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Test Scores and Changes at Dundee

10/27/2017

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Parents attending last night's Dundee Elementary PTO Meeting got a lesson on testing - and what it means for our students and our school as a whole. Dundee Principal Kaye Kennedy talked about the NESA test results and the MAP tests and changes that have happened with both.

The NESA tests are required and administered by the State of Nebraska. They compare school's results against their scores from last year as well as against other schools in the state. The NESA test is undergoing some changes, though, including big changes last year to the English Language Arts portion of the test. The changes led to much lower scores on the English Language Arts section of the test than in prior years. That happened district-wide and state-wide. In fact, it makes it impossible to compare the English Language Arts scores to the prior year's numbers. At Dundee, 66% of the students met or exceeded expectations in the English Language Arts category. That number is much higher than the district average, but not near where Dundee's numbers were last year in the same category.

In Math and Science portions of the NESA test, Dundee continues to climb over time, with small bumps from year to year. Our 5 year average in Math trend has gone up about 4 points (at 83% meeting and exceeding standards). And in Science, the 5 year trend has gone up about 3 points (to 85% meeting and exceeding). But we know changes are coming to those tests as well that may make it hard to compare year-to-year results.

Omaha Public Schools also implemented district-wide MAP testing for all students in grades Kindergarten through 6th. The MAP test will be taken by Dundee students three times this year, once in September, again in mid-winter, and finally in the spring. The MAP test measures an individual students growth throughout the year. It allows the teachers to teach specifically to students based on what areas they need to improve upon. The teachers at the PTO meeting spoke very highly of the MAP testing's ability to truly measure where students are and what progress they make through the year.

In other PTO news during the meeting:
- The Dundee Direct fundraiser went very well, with more than $20,000 and additional money coming in. Also, the number of family's participating more than doubled after the final push to over 160 families contributing.
- Some of the money raised by Dundee Direct has been given to the school to update technology. Teachers talked about computers that continually crashed or took forever to boot up. They thanked the PTO for their generous donations.
- The OPS Board will celebrate Dundee Elementary's Blue Ribbon Award at their December 4th meeting at 6:30 at the TAC building. 
- About a dozen students from UNO's Service Learning Academy helped to clean up the south side gardens. Huge thanks to them!
- The sale of these super cool nighlights to fund a new Buddy Bench at Dundee are going well. Dundee student Ian Petrick spoke about his project and his goals for the Buddy Bench.
- There are several events coming up where we can use some volunteers, including Book Fair and Parent Teacher Conference Dinners.

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Dundee is Blue Ribbon School (times two)!

10/6/2017

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We announced the big news last week, but Dundee Elementary Principal Kaye Kennedy gave the PTO the full rundown at last night's PTO meeting about what it means to be a Blue Ribbon School.

And... it's a BIG DEAL!

This is the highest award the US Department of Education gives out each year. Dundee was nominated over the summer, filled out an extensive application (thanks to Ms. Kennedy and Mrs. Simmons!), and was announced as the winner late last week.

Only 4 schools in Nebraska were awarded Blue Ribbon status this year, and only 342 nationwide. There are two categories for winners - one celebrating a school's ability to "close the gap" and another celebrating a school's overall achievement. Dundee was awarded the Blue Ribbon status for overall achievement.

The most amazing thing? Dundee has already won this Blue Ribbon award back in 2005 so this is our second time being named a Blue Ribbon School.

The credit goes to the teachers, staff, administration, students, families, and the entire neighborhood that makes Dundee Elementary so great. And Ms. Kennedy and the PTO promise a celebration to mark the big award. Details will be coming soon.

In other PTO news....
- The Omaha Public School Board will spotlight Dundee Elementary at its December 4th (edited to reflect new date) meeting, including focusing on the Blue Ribbon school announcement.
- All students this year, Kindergarten through 6th grade, are taking the MAP test. This helps teachers and parents know how each individual child learns throughout the year. Each student will take the test in the fall, winter, and spring to compare results.
- The large number of students in the 4th grade class mean each classroom will receive paraprofessionals to help alleviate the pressure on teachers due to large class sizes. 
- Dundee is over-capacity again this year, at nearly 125%. The opening next year of the school in the Gifford Park neighborhood is expected to help alleviate this over-crowding.
- Dundee Direct raised $16,689, which is great but a bit below the goal for the year. Plans are in the works for another big, final push to get us to our goal. (Or you can always donate right here anytime!)

As always, let us know if you have any questions or any topics you'd like to see covered at an upcoming PTO meeting. Comment on this post or email us at DundeePTO@gmail.com.

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Support the businesses that support Dundee!  
The following businesses have made a contribution to Dundee Direct.  
Consider using their services and thank them for their contribution to our school!

 AJ's Cafe  |  Anderson Signs  |  Elmwood Pharmacy  |   J Development
Mama’s Pizza    |    Neff Towing     |   Simlogi, LLC
 Sara Rogers Photography   |   Transduction Technologies


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