August 16, 2007

TO PARENTS OF STUDENTS ATTENDING M. B. Smiley High School:

Under the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) is required to identify campuses in need of improvement if the campus does not make adequate yearly progress (AYP) for the same indicator for two consecutive years. TEA has notified the school district administration in August of this year, that M. B. Smiley High School will be subject to Stage Four school improvement requirements for not meeting AYP in and Mathematics for two or more years. M. B. Smiley High School was rated as a low performing school for the 2006-2007 school year.

The NCLB Act (P.L. 107-110) requires the district to notify you of this status and to provide you 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.

You may read about the AYP definition on TEA’s website at: www.tea.state.tx.us/ayp/2007/guide.pdf.

In addition the website also describes the school improvement requirements at www.tea.state.tx.us/nclb/Schoolimprovement06.html. If you do not have access to the Internet, please call the contact person listed at the end of this letter and this information will be provided to you.

As the parent or guardian of a student attending a campus identified for school improvement status, you have the option to request a transfer of your child to another public school within the district that is not identified for school improvement status. You have the option to request a transfer beginning immediately or at the beginning of the second semester. As stated above, even if the campus is granted an appeal of this designation, the school transfer requests will be honored through the end of the school year and the district will provide transportation. The following campuses are available to you to request a transfer: Forest Brook High School

To request a transfer, for academic information on campuses available for transfer, or for more information on this school choice option, please contact Mrs. J. Crawford, Lead Counselor.

Additional information related to the following areas is available on the TEA website.

* an explanation of what the school improvement status means; www.tea.state.tx.us/nclb/Schoolimprovement06.html
* how the campus compares in performance to other elementary campuses or secondary campuses in the district and the state; www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/reporting/
* more detailed information on the reason(s) for the status; www.tea.state.tx.us/ayp

The campus will be implementing the following to address the reasons the campus has been identified for school improvement:
Scientifically based researched reading activities; Intensive and sustained staff professional development; Pre and post benchmark tests; Incorporating Higher Order Thinking skills according to Bloom’s Taxonomy; Increased parental involvement, Incorporate common assessments that are TAKs formatted; and after school and Saturday tutorials.

In addition, the district will provide the following assistance to the campus to address the reasons for identification under AYP:
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M. B. Smiley high School is committed to a strong partnership in education between parents, community and the school. In order to facilitate this commitment, you may assist in the following ways:
Participate in parent involvement activities that assist you in learning how to increase your child’s achievement level; Attend parent-teacher conferences; Make sure that you receive report cards and keep up with your child’s progress in each class; Communicate regularly with your child’s teachers; Make certain your child attends after school and Saturday tutorials when offered.

All students from low-income families are eligible to request supplemental educational services if they attend a Title I, Part A campus that has failed to make AYP for three consecutive years. Supplemental educational services are defined as tutoring and other supplemental academic enrichment services that are in addition to instruction provided during the school day and are of high quality, research-based, and specifically designed to increase the academic achievement of eligible children on the state assessment and to assist them in attaining proficiency in meeting the state's academic achievement standards.

If you have questions concerning this letter or need us to provide you with paper copies of the material referenced in the web sites, please contact Ms. T. Taylor, Dean of Curriculum and Instruction.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Geraldine Gibson, Principal
M. B. Smiley High School