Thank you to everyone that has made our first week of PARCC testing a success in implementation - students for doing their best, families for getting them ready, teachers and staff for being flexible and thoughtful, and our testing team for creating an example for others to emulate. This week our 7th graders will do their part of the Spring portion of the test (see note below). We also appreciate the help that DCPS non-Deal staff have provided us over the week - both in getting us the supplies needed and being team members in solving any challenges that arose.

Budget Review for FY16

This past week, I met with the Local School Advisory Team, chaired by Karin Perkins and composed of community and teacher leaders, to review our budget allocation for FY16 and to plan out Deal's submission. Our budget has grown over the years of my time here, so our reduction in total allocated funds from $12.1M in FY15 to $11.8M  in FY16 was a different challenge (approximately $300,000). The final number reflects a reduction in our supplemental allocation (an amount used to bring up our per-pupil allocation so it is in line with similar schools). Why this reduction in the face of a slight increase in student numbers projected for next year?

A significant part of our increase last year was based on the allocation of funds for at-risk youth being distributed on a per-capita basis, as well as our increase in student numbers. This year, those at-risk funds are being allocated according to the percent of at-risk students in each school; therefore, it makes sense that Deal sees a smaller proportion of that funding (our at-risk percentage is 8% (homeless youth, TANF families, etc.)). While we did have a small increase in student numbers, it wasn't sufficient to offset this shift. 

In anticipating a flatter enrollment growth in FY16 during last year's budget development process, the LSAT and I created a FY15 budget that increased access to technology, supported our student engagement activities, and selectively added positions that could be sustained over time. Therefore, even though we lost funds this year, we were not required to lose any positions. This year, we are actually adding several new positions that are essential to our continued success.

Reading: We continue to develop our reading program by focusing on small class settings for students who read below grade level. Therefore, to increase our ability to work with these students, we are adding a third reading teacher.

Mathematics: We have developed a math program that is able to respond to individual student needs; for this to continue to be possible, we will add a third non-team math teacher. 

Special Education: Although our enrollment of students with disabilities will decrease slightly this year, this is a program that benefits from a low teacher-student ratio. Therefore, we will maintain our program at its current size, reconfirming our commitment to providing an inclusive, responsive special education program that serves students with IEPs and 504s as effectively and thoughtfully as possible.

Teacher/Office support: To increase our support for families around attendance and to help our counseling team, we will add a clerk to the office team. We have one of the smallest office teams in the District; their efficiency allows us to focus on providing the right number of teachers for our students. We will also add teacher support in the form of an additional aide (to help with teacher absences) and a new custodian (to support the team with our added new space in the Reno Wing).

Non-personnel: We have reduced our spending in our non-personnel area (office/custodial supplies, technology, extra pay for programs, etc.) to free up funds for our instructional needs. We will work to make up any deficits in this area with the generous support of our parent community (you!), once again giving you the chance to support all that we do at Deal.

Now that our budget has been submitted, we will turn our attention to making sure that we have the best staff in place for the beginning of next school year. Again, special thanks to the LSAT for being partners in working through the budget. A school budget is the most direct reflection of a school's priorities. Through this budget we are keeping our high-functioning academic program fully funded, adding a few key positions to make sure that all students can access that program, and tightening our belts a bit to make sure that we are using the City's generous funding appropriately.

James Albright

PS - If your child is one of the nearly 40% of Deal 8th graders traveling overseas this year over Spring Break, please take a look at the item on "World Language Trips Orientation." This is a pilot program, led by veteran Deal teacher Kelly Wisniewski, supporting interested students in learning how to address cultural differences and becoming better citizens through world travel. It isn't a requirement (for this year) but I think it could be an amazing opportunity. Please check it out!