Dr. Lynn Erting Returns to ECE Team

December 4, 2007


Dear KDES Community,

I am delighted to announce that Dr. Lynne Erting, a staff member on the Knowledge Integration and Evaluation unit at the Clerc Center, will assist me in the coordination of the Early Childhood Education (ECE) Team. Dr. Erting is not new to this team, having worked there in past years as a teacher and a coordinator. Her educational training is in early childhood education and her doctorate of philosophy is in emergent literacy development of deaf and hard of hearing children. Dr. Erting will spend 20 hours per week working with the teachers and staff to provide exemplary educational programming to our young children.


Please join me in welcoming Dr. Erting back to the ECE Team.


Sincerely,
Marilyn Farmer

Bomb Threat

October 3, 2007


Dear KDES Families:

This letter is to share information with you regarding a bomb threat that Gallaudet University received earlier today. According to the University, the bomb threat pertained to several buildings on the campus and did not include the Clerc Center. The campus was closed while the DC Police and the Department of Public Safety conducted a search of these buildings. Upon completion of the search they declared the buildings safe.

I want to assure you that this threat did not affect the KDES educational program.


Sincerely,
Marilyn Farmer
Principal, Kendall Demonstration Elementary School

Vision Screening

September 14, 2007

Dear KDES Families

This year we are offering free individual vision screening at KDES. This service is through the District of Columbia Public Schools Office of Hearing and Vision programs in conjunction with the Lions Club.

As your child’s parent or legal guardian, you may refuse to have your child receive this service. I ask that you please fill out the attached consent form and return it to your child’s teacher by Friday, September 21st. You will be contacted later with the screening date.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,
Marilyn Farmer
Principal- Kendall Demonstration Elementary School

SAT Letter

September 17, 2007

Dear Parents/Guardians:

Enclosed you will find the Individual Student School Report of your child’s performance on the Stanford Achievement Test –Tenth Edition (SAT-10) which was administered in the Spring, 2007. There is some important information included on the Score Report. In the left hand column, you will see the Test Level that your child was given. This table shows you which grades were covered in the test given to your child:

P1 Primary 1 Grades 1.5-2.5
P2 Primary 2 Grades 2.5-3.5
P3 Primary 3 Grades 3.5-4.5 I1 Intermediate 1 Grade 4.5-5.5
I2 Intermediate 2 Grades 5.5-6.7
I3 Intermediate 3 Grades 6.5-7.5 A1 Advanced 1 Grades 7.5-8.5
A2 Advanced 2 Grades 8.5-9.5 T1 TASK 1 Grades 9.0-9.9
T2 TASK 2 Grades 10.0-10.9
T3 TASK 3 Grades 11.0-12.9

For example, if your child was given the Primary 1 Level, this level covers the kind of information that is usually taught from the sixth month (February) of the 1st grade to the sixth month (February) of the 2nd grade. This may seem confusing because 1.0 actually represents the very first month of the first grade and 2.0 would represent the first month of the second grade.

As you continue reading down the page, you will see the different subjects that were covered on the test such as Word Reading/Vocabulary or Reading Comprehension. As you read across the page, you will see several columns of numbers. In the first column you will see the number of items on the test for each subject (# of items). As you continue to read across the page, you can tell the number of items that your child answered correctly (# right), the number of items that your child missed (#wrong), and the number of items that your child did not answer (# blank). There is also a column that lists the overall percentage of items that your child answered correctly (% right).

There is a more detailed explanation attached to this letter that discusses the remaining columns on the Score Report (scaled Score, Grade Equivalent, Deaf/Hard of Hearing Percentiles).

If you still have questions after you have reviewed your child’s Score Report, please contact the school psychologist, Robert Whitaker (KDES) at 202 651-5031.

Sincerely,
Marilyn Farmer
Principal, KDES

MSSD Incident

October 5, 2007


Dear KDES Families:

I want to share information with you about a serious incident that occurred last Saturday at MSSD and our plan to address this issue at KDES to help our students grow from it.

On Saturday, September 29, several students in one of the dorms were involved in what began as a game and turned into acts with racial implications that led to seven students being sent home and an investigation is ongoing. The Clerc Center does not tolerate any acts of threatening behavior. We are committed to ensuring that KDES has a safe and supportive learning environment for all of our students, teachers and staff.

As the nation addresses racism in schools, the Clerc Center has hired an external consultant, Larry Bell, with expertise in addressing these issues with teenagers. Mr. Bell is Director of the National Coalition-Building Institute’s (NCBI) District of Columbia Chapter and Regional Director (Mid-Atlantic Region) of NCBI International. He has been a Senior Associate, Trainer, and Member of the Board of NCBI International for over 8 years and a Senior Leader of the African Heritage Caucus. His areas of expertise include prejudice reduction, conflict resolution, team-building, and violence prevention. Mr. Bell and the DC NCBI Chapter have been involved in an effort to help youth, by teaching skills in prejudice reduction and coalition building to high school students and other young people. We are working in partnership with University and Clerc Center personnel with expertise in multiculturalism and diversity.

On Thursday, our School Counselor Cynthia Hunt and our Assistant Principal Donald Mahoney met with students on Team 4/5 and Team 6/7/8 to have an open dialogue about this incident, their reactions and feelings, as well as the issue of racism, discrimination, and oppression.

The Clerc Center recognizes that education related to racism, prejudice, and other forms of oppression is a critical part of every student’s development. Academic activities related to bullying have been taking place at KDES since last spring, including lunchtime “Mix It Up” discussions, large group, and small group activities. These activities, as well as others, will continue to be an integral part of the Clerc Center’s programs and services.

The administration is taking this event very seriously and would appreciate your involvement in teaching your children about the seriousness of racially charged acts. The year ahead will be filled with age appropriate lessons related to racism and oppression, and to teaching students respect for themselves and for each other.

We are prepared to assist you with additional resources on how to continue the dialogue at home and respond to any questions you may have. Please contact me at anytime at (202) 651-5031 or Marilyn.Farmer@Gallaudet.edu.


Sincerely,


Marilyn Farmer
Principal, Kendall Demonstration Elementary School