Quaker Valley Reporter_May 1979

              mot uHuPistrict gets top marks on
^"1;'Information, concern for kids
Edgeworth pupils
get RIF books
It was another book for Connie Lawrence as
the Edgeworth Home and School Association
staged its final Reading Is FUNdamental
(RIF) distribution. The theme this time was
"Sing Out for RIF."
When the first two books were distributed, the
association used the themes "A Vote for RIF Is
a Vote for Yourself   and  "Powwow for RIF/'
Home and School Association members chose
the books to be offered, as well as handled the
distribution. Undaunted by the task of bringing
together over 500 children and more than 1500
books, they're already planning a fall Wizard of
Oz campaign.
1979
Community residents who responded to the
taxpayers' survey distributed recently agreed
the district:
1. Gives enough information about
educational programs.
2. Is responsive to concerns expressed about
individual children.
3. Provides informative reports concerning
children's progress.
4. Has a challenging program.
5. Uses community resources well to benefit
instruction.
6. Offers a sufficient variety of courses.
7. Provides an effective special education
program.
Six percent of residents returned the survey.
Of these, 53 percent have children in the
schools, 47 percent do not. The survey was also
answered by 167 seniors and 16 of last year's
graduates. The graduates' responses were very
similar to those of residents.
However, seniors frequently differed. For
example, on points 1, 2, and 5 listed above, the
majority of seniors answering the question felt
the district does not do a good job.
When teachers, administrators, and board
members were evaluated, both groups ranked
them effective. However, residents were more
positive than seniors. Eighty-eight percent of
residents said QV teachers rank between
average and very good. Only 73 percent of the
seniors agreed. On administrators, 83 percent
of residents felt they were average to very
good, 71 percent of seniors agreed. The school
board was viewed positively by 84 percent of all
residents and only 53 percent of seniors.
All groups agreed, however, that the Quaker
Valley vocational programs prepare students
to enter the job market. The positive responses
in this area ranged between 80 and 92 percent.
When asked to rank student strengths,
residents listed the top three as knowledge of
science concepts, awareness of environmental
issues, and appreciation of music. The seniors
named the top three as math, reading, and
appreciation of music.
Both groups saw the weakest areas as
writing, grammar, and study skills. Additionally, the seniors listed attitude toward
learning as a problem.
As a result of the survey, six general
recommendations have been made and will be
included in the long range plan to be filed with
the state Department of Education. But, the
effects of the survey will not be limited to the
written report. A task force will be appointed in
each building to evaluate areas that were
considered weak. The groups will attempt to
determine whether the actual program needs to
be improved, or whether information about it
has not been fully and accurately conveyed.
Each group will then make specific recommendations for changes it sees as necessary to
improve the quality of education in a building.
The general recommendations or conclusions
drawn from the survey suggest that the
following areas be carefully considered.
Community residents and seniors agree that:
1. Study skills, the ability to speak and write
with good grammar, and writing could be
improved.
(continued on page 4)
QUAKER VALLEY REPORTER
/;
Volume 9, Number 3
News of the Quaker Valley School District
May, 1979
Teachers unite to improve student writing
The focus is on good writing for Quaker
Valley junior and senior high students.
"Communications Quotient" (CQ) requires all
junior high students to be alert for errors in
spelling, punctuation, and grammar. The
senior high program emphasizes composition
and revision skills.
CQ, which began last fall, involves every
student and teacher. Posters in classrooms help
remind   students   to   proofread   their   work.
Teacher Norma Harlan and Helen Hopton confer over a
composition at the senior high. Sophomores at the school
have just completed a unit stressing quality writing.
Spelling, capitalization, or grammatical errors
are corrected by all teachers, not just those
teaching English. To emphasize the positive,
teachers give extra credit for good grammar,
but do not deduct points for mistakes.
"It is the responsibility of all teachers to see
that written assignments adhere to the junior
high program of proofreading for errors in
order to raise students' CQ," said Principal
Raymond Bergman, who initiated the program.
At the senior high, sophomores learned to
evaluate their own written work and that of
others in a nine-week pilot program, "Focus on
Composition." English teachers had
sophomores prepare a rough draft, exchange it
with a classmate, revise it, and then submit a
final draft. A conference with the teacher
followed.
Quality rather than quantity was the focus.
The experiences and actual writing of the
students made up the content of the program.
Now, the important features of both the CQ and
composition programs will be used to set
direction for teaching writing in the district.
"The composition course helped many
students realize writing is not so difficult as
they thought," said English Coordinator
Shirley Stevens.
"Writing always scared me," one student
said, "because I thought you had to get it right
the first time. Now I see that it's just important
to get your ideas down. You can fix the fine
points later."
v    ~    PUNCTUfcllOH
V
Suzanne Klein shows off a CQ poster used at the junior high
to remind students to proofread their work.