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September 24, 2013

Dear Chet F. Harritt Families,

Our school is an identified Title I School and has been for many years. This federally funded program provides financial assistance to schools to raise student academic achievement in reading, writing, and mathematics. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law requires that all Title I schools make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in improving student achievement.

Chet F. Harritt is considered a high performing school by exceeding the Academic Performance Index goal of 800 set by the state of California. Currently our Academic Performance Index stands at 860. Currently, we have not met some of the federal academic targets for specific groups of children in English Language Arts and Mathematics as required by No Child Left Behind legislation. As a result, Chet F. Harritt has now entered Year 2 in Program Improvement (PI).

School staff members have already begun reviewing student programs and will continue to use strategies designed to improve the quality of programs for students. In addition, the Single Plan for Student Achievement, an annual plan designed to target specific academic student needs, is being revised in order to continually strengthen core academic areas.

To learn more about our test scores specifically related to Adequate Yearly Progress, you can visit the California Department of Education website at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ar/ and you may also refer to our School Accountability Report Card under the "about us" tab on the school's website at http://www.santeesd.net/cfh.

Santee School District provides assistance to Chet F. Harritt by:

  • Identifying and recommending research-based programs and methods of instruction in reading and mathematics.
  • Supporting the school site in revising the Single Plan for Student Achievement.
  • Providing support and training in the area of parent involvement.

Parents can become more involved by understanding their child's academic goals for the school year as communicated through parent and teacher conferences, attending annual Title I parent meetings, and providing input on the school's parent involvement policy, Title I compact, and Single Plan for Student Achievement. It is also important that your child attends school regularly and completes all classwork and homework assignments.

We will be holding a parent meeting to further explain and answer questions regarding Adequate Yearly Progress and Program Improvement on Monday October 14, 2013 @ 5:00 pm.

Within the No Child Left Behind law, parents of students attending a Year 2 Program Improvement school may send their child to a non-Program Improvement school in the district providing there is space available at the non-Program Improvement school. Transportation to the new school can be provided by the District and only for as long as Chet F. Harritt School remains in Program Improvement. Under federal law, we must give first priority to the lowest-achieving, low-income students, if demand exceeds available resources.

If you wish to have your child transfer to another school, the following process should be followed:

  1. Attend the parent meeting on October 14th to better understand the academic strengths of Chet F. Harritt and No Child Left Behind legislation.
  2. If after the parent meeting, you would still like to transfer your child to a non-Program Improvement school within Santee School District, please schedule an individual meeting with me. I will provide you with an intra-district permit, a list of available openings, and discuss the best educational options for your child.

When a school is identified as Year 2 Program Improvement, supplemental educational services (SES) may be made available to students. These services are classes or tutoring in English Language Arts or mathematics, which occur outside the regular school day with educational providers approved by the State Board of Education. If the number of eligible students who apply for the SES program exceeds the financial resources available, the lowest achieving students from low-income families will receive SES first.

If you are interested in supplemental education services (SES), please contact me so we can discuss this possibility.

We look forward to a year of educational success and continuous improvement for all students. Thank you for your continued support of our students and our school community.

Sincerely,

Andrew Johnston

Principal