By Dana Drake
March is here, and what a busy month it is.
If you have a child in third grade or above, chances are you’ve heard them talk about the PARCC. PARCC, short for Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, is a group of 20 states working together to develop a common set of computer-based assessments in mathematics and English language arts/literacy aimed to measure students’ progress in meeting new Common Core standards and whether students are on course to be successful in college and careers.
Beginning this month, the first portion of the PARCC assessment, the Performance-Based Assessment (long answer questions), will be administered to students in grades 3–11. The second portion, the End-of-Year Assessment (short answer questions), will be administered in late April/early May.
The Lawrence Township Public Schools administration held two informative workshops about the PARCC assessment earlier this year. The PowerPoint slides used during the workshops, and links to additional PARCC information and resources can be found on the district’s website at ltps.org.
As mentioned in previous months, we have been very busy this year with the strategic planning process for both the LTPS district as a whole and our special education program. We are pleased to have had students, staff, parents and community members join us in this important process. If you have not been able to join us, outcomes of these meetings can be found on the district website. It’s not too late to participate. The next district strategic planning meeting, “Continue Community Conversation,” is scheduled for Wednesday, March 18 from 6:30–9 p.m. at the Lawrence High School Library. The next special education strategic planning meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 31 from 7–9 p.m. at the Lawrence High School Library.
Also happening this month are three student productions. The LMS production of “The Wizard of Oz” is scheduled for Mar. 5, 6 and 7 at 7 p.m. (Tickets on sale online.) The LHS Musical production of “Beauty and the Beast” is scheduled for Mar. 19, 20 and 21 at 7p.m. And the LIS Musical production of “The Little Mermaid” is scheduled for Mar. 26, 27 and 28 at 7 p.m.
As of mid-February, the district had used two snow days due to winter weather conditions. This means school will now be in session on Friday, June 5 and Friday, June 12. The online district calendar has been updated to reflect this. Don’t forget, school will be closed Friday, March 13.
Dana Drake is a member of the Lawrence Township Board of Education. Let us hear from you—if there are any particular issues you would like addressed, please email askaboardmember@ltps.org.
