Last Friday the Salt Lake Tribune singled out to the great work of Principal Larry Dean and the fantastic teachers at Forbes Elementary School in American Fork (see Bad marks for Utah's schools). The article focused on the struggles of schools that failed to meet AYP (adequate yearly progress). Forbes was the example of a school that successfully overcame failing to make AYP last year.
The first thing you need to know is that Forbes Elementary has a long, proud tradition within the community. You also need to know that Forbes is staffed by some of our most dedicated educators. After failing to achieve AYP last year, instead of bemoaning their recent addition of students with special learning needs, the faculty and staff came together to reflect and to identify how best to address the learning needs of each student. This example highlights the best educator qualities: a desire to help every student learn, effective collaboration, and a process for continual evaluation and improvement. As I visited with Principal Dean several weeks ago, he shared with me these accomplishments and the challenges that they overcame. He beamed with enthusiasm and pride, both for his students and their achievement as well as for his devoted faculty and staff. I knew this was truly a team effort.
Good job Forbes. Keep up the great work!
p.s. Nice picture Pam! Does this means that you are bringing in donuts for everyone?
p.p.s. Check out the Utah Performance and Assessment System for Students for more information.



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