Class of 2011

10/24/07

Hello to all!!! The freshman year is a most exciting and challenging year for many. This includes parents, teachers, counselors, as well as the students. One of my tasks this year is to have Zero Tolerance for Failures. That is my battle cry and how appropriate to have it in the Battle Ground School District. Where our namesake battle never took place, the rate of failing amongst the freshman class has long been an issue. At 4 weeks I called or e-mailed (my preference) every parent or guardian for the students with 1 F grade or more. We are at the 6 week mark and have parent conferences where you can come in and speak with your student’s teachers. I hope you all take advantage of this avenue of communication.

I hope you all sign up for Parent Access where you can check on your student’s progress and grades throughout the year. You will need to come in and see our registrar, Judy Harju, and get a pin number. This has to be done in person for confidential reasons, you wouldn’t want us handing your pin number out to just anyone over the phone. You can put your e-mail address on the Parent Access and I can readily get in touch with you. With 400 students I really don’t have time to play phone tag or sit there listening to the phone ring waiting for a message machine to pick up only to find out there is no message machine.

I have gone into the Falcon Transition classes and talked with the students about high school graduation credits, college and post high school plans. I will continue to monitor their progress and continue to make calls if I see a decline. You will need to speak with individual teachers about the specifics of the classes since I am not in the class where they might be struggling. I am pleased to say that the number of F’s have gone down since the 4 week mark and we have fewer F’s than the previous years. However, we still have too many. As a team, together, we will work on helping your student to making successful choices.