Upcoming Events
Announcements
Bethel Gingerbread Shop
The Gingerbread shop will open Monday, December 10th and run through Friday, December 14th! The hours are: Monday (8:10am-2:15pm & 5:00pm-8:00pm), Tuesday-Thursday (8:10am-2:15pm) and Friday (8:10am-12:10pm). Please use this link to sign up: www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0f4caaae2ea6fa7-bethel2
This is such a fun and festive time for the children of Bethel Elementary, and they love this opportunity to shop for their family members. In order for this to be successful, we need volunteers to help!! Volunteers will help the children shop for the people on their list, as well as wrap the presents after they checkout. Please consider sharing some of your time during this busy holiday season. We look forward to seeing all of you at the Gingerbread Shop!
2018 State Report Cards
Below is the link to our School Report Card, released November 29, 2018 by the State Department of Education. Based on a number of factors, each school in the state has been rated as excellent, good, average, below average, or unsatisfactory.
These report cards are very different from past report cards in our state. The new report cards factor in multiple data points, test scores and surveys. The report attempts to measure a school’s academic achievement, student progress, college and career readiness and school climate. The reports will also include data on English Learners Progress, Student Safety, and Financial information. High School reports will factor in graduation rates, though the formula for determining the graduation rate has changed slightly from past years.
For the first time in South Carolina, NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) scores will be used to help determine schools’ ratings. NAEP tests students in every state in fourth grade and eighth grade in math, reading, science, and writing. The percentage of schools ranked in each category (from unsatisfactory to excellent) will align to the State’s 2015 NAEP results, so about 15 percent of schools in South Carolina will be rated “excellent,” 20 percent will be rated “good,” 35 percent will be rated “average,” 20 percent will be “below average,” and 10 percent will be “unsatisfactory.”
Along with the new rating system, the report cards feature several new pieces of data, including Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS). EVAAS measures student academic growth year-after-year. EVAAS measures student academic position in relation to his/her peers from one-year to another. Growth among lowest performing 20% of students counts double toward each school’s report card.
Updates for Emergency Text Messaging
Parents, if you currently have a landline listed as your “Primary Contact Phone” and wish to receive texts about school cancellations or other emergency schedule changes, please download and print the change in phone number form and return it to school. Parents who already list a cellular phone as their primary contact will not need to take action to receive this service.
