Dear Lafayette Families –
Whew! We are now in Week 4 of Term 4 and the building is full of smiles, laughter, and learning. On behalf of all of the teachers and staff, I want to extend our sincere gratitude for all of the Teacher Appreciation events. Thank you to each of you, your children, and the HSA for your unwavering support, and your beautiful displays of thanks over the past week. They were much needed and appreciation. Below are many significant updates – so please keep reading!
Summer Acceleration and Recovery
DCPS received federal stimulus money back in February to support summer programming for academic and social emotional acceleration and recovery. Our Academic Leadership Team has been hard at work identifying students who would most benefit from targeted supports as well as designing that programming. This is a need-based program that will focus on early literacy skills, targeted grade level organization skills, and social emotional learning. At this time, we have sent out 120 invitations to students to join us from July 26th – August 12th. We are excited to help this group of students get a jump start on the new school year and accelerate their learning.
Additional ESSER Funding
About two weeks ago, Chancellor Ferebee announced that schools would be receiving additional funds for the 2021-2022 school year to fill in the budget gaps in our initial allocations. The funds are provided by the ESSER III Recovery Funds.
Lafayette ES’s ESSER III Recovery fund amount is $917,559.00. This amount reflects the unapproved portion of the budget assistance request you submitted during FY22 budget development and/or the submitted-to-submitted year over year reduction your school is expected to experience. These one-time funds are flexible and can be used for PS or NPS items.
As these are one time funds we must be careful that we do not create unsustainable staff positions. In future years, we would need our enrollment growth to support the growth in funding. I have worked with our Academic Leadership Team, our SCAC (union) Team, and our LSAT to identify priorities and ways to utilize the additional funds. We have been incredibly mindful to think through the enrollment needs we would have in the coming years to support our decisions.
After meeting with our three different leadership groups and receiving input from our teachers, staff, and LSAT, we will be using the money in the following ways:
Restore positions that we had to cut in our initial allocation
-School Psychologist from 1.5 to 2 positions
-Spanish from 1.5 to 2 positions
-Special Education Resource Teacher from 6 to 7 positions
-PreK from 2 to 3 positions
-1st Grade from 6 to 7 positions
–Total of 4 positions
Additional positions to support areas of student need/teacher development
-Math Interventionist from 2 to 3 positions
-Reading Specialist from 2 to 3 positions
-PK/KDG Instructional Coach – new position
–Total of 3 positions
All of these positions support our goals from our Comprehensive School Plan, as well as position students and staff to receive more supports in smaller settings for the upcoming school year in reading, math, and for social emotional learning. The additional funds will be utilized for non-personnel spending for curriculum and other educational materials and classroom libraries.
End of the Year Dates and Events
Even though it sort of feels like October…It is Actually May! And the end of the year is here!!!! Below are two big events that we celebrate every year:
Field Day – Taco Bout A Field Day- It’s Virtually Delicious 2021
You heard that right! We’re getting ready for our second virtual Field Day and here’s what you need to know!
Field Day Date: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16th– It is ALL VIRTUAL! Similar to last year’s Pajama Party Field Day, students will complete activities in their homes, but we will have a whole school kick off in place of Wellness Wednesday!
Class T-Shirts: One of Lafayette’s most prized traditions! If you’re new to Lafayette, you’ve probably seen students walking around with class t-shirts on from previous years. These shirts are loved for many years to come!
5th grade promotion
- Our promotion date is set for Monday, 6/21.
- I am meeting with our 5th grade team this week to determine the format and times for our event.
- More information to come soon!
Other announcements and reminders
- Yearbooks on sale! Click here to order. Note- all 5th graders will get one for free, no need to order one.
- Makeup photo day – Tuesday, 5/18
- LSAT Elections are coming soon! Nominations due by 5/17. More info here
- Travel reminders – As a gentle reminder to us as a community – travel and quarantine could be hugely disruptive to our in person learning and virtual instructional models. Given the very long road back to in person learning, I encourage you to think through how potential travel (and thus quarantine) could negatively impact your child’s attendance and learning. Over the past year, we as a community have made it clear that we prioritize strong in person and virtual learning. We don’t want to jeopardize the progress we have made so far in both our virtual and in person settings – and we’re all in this together. If your child travels outside of the DMV, they must quarantine for 10 days OR get tested and provide negative test results at least 36 hours after their return. If your child is quarantining because of travel, you must email the attendance line:
Thank you to everything you are doing to support your child’s success at school. We are doing amazing things. Kudos to the teachers, staff, and families and the teamwork we have shown. Here’s to a great last 7 weeks!
Have a great week,
Dr. B