Parents and Guardians,

We are inviting you to join us in the assessment process that we will be introducing into
the classrooms this year! We will be focusing on informal assessments. These assessments will include
daily observations that will allow us to see growth In the students development, and help us evaluate
where growth is lacking. This knowledge from assessments will significantly change the way we are
teaching the children, allowing us to focus on curriculum opportunities that will help aid in the students
growth and potential.
Our plan will be to involve all of the teaching faculty as well as the students and
hopefully all of the parents and guardians. Our teachers and their aides will observe and record raw
data of the students during all activities from free play, lunch, and to quiet time. We hope to involve
you, as the guardians of the students during quarterly conferences and by creating a portfolio of not
only the students work but also our observations!
These daily assessments will allow us to uncover the challenges and opportunities of
every child. Once we are able to recognize an opportunity for growth and understand what is causing
specific behaviors or challenges, we as teachers can change the situation to better assist your child. We
are excited to say that this will allow us to produce solutions, help your child grow and develop, and
help get them ready for their future.
These assessments will be gathered through observations, as mentioned above, we plan
to have daily observations during multiple areas of learning and play. One observation method we are
planning to use is anecdotal notes; a teacher or aide can quickly record any observations they make that
relates to a developmental area. Another observation method we will use will be event sampling; if our
teachers or aides notice and continuous behaviors from a child we will consider that an event and
they will record the event, what happened, how long did it last, and we will also try to record what led
up to it or what happened afterwards. We will use other forms of observation but these two will play a
key role in beginning this process.
We are asking you to participate in this wonderful process so that we can provide your
children with the best possible education and environment possible. We will also make sure that we are
prepared to share information with you in multiple ways. We will make sure that we continually take
relevant observations, keep information in an organized portfolio, and notify you if we notice anything
important. We will also make sure to have resources readily available to help you and have quarterly
gatherings for all parents; snacks and food dishes will be provided at these gatherings as well for
families that attend. Most importantly, our promise to you is that we will make sure that all of your
information and your child's information will be completely confidential.
I as well as the teaching staff are hoping you choose to join us in this step to better
educate your children. We will begin at the beginning of this school year and if you have any concerns
please call the principal (520-678-3000) or contact the school board (520-678-7003).
thank you for your time,
Cheyanne Martinez