer months without our students. To our kindergarten parents and any families new to the district, welcome to Limestone Walters! The staff and I take great pride that you entrust us with your children every day. We recognize that parents are a child’s first teachers and we want to be a partner with you to help provide an outstanding educational experience for your son or daughter. Please contact us should you have any questions or concerns. While we are certainly not above making mistakes, what I can promise you from Limestone Walters will be this:
· An outstanding staff that puts children first
· A rigorous and relevant curriculum
· Open and timely communication about your child’s progress
· Appropriate interventions to help your child meet his or her goals
· A Board of Education that provides resources in a fiscally conservative philosophy that does not jeopardize programs or
student services
· Opportunities that extend beyond the classroom to provide a well-rounded educational experience for your son or daughter
There is so much more to the school experience than just test scores. At Limestone Walters we are committed to providing the best possible opportunities, and with the help and support of our parents, we are able to do just that.
CURRICULUM NOTES
Our staff has completed work on four quarter plans that are now on the website. The purpose of these plans is to share with parents what skills they can expect their son or daughter to be taught during the school year. We have divided the year into the four nine week periods so you can have a snapshot of your child’s curriculum. These plans will continue to evolve and be fluid as our teachers continue to participate in the Peoria County Curriculum Cadres. Throughout this year teachers will continue their work on aligning our math curriculum and will research a new math series for the 2016 – 2017 school year.
Our technology focus this year will create more opportunities for IPads in grades K – 4. Students in grades 5 – 8 will be exposed to Chrome books and will utilize Google docs and Google Classroom.
BUILDING UPDATES
For the first time in several years we did not have many summer projects this year. The gym did receive a few more acoustical panels to help with sound. Most of this year’s work focused on routine maintenance. The building is currently in very good shape. All the roofs have been replaced with 20 year warranties and last year’s project of replacing all the outside doors has really made our building maintenance free. Over the years the bulk of these projects has been paid with grant funds or reserves on hands. Limestone Walters does not have any outstanding bonds. However, as with your own home, there are always areas where you would like to make improvements. There is still a section of the parking lot the Board would like to improve, and the Building Committee is reviewing some possibilities for air conditioning. We also have some life safety projects to address, but most of those are minor. So, we have addressed some of the expenditures for the building, but what about the revenue to pay for those improvements? One of the ways these projects and future ones could be funded would be through the Peoria County Sales Tax Initiative should it pass. The sales tax is funded by everyone that passes through Peoria County, not just property tax home owners. In fact, these funds could pay for potential bond issues that would not be on the property tax rolls. The latest figures presented to me on a successful passage of a Peoria County Facility Sales Tax would generate approximately $100,000 to $120,000 annually for Limestone Walters. In these difficult economic times of our state, these new funds would be most welcome to say the least.
PARCC
Last year was the first year for the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC as it is commonly referred. This new assessment replaced the ISAT that had been administered for several years. Last year PARCC was assessed in two time windows in March and in May. Students also took the assessments online as opposed to paper and pencil in the past. On September 16 the initial 2015 PARCC scores will be released. These scores will not be final because there is still some data to be gathered. However, the 2015 assessment year was always designed to be baseline data. As the New Illinois Learning Standards and PARCC become more aligned, we will use this data to help drive our instruction. As with any new initiative, there is always a learning curve. Some changes from for this year will be only one assessment window, not two. The science assessment will return, but it will now be given in grades 5 and 8, instead of grades 4 and 7. However, keep in mind that standardized testing is not the only measure that is used to make improvements at Limestone Walters. I have attached a link that I shared previously that speaks to the importance of testing, but that it is not the only measure.
http://www.pjstar.com/article/20140808/OPINION/140809231/0/SEARCH
STATE BUDGET
There does not seem to be progress of any significance on the state budget. While the legislature and the governor did appropriate money for the education portion of the budget for this year, with no overall budget in place, it becomes increasing difficult to make the necessary payments in a timely manner. Ironically, by state statute our Board of Education must adopt a budget by September 30. The legislature and the governor were to have a budget in place by July 1. There are rumors that this budget stalemate could last well in to the January “lame duck” session. The delay in the state budget makes it difficult for districts to plan. There are several unsolved issues such as pension cost shift to districts, property tax freeze, and a new state aid formula. When and if those issues ever get resolved, we will keep you updated.
You are always welcome to contact me at any time. Remember that the greatest gift you can give your children is your time.
Sincerely,
Tim Dotson, Superintendent
It is my pleasure to welcome everyone back to another exciting school year. The building is just never the same in the summer months without our students. To our kindergarten parents and any families new to the district, welcome to Limestone Walters! The staff and I take great pride that you entrust us with your children every day. We recognize that parents are a child’s first teachers and we want to be a partner with you to help provide an outstanding educational experience for your son or daughter. Please contact us should you have any questions or concerns. While we are certainly not above making mistakes, what I can promise you from Limestone Walters will be this:
· An outstanding staff that puts children first
· A rigorous and relevant curriculum
· Open and timely communication about your child’s progress
· Appropriate interventions to help your child meet his or her goals
· A Board of Education that provides resources in a fiscally conservative philosophy that does not jeopardize programs or
student services
· Opportunities that extend beyond the classroom to provide a well-rounded educational experience for your son or daughter
There is so much more to the school experience than just test scores. At Limestone Walters we are committed to providing the best possible opportunities, and with the help and support of our parents, we are able to do just that.
CURRICULUM NOTES
Our staff has completed work on four quarter plans that are now on the website. The purpose of these plans is to share with parents what skills they can expect their son or daughter to be taught during the school year. We have divided the year into the four nine week periods so you can have a snapshot of your child’s curriculum. These plans will continue to evolve and be fluid as our teachers continue to participate in the Peoria County Curriculum Cadres. Throughout this year teachers will continue their work on aligning our math curriculum and will research a new math series for the 2016 – 2017 school year.
Our technology focus this year will create more opportunities for IPads in grades K – 4. Students in grades 5 – 8 will be exposed to Chrome books and will utilize Google docs and Google Classroom.
BUILDING UPDATES
For the first time in several years we did not have many summer projects this year. The gym did receive a few more acoustical panels to help with sound. Most of this year’s work focused on routine maintenance. The building is currently in very good shape. All the roofs have been replaced with 20 year warranties and last year’s project of replacing all the outside doors has really made our building maintenance free. Over the years the bulk of these projects has been paid with grant funds or reserves on hands. Limestone Walters does not have any outstanding bonds. However, as with your own home, there are always areas where you would like to make improvements. There is still a section of the parking lot the Board would like to improve, and the Building Committee is reviewing some possibilities for air conditioning. We also have some life safety projects to address, but most of those are minor. So, we have addressed some of the expenditures for the building, but what about the revenue to pay for those improvements? One of the ways these projects and future ones could be funded would be through the Peoria County Sales Tax Initiative should it pass. The sales tax is funded by everyone that passes through Peoria County, not just property tax home owners. In fact, these funds could pay for potential bond issues that would not be on the property tax rolls. The latest figures presented to me on a successful passage of a Peoria County Facility Sales Tax would generate approximately $100,000 to $120,000 annually for Limestone Walters. In these difficult economic times of our state, these new funds would be most welcome to say the least.
PARCC
Last year was the first year for the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC as it is commonly referred. This new assessment replaced the ISAT that had been administered for several years. Last year PARCC was assessed in two time windows in March and in May. Students also took the assessments online as opposed to paper and pencil in the past. On September 16 the initial 2015 PARCC scores will be released. These scores will not be final because there is still some data to be gathered. However, the 2015 assessment year was always designed to be baseline data. As the New Illinois Learning Standards and PARCC become more aligned, we will use this data to help drive our instruction. As with any new initiative, there is always a learning curve. Some changes from for this year will be only one assessment window, not two. The science assessment will return, but it will now be given in grades 5 and 8, instead of grades 4 and 7. However, keep in mind that standardized testing is not the only measure that is used to make improvements at Limestone Walters. I have attached a link that I shared previously that speaks to the importance of testing, but that it is not the only measure.
http://www.pjstar.com/article/20140808/OPINION/140809231/0/SEARCH
STATE BUDGET
There does not seem to be progress of any significance on the state budget. While the legislature and the governor did appropriate money for the education portion of the budget for this year, with no overall budget in place, it becomes increasing difficult to make the necessary payments in a timely manner. Ironically, by state statute our Board of Education must adopt a budget by September 30. The legislature and the governor were to have a budget in place by July 1. There are rumors that this budget stalemate could last well in to the January “lame duck” session. The delay in the state budget makes it difficult for districts to plan. There are several unsolved issues such as pension cost shift to districts, property tax freeze, and a new state aid formula. When and if those issues ever get resolved, we will keep you updated.
You are always welcome to contact me at any time. Remember that the greatest gift you can give your children is your time.
Sincerely,
Tim Dotson, Superintendent