Dear Parents & Guardians:

We believe that the best way for our students to succeed is through the combined efforts of the school, parents, and child. We also believe that sharing the specific learning goals with you and then regularly reporting on your child’s progress is an important first step in helping your child be successful in school.

With that in mind, over the last year and a half, MDIRSS has developed a list of essential standards to guide teacher instruction in our schools. We define essential standards as those that are vital, central, and necessary for our students to learn during their school experience in order to be prepared for successful futures. The essential standards are at the core of our teachers’ units of study.

This is a learning year for all of us (students, teachers, administrators, school committees, and parents, and others) as we work with the essential standards to improve student achievement. We anticipate that we will make adjustments along the way as we encounter new ideas and new solutions, and we encourage parents to offer their feedback and insights along the way.  We have plans for a parent forum later in January/early February where you can come and learn more about the teaching and learning process with our essential standards.

But for now, we invite you to review these essential standards to better help you understand what your child will be learning this year and to help you understand the categories on your child’s K-5 report card. The essential standards were sent home during Parent-Teacher Conferences, but you can also find them on the curriculum website. http://www.mdirss.org/curriculum-home.html

Sincerely,

Robert E. Liebow

MDIRSS Superintendent of Schools