Message from the Director

Happy Fall to Our Colorado SKIES Community!

On October 10th, 11th, and 14th, we will be conducting our first Individualized Learning Plan (ILP) meetings with learners and their parents/guardians. These are a lot like Parent/Teacher Conferences, with a twist. Since this is the first time for learners, families, and facilitators to go through this experience, and it’s important to academic and personal learner growth, I am devoting this entire Monday Message to the Individualized Learning Plan meeting and process. 

Learner Preparation: Learners identify two academic goals using results from the MAP testing just completed and/or classroom input from their facilitators (Note: A MAP results report will be mailed home within the next few days). Action steps the learner will take to achieve the academic goals are also noted in the ILP. Secondly, learners identify a social/emotional goal, such as Self-Control, Zest (being able to embrace change), Optimism, Social Interaction (willing to openly participate with other learners), Responsibility, and more.  Action steps to achieve the social/emotional goal are also noted. Most of the answers will be provided by the learner as s/he establishes the goals with some guidance and input from parents and facilitators.

Parent/Guardian Preparation: You will receive a letter from your learner’s Advisory Facilitator along with a Parent Questionnaire to be completed and returned to the facilitator before the ILP meeting. Your insights will also be incorporated into the ILP, as you know your learner best. For those learners who have an IEP, ALP, or 504, the academic and affective goals from these plans can be the goals for the ILP, easily meeting both plans for the benefit of the learner. 

We want every parent/guardian to participate in a 30-minute ILP meeting, either in person or virtually through a Zoom meeting, where you can talk and see the facilitator’s screen as the ILP is refined. October 10th and 11th will be half days for our learners, with the day ending at 12:45 p.m. ILP meetings will be scheduled in the afternoon. Monday, October 14th, will be another opportunity for ILP meetings, starting at 3 p.m. and going later into the evening. Your learner’s Advisory Facilitator will be sending you full ILP meeting schedules with an electronic signup so you can determine an available time that works best for you.

Ongoing Documentation: After the ILP meeting, your learner will be gathering classroom assignments and evidence of growth toward those three goals. Facilitators will provide information and evidence of growth toward those three goals. In the spring, your learner will present to you the evidence that has been gathered showing his/her learning and achievement of the ILP goals in our Learner Led Conferences (LLC). It is truly a celebration of learning!

I hope you share my excitement in seeing the goals our learners are going to set for themselves with facilitator and parent input!  Too often, it seems, we do not involve the most important person in goal setting, the learner. I cannot wait to learn from them about the goals they have for themselves, and then, how they will achieve them!  Please join us and your learner on October 10th, 11th, or 14th for a learning journey!

Suzanne Acheson
School Director

Colorado SKIES Academy
Colorado SKIES Academy is a free public charter school authorized by the Cherry Creek School District, open to students throughout the Arapahoe County and Douglas County areas. This STEAM middle school serving grades 6-8 is located at Centennial Airport next to Wings Over the Rockies Exploration of Flight.
Colorado SKIES Academy

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