Harris School… Teaching and learning…every child, every day!

Welcome to Harris School for the 2009-2010 year!

We are proud of our students at Harris School and know you are too!

AYP is Adequate Yearly Progress on the Illinois State Achievement Test!

WE MADE AYP!!! Good News…Good News…Good News! Harris made 62.3% in Total Math and 65.6% in Total Reading. We will be hitting reading hard this year with emphasis on closing the achievement gap.. We are very proud of our progress, but we are aiming for 100%!

Last year we had to have 70% pass to make AYP. This year it jumps to 77.5%!

Please have your child read at home each evening! How can parents help? Please have your child read at home each evening!

Teaching Reading is Urgent! A student who reads only .7 a day scores less than 20% in reading ability! However, a student who reads a minimum of 15 minutes a day can score 80%! Can you help your child read at least 15 minutes a day?

Our attendance was 91.9 %... if it is less than 90%, it would hurt our AYP! It goes up to 91% this year!

How can parents help? Please help your child to get to school every day on time and stay the full day!

Harris School is a Title I school. Do you know what that means?

All parents have received our parent involvement policy and the Decatur Public Schools parent involvement plan.

Parental involvement always has been a centerpiece of Title I and we are required to tell you about this. Let’s look at what this means:

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) defines parental involvement as the participation of parents in regular communication about student academic learning and other school activities with staff;

Parental involvement continued… Participation means That parents play an important role in helping with their children’s learning; That parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school;

Parental involvement continued… Participation means That parents serve on advisory committees and help with building decision making, and help as needed.

Parental involvement is important! We need you and your kids need you!

Research says that the evidence is “consistent, positive, and convincing: families have a major influence on their children’s achievement in school and through life…

“…When schools, families, and community groups work together to support learning, children tend to do better in school, stay in school longer, and like school more.”

We need caring and interested parents like you! Help us help your child be a success!

Every minute you read with your child counts!

Another way to give aid is help your child learn new vocabulary words by talking and reading with your child.

The William Harris School wide Plan is available for you to see The William Harris School wide Plan is available for you to see. Check with our principal, Mrs. Thompson for more information.

We are looking for parent volunteers to assist in updating our School Improvement Goals. We will meet in September.

All Harris teachers are Highly Qualified by the State of Illinois!

Let’s continue our awesome work and continue to raise student achievement!

Harris School… Education is our business!