Dear Jones Family,
I hope you are all doing well and staying safe and warm during these frigid days. We have completed our first semester in remote learning; hopefully, we will be able to return to in-person learning at some time before the end of the school year. In the meantime, our students and teachers continue to work hard to make the most of our current circumstances. I know we are all looking forward to the day when Jones Eagles can return to where they need to be, at 700 South State Street!
New Eagle Day: This is a reminder that we will launch our new Eagle Day schedule this week on Wednesday, 2/10. Students will be attending periods 1-8, with 8th period being Eagle Lab. Each class period will be 30 minutes and will focus on activities that reinforce learning and support social and emotional well-being. Students will be dismissed at 12:35 pm, and the remainder of the day will be asynchronous. A more detailed letter is being sent out separately.
Computer Science Award: Jones has earned the College Board's AP® Computer Science Female Diversity Award for expanding young women’s access to AP Computer Science Principles (CSP). This award acknowledges 1,119 schools for their work toward equal gender representation during the 2019-20 school year—nearly 37% more than the 818 schools recognized last year. Jones is one of only 831 schools to be recognized for achieving this important result. Congratulations to our computer science teachers, Cynthia Lilagan, Mike Kolody, and Bryant Jaramillo, for their excellent work in this area.
National Merit Scholarship Program (Seniors): The number of Jones Seniors who have qualified as National Merit Scholarship Program semi-finalists has increased to 28, the largest number and percentage of Jones graduates ever to be so recognized.
PSAT/NMSQT (Juniors): More than 420 Jones Juniors took the PSAT/NMSQT at school on January 26, 2021. Our new Assessment Coordinator, Ms. Nicole Guevara, is planning our next round of state and CPS-required College Board assessments (SAT and PSAT) in April. Detailed schedules will be forthcoming.
SAT Math Prep Class (Juniors): This is the 13th straight year we have offered SAT (earlier ACT) prep classes taught by Jones teachers to our Juniors. This year, more than 150 Juniors have signed up and are taking the SAT Math Prep Class. The class is offered at the nominal cost of $25, which is partially rebated based on student attendance. The class is free for students who qualify for fee waivers.
In-Person Instruction – High Schools: The high school reopening taskforce continues its work preparing for in-person instruction later in the school year. Recommendations on scheduling, logistics, health and safety, and other elements are being presented to CPS senior leadership. When and in what form in-person instruction may resume is yet to be determined.
In-Person Instruction – Cluster Program: Students in the Jones cluster programs for diverse learners returned to in-person instruction last month. Due to the on-going negotiations between CPS and CTU regarding school re-opening, cluster program students have resumed remote learning only. Based on the tentative CPS/CTU agreement, in-person instruction for students in the cluster programs will resume Thursday, 2/11.
Selective Enrollment Diverse Learner Enrollment (Update): The Corey H. court decision requires that all CPS schools enroll a percentage of students with IEPs equal to the percentage of such students in the district as a whole. While the CPS percentage has been going up (now over 14% of CPS students have IEPs), the percentage for most selective enrollment high schools has been gradually decreasing. The current percentage for Jones is between 5 and 6%. To begin rectifying this discrepancy, CPS will be offering an expanded number of seats for incoming Freshmen with IEPs through the selective enrollment process. The Jones taskforce is developing a plan to provide the services, programming, and resources required to meet the needs of our incoming students with IEPs.
Senior Season Planning: We are planning our Senior celebrations for later in the spring. Due to the uncertainty of re-opening, we are developing parallel events schedules and venues (in-person and virtual) for our traditional Senior events: Panoramic (class picture), “Cup Cake Day,” Prom, Honors Convocation, Graduation. Earlier in the school year, Seniors and their families received our in-person dates for some of these events. We will keep everyone informed as we know more about our options.
CPS Vision Program: The CPS Vision Program (Ageless Eye Care) will be providing eye exams and glasses at their office for a limited time, by appointment only. Services for CPS students will continue to be provided at no cost to the family (if applicable, public insurance will be billed). Eye Exams Flyer [ English | Spanish ]
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at any time at pjpowers@cps.edu.
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