Dear Vanderlyn Families,  

 

It is with total disbelief that I write my last correspondence for the 2012-13 school year. Oh my, the time has blown by so quickly! The halls are dead silent, no pitter-patter of little feet traveling in the hallways, no cafeteria noise, and sadly-no sound of teachers teaching and students learning. Everyone is on summer break, and I am left to reflect on the many successes of the school year.

 

First of all, I am so pleased that Vanderlyn continues to be one of the top schools in the state and district. Our teachers are very committed and are going above and

beyond their contract hours to help our students. As a result of the collaborative efforts of our teachers, parents and students, we boast the following achievements for the 2012-13 school year:

• Our teachers and students mastered a new curriculum, Common Core Georgia Performance Standards. Georgia joined a nationwide effort to adopt a set of core standards for kindergarten through high school in English Language Arts and Mathematics. The Common Core Georgia Performance Standards (CCGPS) provide a consistent framework to prepare students for success in college and/or the 21st century workplace. Through our PTA Annual Fund, we were able to update our collection of reading texts to match our new Reading/ELA standards.

• Our school earned a 97.1 CCRPI (College Career Readiness Performance Index) score on the state's report card. CCRPI is a comprehensive school improvement, accountability, and communication platform for all educational stakeholders that will promote college and career readiness for all Georgia public school students.  

• 100% of 3rd grade students passed the CRCT in Reading.

• 99.9% of our 5th grade students passed the CRCT in Reading & Math.

• Vanderlyn seeks STEM designation and kicked off a huge school-wide initiative with all grade levels. Our students were so excited to hear about all the learning opportunities that will come their way through STEM Challenges that promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

• With funding from our PTA Annual Fund, we built a multi-purpose STEM Lab and are currently under construction for an outdoor science classroom.

• To promote the technology aspect of STEM and with funding from our PTA Annual Fund, we will be updating our technology lab in the form of student work stations.

• Our teachers were involved in a new statewide teacher evaluation system whereas they were evaluated on teacher practice, students growth and student surveys. This evaluation system improved overall teaching and learning which resulted in increased student achievement.

• Our faculty became a PLC (Professional Learning Community). This resulted in teachers being a part of a continuous learning environment that is designed for teachers by teachers. As a result of our initiative, I have been asked by the district to present our PLC model at the DCSD Summer Leadership Conference in June.

• We formed two new academic teams this year as our 3rd through 5th grade students competed in Science and Math Olympiads.

• Vanderlyn celebrated its first Awards Day in many years. We began a new tradition to honor our top students while recognizing the achievements of all students. In addition, we also gave our 5th grade students a HUGE celebration with all the pomp and circumstance!

• In an effort to increase safety and security, and through our PTA Annual Fund, we installed a beautiful new fence and filled in new insulation mulch on the kindergarten playground.

• Our parental involvement continues to be extremely high.

• Our Fine Arts program is recognized by the district as one of the county's best.

• The culture of our school is positive, as is the morale.

As you can see, Vanderlyn is a very special place to teach and learn. We have been extremely busy all year making this a premier learning environment for our students. Our success is built on the hard work of dedicated teachers, involved parents and wonderful students. I am very proud of our unparalleled success during my first year as principal. I appreciate all of your support through PTA Annual Fund and through your relentless volunteer efforts. As a result, you have made this an amazing year of "firsts". I look forward to an even better 2013-14 school year!

 

 

Your Proud Leader,

Mrs. Crenshaw