TO PARENTS OF STUDENTS ATTENDING FABENS MIDDLE SCHOOL:

Under the accountability provisions in the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act (P.L. 107-110), all public school campuses and districts are evaluated annually for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).  Campuses and districts are required to meet AYP criteria on three measures:  Reading/Language Arts, Mathematics, and either Graduation Rate (for high schools and districts) or Attendance Rate (for elementary and middle/junior high schools).

On August 8, 2012, The Texas Education Agency (TEA) notified the Fabens Independent School District (hereafter referenced as the Local Education Agency or LEA) that Fabens Middle School will be subject to Stage 1, Year 2 school improvement requirements during the 2012-2013 school year for not meeting AYP in Reading in our English Language Learners subgroup for two or more consecutive years.  You may read about the AYP definition on the TEA’s website at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/ayp/.  The TEA’s, website at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=4459&menu_id=798describes the requirements for schools identified in the School Improvement Program (SIP).

The NCLB Act requires the LEA to notify you of the campus’ SIP status and to provide you with the following information. Please be advised that the campus will have the opportunity to appeal this school improvement designation later this fall. However, the requirements described in this letter must be implemented for the entire school year, regardless of the outcome of the appeal.

As the parent or guardian of a student attending a campus identified for school improvement, you have the option to request a transfer of your child to another public school within the LEA that is not identified for school improvement. However, this campus is not able to offer school choice because there are not any other campuses in our district.

In lieu of not being able to offer school choice, the campus will offer the following additional educational activities:  in and out of school tutorials, supplemental assistance to both students and teachers, and staff professional development.

The Fabens Middle School will be implementing the following activities to address the reasons the campus has been identified for school improvement:  team building, accurate data disaggregation, unified data perception, and increased parental involvement, along with other activities.  In addition, the LEA will provide the following assistance to the campus to support improvement efforts at a system level:  fiscal, central office administration support, and state and local trainings.

You may become involved in addressing the reasons the campus is identified for improvement by assisting in the following ways:  assist campus staff in revising the campus improvement plan; participate in parent involvement activities that assist you in learning how to increase your child’s achievement level; attend parent-teacher conferences.

A campus identified in Stage 2 school improvement, or above, is required to offer Supplemental Educational Services (SES), which is free tutoring, to eligible students from low-income families.  If your student is eligible for SES, you will receive additional detailed information about these services.  Information on SES is available at http://www.sirctexas.net/.

If you have questions concerning this letter or require paper copies of the material referenced in the web sites, please contact Dr. David J. Rueda, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction at (915)765-2602.

Respectfully,

Poncho Garcia
Superintendent of Schools
Fabens Independent School District

Click here to download a copy of this letter in English & Spanish.