2010-2011 Hillside Annual Report Released

The Annual Education Report (AER) provides key information on the 2010-2011 educational progress of the Kalamazoo Public Schools district (KPS) as required by federal (No Child Left Behind Act) and state (P.A. 25) laws. The AER is attached as a pdf for you to review here, and paper copies are available in the main office.

The State of Michigan provides a guide to reading and understanding district and school report cards here. District staff are also available to help you understand the information contained in this report. Please contact fostergp [at] kalamazoo [dot] k12 [dot] mi [dot] us (subject: 2010-2011%20Annual%20Report) (Gloria Foster-Wimbley) if you need assistance.

For 2010-2011, Hillside Middle School did not make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), as defined by state and federal guidelines, in English language arts or mathematics. We did not meet the State Achievement Objective in Reading for students with disabilities and did not meet the Attendance Objective (90% average daily attendance) for neither students with disabilities nor economically disadvantaged students. This is the first year that we did not meet AYP targets.

Hillside Middle School for the Arts is committed to the academic achievement of every student. We will be implementing a variety of interventions to assist students in meeting their academic goals. Likewise, regular attendance is an important factor in student achievement and is preparation for the work world. Therefore, Hillside will provide mentoring opportunities for students who need additional support, and incentives to enhance/encourage regular daily attendance.

There are many ways in which you can also assist us in increasing the percent of students that are attending school on a daily basis such as:

• Engaging your student in frequent conversations about what they are learning.
• Participate in all school activities (conferences, open houses, and celebrations)
• Create enthusiasm and support for your student becoming engaged in a college-going culture.
• Monitor grades and attendance through the Parent Internet Viewer (PIV)
• Ensure that you and your student are aware of the KPS Attendance Procedures.
• Contact your student’s counselor or teacher when you notice a drop in grades or attendance.

The report also contains the following information:

1. Process for assigning pupils to the school
2. Status of the 3-5 year school improvement plan
3. A brief description of each specialized school
4. How to access a copy of the core curriculum, a description of its implementation and an explanation of the variances from the state's model
5. Aggregate student achievement results for any local competency tests or nationally normed achievement tests
6. The number and percent of students represented by parents at parent-teacher conferences.

The Hillside AER for the 2010-2011 school year is attached below.