Dear Parents,
It has been a wonderful first week back, and your children are acclimating to their new routines very well! We are enjoying seeing our students who were here last year and getting to know all the new faces, too.
For those who were able to come to Open House, you heard me briefly mention that the district will be giving "Agency" grades to students this year. Why Agency? Agency grades are related to work ethic. The business community has told schools across the state that businesses increasingly need graduates who have a strong work ethic and are able to work collaboratively in teams. The Pea Ridge School District has made the important decision to prepare our students for the workforce, and Agency is one of the ways we are doing this.
Important indicators of Agency grades include "Completing Tasks on Time Using Resources," "Using Effort and Practice to Grow," and "Actively Participating to Learn." Whenever your child is working on an assigned project and there is a deadline to be met, the Agency rubric will be used. The Agency grade will be worth 15 points each time the rubric is used. I am attaching the Agency Rubric to this letter so that you can see what skill levels are required for each indicator.
In addition to the Agency Rubric which will be used for projects, each child will also receive a weekly Agency grade for regular classwork. This grade will be based on whether work was completed, turned in on time, and full effort was evident. The weekly Agency grade will be worth 10 points.
At the end of the quarter, Agency points will be weighted 15 percent of a student's total grade, and content of the assignments and projects will be weighted 85 percent of the grade. A student will never lose content points for late work, lack of effort, or any other thing measured by Agency; however, if a student consistently loses Agency points because of his or her lack of a strong work ethic, then that student could possibly lose the 15 percent Agency which would result in a grade no higher than 85 percent for the quarter. Agency has the potential to help the grades of students who are cooperative, hard workers, but it can also affect the grades of students who are not.
Students often work in collaborative groups in school, and as a part of learning to work with others, they may be assigned to their groups according to their Agency ratings. Thus, students who work well with others and work hard will be rewarded by being placed with other students who also have a good work ethic. If a student's Agency grade falls, then he or she will be placed in a group of students who also have not shown an interest in collaborating well with others. To help your child begin to understand the importance of a growth mindset and the development of a strong work ethic, I recommend that you reflect on your child's Agency grades with him or her and set goals for continued growth in this area. Even children who score well in Agency can always learn to improve their skills through regular reflection.
I hope you will enthusiastically join with our district in preparing your child for the 21st Century workforce!
Respectfully,
Sarah Stokes, principalPea Ridge Intermediate School
Editorial on 09/17/2014