Dear Parents/Guardians:
As
you may recall, in March of this year you were asked to complete a parent
survey that would be included in the school’s Learning Environment Survey. This survey was recently released to
the school and can be viewed on the DOE website. Esther Rosa, our Parent
Coordinator and I reviewed the survey and want to address a few issues on the survey. Please note that these surveys are
totally anonymous and this report is based on a general consensus (percent of
answers to each question). We take
enormous pride in providing your child with an outstanding education, while
ensuring a safe and nurturing environment. Parent feedback is very important to us and we use that to
guide our next steps. Below I’ve highlighted some of the main areas noted in
the survey.
Some
parents have indicated the following:
- They are not informed
about their child’s achievements.
- They are not made
aware of what their child is learning in school.
- They are not invited
to or informed about workshops, performances or events in their child’s
school.
- They are not informed
about services available to their child, i.e. Tutoring services, after
school services.
We
keep current records of progress on each of our students, using a variety of
tools. These include student
portfolios, conference notes and Acuity, which is an on-line data program that
tracks student progress and performance. In addition, over the past few years
the following measures have been taken:
- When a student is not
meeting the standards, parents are contacted immediately and are advised
as to how teacher and parents can work together to help student meet their
goals. Monthly newsletters on
each grade are distributed informing parents about what is being taught in
Science, Computer, Physical Education, Music and Dance.
- Our ARIS Parent Link
enables parents to log in and see first hand how their child is performing. Our P.S. 108 website informs parents
of what’s going on in our school.
Notices are distributed letting parents know about upcoming events
and workshops (these workshops are based on Parent Surveys sent out in
September). In addition, notices are posted on all doors to ensure a
parent who may not receive a notice in their child’s backpack, sees the
posting.
- After school programs
are provided according to student needs and budget availability. Parents are also informed of any
neighborhood tutoring services upon request.
- We’ve recently added a
telephone messaging system whereby parents are informed of any event,
attendance issue, etc. concerning their child. Various modes of communication are used to ensure
parents are readily informed. Parents should also note that all our class
sizes are smaller than city average.
When
reviewing the section on School Safety and Respect it appears that some parents
were uncertain:
- If their child is
threatened by bullies
- If the staff is
disrespectful to students
- If students are being
threatened based on race, color, creed, etc.
- If there is gang
activity or drugs in our school
It’s
important that parents understand these are NOT issues that exist at PS
108. Providing a safe environment
for all is paramount. The following measures are taken regarding school safety
and respect:
- We believe in “Respect and the Best Appropriate
Education for All.”
Parents can rest assured that we take every precaution to ensure
the safety of our students, as well as, staff members.
- If an incident occurs
it is addressed immediately, whether it concerns a student or a staff
member.
- Drugs and gang
activity are NON EXISTENT in
our school. Both staff members and students are treated with respect
regardless of race, national origin or religion.
We
encourage and thank you for your input and we’ll continue to do our best and
address those issues which parents feel need to be improved upon. As always suggestions are welcomed, and
we look forward to a great school year.
Sincerely,
M.
Biondollilo
Principal
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