Margret Day, principal of Avalon ISD cannot wait for school to start. She was very impressed with what the students accomplished last year and cannot wait to see what they will achieve this year.

Mrs. Day explained, “Last year we had five new teachers, which is half of our staff in this building. Our greatest goal was to stay recognized with that much new staff and we did that. We accomplished it, we are still recognized, we are on the top end, of ‘almost exemplary’. We are hoping that this year we will go on and push over the top to exemplary.”

Last year the major emphasis was on reading. Day explained, "We started a reading program called “Head Sprout” that we put all of our second graders through. It worked very well. Some of the students were below grade level when they started and they all ended on grade level. This is a computer based program. This year we are going to extend that program, it is from the same company but it is a new program that will work on comprehension. In eighty lessons it is supposed to take the students from second grade to mid fourth grade. We are trying to get them above level in their reading.

This year they have restructured their math program and will have two math classes. "One will be out of the text book like we always do and the other one is going to be what I call “Stand Alone”. It will be a math class with manipulatives —when we teach time they will have a clock, when we teach money they will have coins to work with. Some of the things we will be teaching are time, money, temperature, shapes. All of the things you can just teach that don’t have to fit into a sequence. Then we will work on their math facts because we feel this is a weak area."

Some of the new teaching aids Avalon will have this year are: Smart Boards for grades second through twelfth and a projector for Pre-K through first grade. Day explained, “The Smart Board is a technology board or screen, where you can shoot information on it from your computer. It has connection to the internet which enables you to pull down lessons. For example the teacher could pull down a big compass or a protractor or a grid screen, and it is inter-active with the kids. You actually can use your finger and write things on it.”

“The big goal this year is to stay recognized and get exemplary. We are two or three points away from making exemplary. We made a big jump in our math scores and our reading and our writing scores held firm. We stayed the same or improved. We have great teachers and great students. I think it will be a great year. It is fun and the kids are going to enjoy it and the teachers are excited,” bragged principal Day.

Welcome back to school!