October 7, 2024
Dear Davis Families,
I hope you all enjoyed the 4-day weekend! We’ve got a full week this week, with plenty going on in and out of Davis classrooms. We are gearing up for fall parent/teacher conferences and are glad to have dedicated time for these valuable meetings on 10/14. We also are entering our eighth week of school (can’t believe it- time is flying), which means our first nine-weeks report cards are coming soon. There will be a change to the Davis report cards this year and I’ve included more information about these changes below.
Parent/Teacher Conferences- Monday, October 14 (student holiday): Teachers will schedule conferences for this date, with options available for other dates. During the conferences, teachers will discuss the following:
- Student performance in all academic areas
- Fall MAP Growth results and interpretation (K–5) or Circle-PM CLI (PK)
- Previous year STAAR scores and interpretation (4th–5th)
- Attendance and behavior observations
- Strategies to support your child's learning at home
CAC Meeting This Thursday: Agenda items include: Austin ISD Prop A, Data Review- MAP Growth K-5th, Campus Improvement Plan Strategy Review, Davis Report Card Changes, Campus Updates, and Citizen’s Communication. The meeting will be held in the Davis library. Child care is available. All CAC meetings are open to the public.
Report Card Changes: This year, Davis report cards will change from a standards-based format to a traditional format. This means that grades will be reported on a 1-4 scale for students in PK-2nd grade and on an A-F scale for students in 3rd-5th grade. Teachers will continue to teach for mastery and report grades aligned with grade level standards. More detailed information will be shared soon about what to expect on the report cards. AISD staff will host report card information sessions on Thursday, 10/24, with English and Spanish sessions offered in the morning and evening. These sessions will also support parents in setting up Parent Self-Serve access to view real-time student grades.
Responsible Use Policy for Student Devices: Every Davis student has access to a Chromebook, with some checked out to individual students and others used as part of a class set. Every year, families must complete and submit a Responsible Use Policy Parent/Family Acknowledgement form for each student. Acknowledgement and adherence to the RUP is applicable each time anyone uses an AISD device, logs into our network and/or accesses the AISD portal and related applications. Please submit one form response for each student: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeOw2Ymza8U_pjWxflB1cdbl2yTzk5htXlda7Rw1-kl3tcjjw/viewform
Austin ISD Prop A: On August 19, 2024, the Austin ISD Board of Trustees voted to place a proposition to increase neighborhood school funding on the November 5 ballot. Prop A gives the community the opportunity to approve more funding to pay our teachers and provide direct support to the classroom. If approved, the proposition will provide an additional $41 million in funds for our schools, including $17.8 million for a teacher and staff compensation package to retain our educators. Prop A is about investing resources directly into the classroom. Link to more information: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z__nqEleTC5AGtUw3MgPm2aBuWtwoUGu/view?usp=sharing
Dyslexia Conference & Hopeville Screening: October is Dyslexia Awareness Month! AISD sponsored events include the 10th Annual Central Texas Dyslexia Conference and Hopeville Screening at the PAC.
Central Texas Dyslexia Conference 2024 - (Virtual)
- Dates: October 10th-31st
- Information: Join the AISD Dyslexia Team for the 2024 CTDC Dyslexia Conference (https://www.austinisd.org/dyslexiaconference2024). Registration is NOT required for the conference. On October 10th, a YouTube channel link will be available on this page- https://www.austinisd.org/dyslexiaconference2024/registration- to watch any and all of the presentations. The link will be available October 10-31, 2024.
Hopeville Screening - (In-person)
- Date and Time: Thursday, October 10, 2024, 6:30-8:00 PM
- Location: Austin ISD Performing Arts Center (PAC), 1500 Barbara Jordan Blvd, Austin, TX 78723
- Information: Join the AISD Dyslexia Team for a live screening of the new documentary "Hopeville: How to Win the Reading Wars"
- Registration: Registration is required. Please register here: https://ticketbud.com/events/6f87f19e-6a1d-11ef-aeb7-42010a717038.
Upcoming Events
10/8: Fall Individual Photos
10/10, 3:30-4:30pm: CAC Meeting
10/11, 8:30-9:00am: Kindergarten Butterfly Migration
10/14: Student Holiday, Fall Parent/Teacher Conference Day
10/15 & 10/16, 8am-1pm: McKinney Roughs Field Trip (5th)
10/16: Unity Day
10/18, 5:30-8:00pm: Dolphin BOO Fest
10/22, 9:15am-12:30pm: Thinkery Field Trip (1st)
10/22, 11am-1:30pm: Bob Bullock Field Trip (2nd)
10/23, 9:15am-12:30pm: Capitol Field Trip (4th)
10/23, 4-8pm: Dine with Davis @ Sonic, Jollyville
10/24: Safety Drills- Evacuation (fire, bomb)
10/24, 7:45-8:15am & 5:45-6:15pm: Report Card Parent Info Session (English)
10/24, 8:15-8:45am & 6:15-6:45pm: Report Card Parent Info Session (Spanish)
10/25: Reflections student entries due
10/25, 9:30-10:00am: School Wide Assembly (K-5th)- David Rush 4STEM
Thank you for being a part of Davis!
Jenny Daniels
Principal, Davis Elementary