Happy February, Madison families! I hope you all had a restful and joyful winter break and holiday season. The new year has certainly started a bit crazy with all the snow and ice, but it’s great to have everyone back and see all the smiling faces as we wrap up the first semester and head into the second semester.
The academic advising process for the 25-26 school year is well underway. If you missed our curriculum information sessions, please visit our academic advising webpage here. During these sessions, we shared information about new courses and some important considerations for course selection, including workload and stress level. I strongly encourage you to discuss course selections with your student(s) to help minimize stress. It’s important to find a balance between being active and engaged, and feeling overwhelmed.
Over the past few months, we have shared information about Madison’s chronic absenteeism rate in our This Week At Madison communications. In the new VDOE accountability framework, chronic absenteeism is worth 5% of our overall score. The latest data shows Madison with an overall rating of 92%, which is close to the cutoff between being a “distinguished” school and a school designated as “on-track.” If you are interested in learning more, please visit the VDOE School Performance and Support Framework website to see the proposed changes and how schools will receive their ratings.
The new “Ready for Life 3E Framework” of the VDOE accountability framework focuses on employment, enlistment, and enrollment. Schools receive credit across all three categories based on a student’s course selections and performance in that course. The 3E framework offers the best opportunity to improve Madison’s 92% overall rating. Please note that the military entrance exam also serves as a valuable career assessment. This assessment can provide insight into aptitudes and post-graduation plans without requiring information sharing with the military. If your child is unsure about their next steps after Madison, I recommend discussing this assessment with their school counselor. Here’s a snapshot of how the 3E calculations work. For more information, Visit the VDOE website here.
The following are a few additional items for your consideration:
- New Mission and Vision Statements. Please take a moment to provide your input for the creation of our new mission and vision statement. You can submit your input here.
- Principal’s Advisory Council (PAC). We were excited to kick off our first Principal’s Advisory Council meeting on January 24th. The council is comprised of one student representative from each 4th-period advisory class. Our work this year will be crafting a new mission and vision statement for Madison. Once this work is done, PAC will be instrumental in providing critical feedback and input on school initiatives moving forward.
- Student Driver Concerns. We continue to get complaints from community members about bad driving practices on Flint Hill Road, specifically during arrival and dismissal times. Please check your email for a summary of the recent safety assessment of our parking lot during peak hours. The safety of our students, K to 12, is our top priority. We appreciate your cooperation in making our parking lot and surrounding areas safe for everyone.
Sincerely,
Liz Calvert, Principal
Madison High School
2500 James Madison Drive
Vienna, Virginia 22181
Phone: 703-319-2311
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://madisonhs.fcps.edu/