Alston Ridge Families:

Happy Friday—I hope that everyone is safe and well as the weekend approaches.  

Friday: Instructional Materials Distribution

This Thursday was a wonderful day to see so many of our students and their families back on campus to pick up learning materials. The materials that have been prepared for distribution by the school district and Alston Ridge teachers will be used during students’ live learning and independent practice over the first and second quarters of school. For families who were not able to come during their grade level’s assigned pick-up time Thursday, a second chance to pick up supplies will be today—Friday.

As students’ curriculum and learning needs evolve through the year, the school district will issue additional materials for pick-ups. Each pick up will be a great chance to make a connection and add resources that can support your students’ learning while they are at home.

Single-Subject Acceleration (SSA)

Guidance from the WCPSS Advanced Learning Services department will establish testing plans to determine SSA placements for the 2020-2021 school year for students who were nominated in the spring of 2020, and families who request SSA testing at this time.

Single Subject Acceleration (SSA) is the practice of assigning a student to a higher-grade level than is typical, given the student's age, for the purpose of providing access to appropriately challenging learning opportunities in one of either Math or Reading. Assessments are used to determine that a student has already shown mastery of the current grade level’s curriculum for 1 subject and is ready for instruction in the next grade’s content.

All student who were nominated during spring 2020 will be included in testing. To newly nominate a student for testing, all requests must be made by e-mail to Mrs. Slavinsky (cslavinsky@wcpss.net) and Mrs. Schneider (bschneider@wcpss.net) by Monday, August 31^st at 5pm. Testing will be conducted over the course of the next month and placement determinations will be made as quickly as possible to allow students to begin participating in appropriately accelerated coursework. More information here.

Istation

The school district has adopted a reading assessment and adaptive online learning curriculum called Istation to help measure and develop students’ foundational reading skills in accordance with state legislation for students in grades K-5. Faculty will begin sharing information about how students can access this program, and how it will be used to help guide teaching and learning, in the month of September.

We look forward to seeing more of our students and families at Alston Ridge today, and I hope that everyone enjoys a safe and restful weekend. Please let us know how we can help your family navigate the learning ahead, and do not hesitate to contact us if we can support your family in any ways.

Take good care,

Niko