November 16, 2014
Dear St. Raphael School Families and Parishioners,
We are about halfway through the 2 ^nd Quarter of school, and I’d like to review some things that we have learned about our new grading system. I have had numerous conversations with parents who have questions about the grading system, and these have all been positive discussions. We can learn so much from each other just by discussing issues, and I encourage you to contact me whenever you have questions.
Use of the 4,3,2,1,0 Scale was mostly successful in the 1 ^st Quarter, and we are working to clear up any confusion or inconsistencies that we experienced. It’s important to remember that this scale is NOT the same as the A,B,C,D,F Scale. A 4 means that the student’s level of learning is far above and beyond what is expected for that grade level. A 3 means that the student’s level of learning is right on target for that grade level; that student is learning everything that he or she should be learning. A 2 means that the student is making good progress, but has not yet reached the level of learning expected for that grade level. A 1 means that the student is struggling to learn, and a 0 means that the student is not showing any evidence of learning. In this grading system, a 4 is an unusual and exceptional grade, and a 3 is what we want and expect to see from students. So this requires a shift in thinking – if you expect your child to learn what he or she is supposed to learn, then a 3 is the grade that you should expect.
Why did we shift to this grading scale? Most of us grew up with the traditional 0-100 point grading scale and we feel very comfortable with it. We never questioned the validity of this system because it was the only grading scale we knew. But I ask you to consider this: in the 100 point scale, over 60% of the scale is devoted to FAILURE. The range for failure in this scale is incredibly disproportionate to the range of success in learning. Is that who we really want to be? Our faculty made the courageous decision last year to change grading scales so that the range of failure would be equal to the other ranges of learning. We are about LEARNING at St. Raphael, not about failure. Our new grading scale allows us to focus on learning. Next week I will touch on the topic of separating academic achievement from behavior, and what that means for student grades.
Our featured teacher this week is Mrs. Christy Connor, our 6 ^th Grade teacher. Mrs. Connor holds a Bachelors Degree in Elementary and Music Education from Fontbonne University, and a Masters Degree in Religious Education from Loyola. While her certification is in music education, much of Mrs. Connor’s teaching experience has been in Social Studies, English, and Religion. She is probably best known by the St. Raphael community for her work on History Day. This national competition challenges students to complete long-term and thorough research on an historical theme, figure, or event, and to present their findings in a number of ways, e.g. performance, paper, display or documentary. Mrs. Connor spends countless hours outside of school with the History Day students in preparation for the spring competition. Her students regularly go from the regional to the state-wide competition, and she always has at least one team advance to the national competition in Washington D.C. This is just one example of the important work Mrs. Connor does in bringing history to life for her students. When I am in her classroom observing a Social Studies lesson, I am amazed at the presence she brings. Her students are literally hanging on her every word, as they learn about and discuss history. Mrs. Connor was the recipient of the Excellence in Education Award from the Missouri Humanities Council in 2013, and we too are honored to have her on our faculty!
Please continue to keep our students and teachers in your prayers!
Peace and Blessings,
Kim Vangel
Principal