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Dear d.tech families,
Being a part of d.tech means that you are part of a community committed to redesigning education. This gives our students tremendous opportunities, like this amazing story in Fast Company, and it also requires some adjustment by students and parents. We have found that in the first month of school two things can cause parents to be anxious: competency-based grading and monitoring progress.
Competency-based grading requires students to revise their work until they meet the standard. In a traditional system, time is held constant, but learning varies because everyone turns in an assignment at the same time and then moves on to the next thing regardless of how much they learned. Competency-based grading is a much more effective system for learning, but it can cause confusion when parents look at student’s progress. All students must earn a 75% or above to meet the standard, so if a student turns something in and it’s below 75%, there will be a number and the code DV which means the work is still developing. When the work has met the standard there will just be a number, which represents the student's grade on the assignment. This process also means that a teacher may grade an assignment multiple times, which can slow down the grading process.
Another possible source of confusion is that the grade book contains comprehension checks (CCs) as well as Performance Task (PTs) and Unit Exams (UEs). Comprehension checks are used as signals to the teacher and the student that the student is ready for the performance task or unit exam. Students must complete CCs with a score of 75% or higher to move on to the next task, but they do not impact the student’s grade in the class.
Another adjustment for parents is getting used to Buzz after being familiar with systems such as School Loop or Power School. When looking at these systems, it’s important to note their differences. Power School and School Loop are designed for the primary function to allow parents to monitor their child’s progress. Buzz’s primary function is to deliver curriculum and assessment to students. Buzz has many more functions on the teacher side than Power School and School Loop. We realize that there is a learning curve involved, but our primary consideration for our platform is giving teachers maximum functionality in delivering their curriculum.
Thanks for your patience and understanding and we’ll do everything we can to help you all through the learning curve.
Have a great week,
Ken
“Building the Dream” - October 22 Fundraising Gala
Dear d.tech families,
Don't miss it! Help us "Build the Dream!" We are just five short weeks away from our gala on October 22, 2016 in the beautiful CSM Bayview room.
Invitations have been sent, and ticket purchasing is underway! Early-bird tickets are just $65.00 per person until September 30 when they increase to $75.00. Last day to purchase tickets for the Gala: October 14. For tickets and information go to dtechfundraising.com
We are still looking for sponsorships and donations! All sponsorships receive two complimentary tickets to the event. Please see Sponsorship Letter, Sponsorship Levels and Sponsorship Form for a choice of opportunities. For sponsorship questions, email Esther Gillette, or call 415-492-6398.
We also need auction donations to build an assortment of packages to bid on. Do you have gift cards, electronics, or any other tangibles that could make a package? Sporting Tickets? A special trade that would fit together with our Dutch Parties Initiative?
The more donations, the more successful this gala will be! Please contact Phyllis Garland with auction questions.
Thank you for your support!
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Annual Fund Drive
Have you made your annual fund pledge? We have raised $33,000 and our 2016/17 goal is to raise $300,000. We are hoping that all families can pledge $1200; however, we will joyfully accept any amount. The Drive runs until June 1, 2017. The fund will pay for chromebooks, Intersession, field trips, the May camping trip, and, most importantly, it will help cover the charter school funding gap of $5,500 per student. Again, the annual fund will pay for the educational needs of our students for this year. Please go to this link to pledge your support and or start a payment plan via PayPal, your credit card, or transfer from your checking account.
Questions? Contact Alexandra Kromelow 650-201-9664 or via email Alexandra@kromelow.com and Sarah Krummel at skrummel@dtechhs.org
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